Definition

A minimum viable product (MVP) is a concept from Lean Startup that stresses the impact of learning in new product development. Eric Ries, defined an MVP as that version of a new product which allows a team to collect the maximum amount of validated learning about customers with the least effort. This validated learning comes in the form of whether your customers will actually purchase your product.

A key premise behind the idea of MVP is that you produce an actual product (which may be no more than a landing page, or a service with an appearance of automation, but which is fully manual behind the scenes) that you can offer to customers and observe their actual behavior with the product or service. Seeing what people actually do with respect to a product is much more reliable than asking people what they would do.

Expected Benefits

The primary benefit of an MVP is you can gain understanding about your customers’ interest in your product without fully developing the product. The sooner you can find out whether your product will appeal to customers, the less effort and expense you spend on a product that will not succeed in the market.

Common Pitfalls

Teams use the term MVP, but don’t fully understand its intended use or meaning. Often this lack of understanding manifests in believing that an MVP is the smallest amount of functionality they can deliver, without the additional criteria of being sufficient to learn about the business viability of the product.

Teams may also confuse an MVP–which has a focus on learning–for a Minimum Marketable Feature (MMF) or Minimum Marketable Product (MMP)–which has a focus on earning. There’s not too much harm in this unless the team becomes too focused on delivering something without considering whether it is the right something that satisfies customer’s needs.

Teams stress the minimum part of MVP to the exclusion of the viable part. The product delivered is not sufficient quality to provide an accurate assessment of whether customers will use the product.

Teams deliver what they consider an MVP, and then do not do any further changes to that product, regardless of feedback they receive about it.

Potential Costs

Proper use of an MVP means that a team may dramatically change a product that they deliver to their customers or abandon the product together based on feedback they receive from their customers. The minimum aspect of MVP encourages teams to do the least amount of work possible to useful feedback (Eric Ries refers to this as validated learning) which helps them avoid working on a product that no one wants.

Origins

2009: The concept of MVP gained popularity after Eric Ries described it in his book the Lean Startup

Signs of Use

A team effectively uses MVP as the core piece of a strategy of experimentation. They hypothesize that their customers have a need and that the product the team is working on satisfies that need. The team then delivers something to those customers in order to find out if in fact the customers will use the product to satisfy those needs. Based on the information gained from this experiment, the team continues, changes, or cancels work on the product.

Further Reading

The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses by Eric Ries

From security issues to skills shortages, these are the most important Internet of Things things to look for in the new year.

1. IoT growth will continue — in devices, data, and investment

Well, duh. According to IDC, the IoT is going to stay hot, with investment expected to top $1 trillion by 2020, just one year after 2019. That will help fund a 30 percent annual growth rate in cellular IoT connections until 2023, per Ericsson (as reported in Forbes), which I calculate to result in about 1.3 billion connections in 2019. Looked at another way, IoT devices and services will reach an inflection point of 18 to 20 percent adoption in 2019, per DBS Asian Insights (pdf).

Heck, at this rate, 2019 might even be the year when average consumers finally get the message of what the IoT is actually all about, and why they should care.

2. 5G networks will make their presence felt

Sure, lots of IoT devices rely on low-powered, low-data-rate networks such as NB-IoT and Cat-M. But the rollout of of 5G networks will have a big effect on high-end IoT applications linked to robotics and automation, virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) and artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML).

As Warren Chaisatien, Ericsson’s global director of IoT customer engagement marketing, said on the company blog, “5G will enhance the capabilities of edge and cognitive computing, which will be particularly vital to certain applications, like self-driving cars, where computing must be performed as close to the device as possible to reduce latency of decision making. The list of industries ready to take their businesses to the next level with 5G finally becoming available is long, including manufacturing, transport/logistics, public safety/emergency, and smart cities.”

3. IoT security will be a more important than ever

Put as simply as possible, the huge increase in the number of IoT devices in use pretty much automatically leads to an accompanying rise in security vulnerabilities. And more vulnerabilities leads to more attacks and more damage, in everything from smart homes to high-security government and corporate installations. In fact, weak security on many devices means the IoT isn’t just a victim of these attacks; it can also be used to create powerful botnets that hackers can leverage to carry out cyber attacks on the IoT and other targets. Panda Lab, for example, expects to see more attacks on IoT devices, routers, and Wi-Fi networks.

4. Big will be beautiful

Observers such as Data Art expect the biggest players to dominate the IoT marketin 2019 in a variety of ways. While platform vendors such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, and Google increase their footprint, other organizations will “flock to them for the promise of simplification at scale.” Similarly, Analysys Mason sees carriers such as AT&T, Verizon, and Vodafone remaining bullish about IoT.

While big IoT platforms battle for market share, we’ll see smaller players focus on niche areas to survive (e.g., data movement, industry-specific challenges, certain types of devices, etc.).

5. Some players will give up on IoT

At the same time, though, other firms may find they’re not up for the rough and tumble IoT market. This is already happening — to an extent — as evidenced by GE’s move to spin off its Predix IoT platform. Smaller players may have to focus on niches such as data movement, industry-specific challenges, and certain types of devices, according to Data Art.

But Analysys Mason expects small operators to face the hardest choices in supporting IoT: « Without the funds to invest in their own capabilities, they are stuck with unattractive options: sell connectivity (and compete largely on price) or also try to sell capabilities developed by others (but offer nothing unique). … Some operators, especially small single country operators or low-cost challengers, will simply invest elsewhere.”

6. The IoT skills shortage will continue

IDG Connect reports that according to a Canonical report, more than two-thirds of companies can’t hire the IoT experts they need, and Experis’ Tech Cities Job Watchreport says the demand for technology skills has jumped by a third due to the huge increase in connected IoT devices. Big data pros and cyber security experts are said to be in especially high demand, along with IT workers who have experience in device equipment, application development, and general utilization of IoT technology.

Clearly, there’s an opportunity here!

By Fredric Paul, Network World   https://www.networkworld.com/article/3330738/six-iot-predictions-for-2019.html

IOT DATA SECURED FOR EVER !

PRESS RELEASE
Ubirch presents a « Blockchain on a SIM » solution at MWC Barcelona 2019
21.02.2019, Cologne/Barcelona. « Blockchain on a SIM » – Under this motto, Ubirch presents its
award-winning blockchain-based technology from February 25th to 28th, 2019 for the first time,
at the MWC Barcelona (Mobile World Congress).
The Ubirch procedure works in a similar way to the notary’s certification and sealing of a
document. It seals the data directly within the device, only milliseconds after the measurement,
not after transmission in a cloud. The Ubirch client is extremely lightweight and efficient – so even
the smallest edge devices and even SIM cards can be used.
Stephan Noller, CEO of Ubirch: « The trustworthiness of the SIM-card in combination with the
Ubirch technology to secure IoT data – this can be a game changer for the industry, especially for
the protection of industrial equipment and critical infrastructures. »
At the Ubirch booth, visitors can see a demonstrator, which shows how the Blockchain solution
makes the Internet secure so that businesses and consumers can trust the delivered data of the
billions of devices which are connected to the internet.
Ubirch booth at MWC Barcelona: Hall 8 / booth 8.OG8
Ubirch CEO Stephan Noller is available for interviews at the exhibition stand on February 25th and
26th February in Barcelona.

Sequans has released the second generation of its LTE-M and NB-IoT chip platform called Monarch 2. The newer version is built on three years of Sequans’ exclusive and field-proven experience with first-generation Monarch platform, which is and has been the industry’s leading LTE for IoT chip since its introduction in 2016.

Monarch 2 incorporates full reuse of Monarch’s software and architecture, allowing all existing customers to migrate to the upgrade, seamlessly. It brings several significant advancements, including an integrated secure element (SE) with the industry’s highest level of security, enabling a variety of integrated SIMs, a 60-percent improvement in power consumption, beating the already industry-lowest level of Monarch, and an industry-leading high level of integration that further simplifies and lowers the cost of IoT device design.

According to Sequans’ CEO, Georges Karam, the Monarch 2 has been designed based on the exclusive knowledge gained over the last three years with IoT device-makers and LTE operators around the world. This experience has enabled the company to develop the new platform with real world knowledge of what customers need for successful LTE IoT deployments of all types. In Monarch 2, Sequans has answered key demands and improved the already ultra-low power consumption, added comprehensive positioning capabilities and a versatile MCU, and added other important features to validate and improve the business cases for the widest possible range of IoT applications.

Monarch 2 comes 5G ready. It supports 3GPP Release 14 and 15 and LTE UE categories M1/NB1/NB2. In a single chip, it integrates baseband, RF, RAM, MCU, and power management. It supports all power classes +23/20/14 dBm, allowing deployments by all operators around the world with efficient network capacity and data plans. The newer platform’s dedicated MCU is able to scale from ultra-low power to high-performance mode to best fit customer applications. It is open to all customers via Sequans’ SDK.

Monarch 2’s embedded secure element (SE) offers the highest, government-grade security level possible, EAL5+, and iUICC function. For positioning, it embeds Sequans Location Engine which provides indoor and outdoor positioning via GNSS and a wide range of LTE-based location technologies. The Location Engine gives application developers flexibility to select the geo-location technology that best fits their requirements for location accuracy and cost. The power consumption of Monarch 2 shows a 50-percent improvement in active mode and a 60 percent improvement in eDRX and idle modes, with rock bottom power consumption continuing to lead the industry at 1 micro amp.

The Monarch 2 will be seamlessly integrated into Sequans’ Monarch product portfolio which includes Monarch N – the single-mode NB-IoT version of Monarch, and Monarch SiP – an ultra-small and thin system-in-package that includes the universal radio front end of Skyworks and all other components required. Monarch has been certified by operators all over the world in USA, Japan, Europe, and Australia.

Key Features of the Monarch 2 Platform

• 3GPP Release 14 and 15; LTE UE categories M1/NB1/NB2
• Full forward compatibility of first-generation Monarch’s mature software for seamless migration
• IoT Select — dynamic LTE mode selection for LTE-M or NB-IoT
• Supports RF frequencies 617-2200 MHz, including support for LTE band 71
• Optimized for half-duplex FDD in a Single-SKU design for global deployment
• +23 dBm/+20dBm/+14dBm configurable FEM for optimized network capacity by limiting packet retransmission and providing superior coverage at cell edge or in-building/underground
• Dedicated MCU to support embedded customer application software and ultra-low power sensor-hub
• Ultra-low power consumption: Rock bottom power consumption of 1 micro amp, 60% reduction in eDRX and Idle modes, 50% reduction in active mode, eco-Paging — proprietary Sequans’ algorithm for lowest possible eDRX power consumption
• Integrated secure element (SE) with industry’s highest level of security EAL5+
• Embedded iUICC
• Embedded GNSS provides for concurrent LTE and GNSS operation, supporting multiple constellations
• Sequans Location Engine — supports both indoor and outdoor location services with or without GNSS
• Embedded voice processing acceleration for an optimized LTE-M VoLTE solution
• Single rail power supply input with range 2.2-5.5 V, allowing the use of standard AA batteries
• 215 pins CSP, 0.5 mm pitch, allowing low-cost PCB technology and enabling 65% size reduction

Download the product brief for more information.

Traditionally, the supply chain has been characterized by siloed operations with barely any cross-functional integration; in other words, the system has been complicated, disconnected, and unintelligent. This lack of integration has resulted in the lack of end-to-end visibility and increased the cost of tracking the movement of products across the supply chain. Deloitte’s 2013 Global Supply Chain Risk Survey found out that companies were having challenges managing sudden demand changes and margin erosion, mostly because they lack the latest tools.

One of their biggest concerns related to the risks inherent in their extended supply chain (I.e. their suppliers operations) are due to visibility shortages. Of course, many companies are often struggling when it comes to mastering procurement and data flows within their tiers, having no choice but to trust their stakeholders-both internal and external. While a majority of brands are using outsourcing as a business leverage, most companies fail when trying to find a way to have reliable visibility over their entire supply chains while limiting the dependence on one or several stakeholders.

The food and car industries, for instance, have suffered huge fines, recalls, and sales losses that lead up to US$100 millions. As a result, there is the need to make supply chain information more reliable, traceable, and improve visibility. Three critical technologies are combining the technological muscle to realize explosive opportunities for the supply chain space and these include: the Internet of Things, Machine Learning and blockchain technology.

Internet of things (IoT)

According to Gartner, more than 50% of major business processes are set to incorporate some element of IoT come 2020. The study projects that 26 billion IoT devices will be installed and this will generate $300 billion by the end of the decade. Another Forrester’s study revealed that 58%-77% of organizations surveyed considered locating objects, personnel, and containers as major IoT functions for supply chain management.

According to Kaleido insights, IoT refers to the interconnectivity of the digital and physical worlds, wherein embedded sensors connect and integrate ‘things’ –objects, animals, plants, people, devices, machines, infrastructure, and environments –to information networks. Interconnectivity between these things digitizes new context (e.g., position) and can generate new value constructs (e.g., location-based services).

Impact of IoT in Supply Chain Management

IoT is sure to impact supply chain management with operational efficiencies as well as revenue opportunities.

Operational efficiencies

This includes:

Asset Tracking. Unlike barcodes and numbers, IoT uses new RFID and GPS sensors to track assets from ‘floor to store’ and from ‘farm to table.’ These sensors can provide such granular data like the temperature at which the item was stored (according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, up to 1/3 of food perishes in transit every year; stable temperature, unlike varying temperatures, ensure greater preservation.), how long a product spent in cargo and how long on the shelf. This will enhance a tighter grip on on-time delivery, quality control, product and demand forecasting.

Vendor Relations. According to IBM, 65% of a product’s value depends on the suppliers. The data from asset tracking will enable organizations to determine sub-par vendor relations that are costly versus those that are profitable. It will also help organizations adjust production schedules according to demand levels.

Forecasting and inventory. Amazon, for instance, is using WIFI robots for scanning and tracking QR codes on its products and placing triage orders. Apart from ensuring you don’t miss any deadline, forecasting from IoT data will ensure manufacturing schedules are more efficient.

Connected fleets. Just like cities are making use of these data to get to emergencies faster or clear up traffic issues (traffic delays account for late deliveries and shortages in stock), manufacturers and suppliers are using IoT to get better products to their customer more quickly. Cisco, for instance, partnered with California Shock Trauma Air Rescue air ambulance services for efficiencies in their dispatch systems. When an emergency arises, the public safety answering point that is geo-matched to the nearest air ambulance crew that would then be dispatched. The crew is able to keep communicating through one system enabled by IoT.

Scheduled maintenance. IoT smart sensors on manufacturing floors can relay data on which machines need maintenance. This ensures planned and predictive maintenance to prevent costly downtimes.

Revenue opportunities

IoT data that is analyzed gives insights, forecasts, and trends for a 360-degree view of the customer, their purchasing habits, and business processes. This understanding helps businesses form tighter relations with their customers hence better and innovative ways of marketing to the consumers. IoT could help businesses get more creative, innovative, transparent, and improve on social responsibility when it comes to supply chain management.

While the idea behind the quirky TV show Portlandia may appear fictional, it’s, in fact, very real with IoT. Actors insist on knowing details about the chicken they are about to take for dinner. They can find details about it and even travel to where it has grown; an option made possible by the restaurant.

Machine learning

According to innovation enterprise, “Machine learning is a form of artificial intelligence able to learn without human programming it to specifically find something. Machine learning algorithms do this by searching large data sets for meaningful patterns, from which future events can be predicted or classified. It finds the sort of patterns that are often imperceptible to traditional statistical techniques because of their apparently random nature.”

Organizations realize end-to-end automation through machine learning. Gartner predicts that the level of adoption for ML is set to double in the next five years. ML impacts the supply chain in the following ways:

ML algorithms are analyzing big data from IoT. ML systems can collect, analyze and even adjust data sets from a wide range of data sources efficiently and cheaply. It can match and combine data sets, for instance, an employee’ sick days off, to external factors such as unfavorable weather patterns. This would then be used to build the complete picture of potential stumbling blocks and ensure specific levels of supply are met. This is particularly critical for perishable goods handlers like grocery stores when overstocked the supply will perish, and customers may also not tolerate empty shelves. Early adopters of ML are already reaping up to 80% reductions in stock-out rates, more than ten days reduction in inventory on hand and write-offs, and are earning gross margin growths of up to 9%. Weather conditions pose one of the most significant challenges for businesses; from transportation to farming and even business establishments like buildings. For instance, heat waves and drought that hit Russia in 2010 resulted in $15 billion losses.

A UK Met office conducted a survey of supply chain professionals and found out the following: 16% of the professionals said they use commercial weather data, and their results are persuasive! 57% of the professionals had better sales forecast accuracy, 51% had better shelf availability of products, and 43% had reduced waste. IBM is set to inject cognitive technology to ‘deep thunder’ a hyper-local weather forecasting tool for businesses to enhance its services. When combined with ML, it can produce excellent accuracy on impacts of weather on specific locations. ML does not only identify patterns that show particular risk; it recommends mitigating actions based on its examination of previous responses to similar risks particularly those that were more successful.

Reduces operational risks for employees by taking of menial jobs. We are already witnessing driverless cars that will turn to driverless trucks that will automate the transportation of goods. This reduces dependence on overly tired drivers who cause accidents risking their own lives and that of others, and will eliminate the chances of taking wrong routes. It will also reduce the need for warehouse workers; ARC’s survey found out that 15% of warehouse executives are set to procure autonomous mobile robots for their warehouses.

Blockchain Technology

According to big data zone, “Blockchain is a distributed database system that acts as an ‘open ledger’ to store and manage the transaction.” Blockchain brings three key components to the supply chain: reliability, integrity, and speed which are fundamental for any supply chain. The blockchain technology accomplishes this through the following features:

· Consensus. All the entities in the blockchain must agree to each transaction being valid; whether payment, delivery, warehousing or transportation.

· Provenance. Every entity in the blockchain knows where every asset came from; who was the previous owner and at what time.

· Immutability. No one can tamper with any entry; simply put, no fraud, no impersonation, no falsification of records like inventory, delivery times, and warehouse conditions among others.

· Decentralized copies of the ledger will all hold the same truth.

· Blockchain will allow supply chain partners to create trusted relationships without needing any intermediaries like banks.

· Blockchain enables for direct communication between the supplier and consumer hence cutting down on costs.

· Much more important, smart contracts in the blockchain will enable for more agility in the supply chain. Businesses will automatically connect, negotiate and close business deals with partners across the supply chain from all over the globe and have the whole process taken care of up to payment and beyond. This will help participants speed up production and innovation that meets the changing needs of customers and help realize more trusted and fruitful relationships. Smart contracts are self-executing sets of agreed-upon rules for a particular transaction. Smart contracts will also help monitor the flow of goods according to demand so that if there is a demand, then smart contracts execute for the flow of goods and when there is a surplus then smart contracts trigger storage of excess goods or limits supply. And the good part is that there are various platforms out there such as DAPP BUILDER which seeks to help businesses/users to easily create and edit smart contracts without the need for any coding skills.

There are several companies working in the supply chain management sector that are engaging blockchain to increase accountability and record-keeping quality. For instance, a private-public initiative spearheaded by the Coca-Cola Co. (KO) and the United States Department of State will use blockchain technology to combat forced labor in their supply chains. The joint effort will seek to directly address these problems by employing blockchain and smart contracts to deliver greater transparency and record-keeping regarding workers and their contracts.

The Bottom Line

These three technologies when properly leveraged can interact to form a formidable force. For instance, Walmart is using IoT sensors in conjunction with blockchain to enhance food security by increasing the traceability of products from the point of origin to the time it is sold to the consumer. This offers Walmart’s customers credible insights on the origin of their food. With Walmart producing 40 petabytes of data every day, blockchain ensures the data is immutable, reliable/verifiable and traceable. But ML crowns it all by delivering all the lavish benefits as enlisted in the above discourse. This is incredible! Supply chain professionals can deliver to the sky and beyond with these three technologies.

Source: https://medium.com/@networkteam