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Interview with Don Barnetson (Head Of Technology, Zorlu Ventures, LLC) Speaker at Global IoT Conference April 2018 Posted on : Mar 12 - 2018

 

We feature speakers at Global IoT Conference - April 2 - 4 2018 - Santaclara - CA to catch up and find out what he or she is working on now and what's coming next. This week we're talking to Don Barnetson (Head Of Technology, Zorlu Ventures, LLC) Topic - "IoT, Advanced Services And The Need For Detailed Capacity Planning In Mesh Networks"

 

Interview with Don Barnetson

 

1. Tell us about yourself and your background.

I recently joined Zorlu Ventures as CTO; Zorlu Ventures is the US arm of the Zorlu Group, one of the largest corporate groups in Turkey.  The Zorlu group includes Vestel - which is the largest white goods manufacturer in Europe, as well as a major manufacturer of TVs and handsets.  It also includes Energy, Textile and Mining Holdings in Turkey and throughout the middle east.  My role is identify, evaluate and facilitate technical engagements with US based companies via licensing, joint venturing or traditional VC investments in order to bring US innovations to Zorlu group companies. 

Prior to joining Zorlu Ventures, I was CTO and head of Product at Lunera, Inc - an industrial IoT company using lighting to deploy edge compute and sensor networks in the commercial building space.

2.  What have you been working on recently?

Recently I have been working on the smart kitchen experience, kitchens have not changed very much in the past 40 years since the introduction of the microwave oven; this is about the change.  Through combinations of sensors, machine learning and guided interactive instruction your kitchen is going to help you prepare consistent, nutritious meals with less time and less food waste.

3. Tell me about the networking technologies you use to solve customer IoT problems?

If Wifi is available, it is almost always the right answer to a networking problem - it is pervasive, reliable and has almost unlimited bandwidth for most IoT use cases.  Where Wifi is not available, mesh networks can be an alternative - however they are being deployed with a very short term view on managability and future capacity requirements which will ultimately create a good deal of pain for organizations and leave IoT assets stranded as use cases evolve.

4. Where are we now today in terms of the state of IoT, and where do you think we’ll go over the next five years?

In the consumer space, IoT solutions focused on convenience and security are are gaining critical mass and smart speakers from Amazon and Google and acting as the hubs for user interaction.

In the commercial space, cost curtailment applications are resonating - reducing energy, unplanned downtime and truck rolls; however many companies are simply collecting data without a clear vision on how it will be used or monetized.  This is not sustainable - tools supporting clear use cases for this data need to emerge in order to sustain and grow the level of investment in Industrial IoT.

5. What are some of the best takeaways that the attendees can have from your talk?

My talk will focus on need for IT to get involved in IoT deployments, rather than having vendors deploy silo'd tools directly with operational teams.  Although IT can slow down the sale cycle, and IT is burdened by a lot of other responsibilities, they understand asset lifecycle and can help mitigate the coming wave of stranded IoT assets and failed deployments.  IoT vendors should proactively embrace this and develop their system to be IT friendly from early stages - considering orchestration tool support and interoperability as part of product design as traditional IT vendors such as Cisco, Aruba, etc are entering the IoT market and will bring this advantage with them.

7. What are the top 5 IoT Use cases in enterprises?

Building automation (HVAC, Security, Fire, Lighting) - although it is often not considered IoT as it is often air gaped from the internet.

Beyond this other use cases are nascent

- Wayfinding

- Asset Tracking

- Voice services

8. Which company do you think is winning the global IoT race?

On the consumer side, Amazon and Google are creating a clear lead with their smart speaker products and are developing the only non-security reoccurring IoT revenue models in the home.

In the commercial space, it is still very early but the incumbent IT companies will have a strong advantage.

9. Any closing remarks

Thank you for the opportunity to present and I look forward to meeting you at the Global IoT Conference in April.