International Research Forum 2009

On the one hand, companies typically invest in the adoption of new technologies as soon as they can identify some competitive advantage that would result from their investment. Process improvements in terms of quality or performance, the creation of entirely new business scenarios, or attractive customer-oriented services can be mentioned as potential door-openers for the Internet of Things.

On the other hand, companies also have to fulfill more and more regulatory compliance-related requirements worldwide. Regulations must be met so that they do not lead to a business-oriented differentiation. A prominent example in the context of the pharmaceuticals industry is ePedigree (that is, the requirement of end-to-end tracking and tracing of pharmaceuticals sold in California).

Key questions raised by this topic include:

• Are there any potential "killer" applications of the Internet of Things within the enterprise business context?
• Which particular industries could take main advantage of the Internet of Things?
• What are the bottlenecks in the business processes within and across enterprises that could be alleviated through the Internet of Things?
• Will the Internet of Things provide new ways of saving resources and preserving the environment?