Why did BUD move away from IOT focus?, page-6

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IoT isnt really IoT anymore because data isnt monetisable 'new oil' the way it was 2 years ago. ie the ioT profit opportunity is not what it was

Cambridge analytica and the privacy conniption means 3rd party data has far more check and balance, less saleability and more mgt cost

BUD started out chasing IoT support - essentially data aggregation - and adding front end IoT systems that would pull in added data. The basic idea would have been to have cost breakeven on the front end as your minimum - then get gravy from 3rd party data analysis and sales

that market has been scorched significantly - if you want to be in IoT you need to be getting your income from primary IoT product sales - rather than backend analysis, storage and mgt

thats what pushed them into Lifx - a readymade lower margin business that effectively keeps Bud as a notionally 'live' IoT player while it waits for the IoT ecosphere to develop further

Bud's past ~3 years was innovators running too far ahead of customers need/want - conceptually Ok ideas that havent yet found their time and an attempt to bluff the market into takeup that fell on its face - and an unwillingness to confess to same long after it was obvious.

Lifx appears to be a way to keep relevant and aggregate relationships and synergy opportunities while the IoT market takes shape - at some point that can then create a chance for some format of Ohm version 2.0 or similar.

Most of the hardware for IoT seems to be fairly easily and cheaply ready made/available off the shelf - its finding the killer app that they can create a service from that they can charge high for thats eluding most atm

They will be looking at things like the takeup in home voice systems and trying to work out how they can piggyback off that no doubt - given the connection with lighting.

Crushingly competitive market though.

every consumer electronics co is pushing their r&d down the path of home/lifestyle/office management from the access point of however they touch the consumer (car/fridge/phone/watch/tv/remote control/air con etc etc)

the overlap will be epic