Business Development in the Internet of Things: A Matter of Vertical Cooperation

Smart and connected devices can improve industrial processes, and generate new and better services. While this premise is well understood within the ICT industry, there is a challenge in extending this knowledge to vertical industries. The potential of the Internet of Things lies in the interaction among industries working together toward value co-creation. Firms need to look beyond their internal business models and explore cooperative perspectives to define new business opportunities. In this article, we look into the relevance of vertical cooperation in the area of IoT and highlight the need to develop new value networks that leverage this cooperation and enable the creation of new business models. To lead our discussions, we use the examples of two major building blocks of smart cities: intelligent transport systems and health and well being services based on connected devices and solutions.