Stephen DiFranco On How IoT Will Change The Channel's Business and Vendor Relationships

The channel faces new business opportunities – and vendor relationships – due to the Internet of Things, Stephen DiFranco, principal of IoT Advisory Group, said at the NextGen IoT Roadshow, hosted by CRN parent The Channel Company. "You'll be buying a lot of hardware, but what's much more important is that you'll be providing a lot of services," DiFranco told a room of solution providers. "That is how you will be making money going forward." DiFranco said solution providers can monetize IoT not only through hardware sales, but also through an array of services including connectivity, platforms, security, and analytics services. "These will be your market streams that will be critical, you will have a hardware stream as well," he said. Solution providers in the IoT ecosystem will also face another change in their vendor relationships – they will be working with new companies, as opposed to only traditional vendors such as Cisco Systems and Dell, he said. Solution providers can now work with companies that offer highly vertical IoT technologies, including SiteWhere, Telit and Ayla Networks. These companies develop highly specialized products, such as gateways and sensors, that are helpful for solution providers working in certain verticals – but many have yet to establish a channel relationship, or even realize that the channel exists, said DiFranco. "These are companies you have never heard of… and they have no idea who you are," he said. "The partners that you currently use are not going to be the ones you'll use going forward."