Avnet Launches Partner IoT Program at CES for Certified Products, Applications

Component distributor Avnet is at CES looking to reinvent itself as an end-to-end solutions provider in the IoT, Shankar Ramani, vice president-global IT operations, told us Wednesday in Las Vegas. The company launched a partner program, based on Microsoft’s Azure IoT Suite, to help developers build complete IoT platforms that connect certified devices using hardware and software. Avnet showed here how its customer Capstone was able to quickly build, deploy and manage its IntelliH2O smart meter -- a water-as-a-service technology that monitors utility meters -- across customer networks. “We’re coming to market with a 70-80-percent repeatable solution,” adding a “last mile” of customization to meet customers’ needs, said Ramani. He compared the approach to Apple’s App Store: “They didn’t build every app you have on your phone; they went out and got third-party app developers to build, but the platform was secure and created that customer experience that allowed for billing and revenue generation opportunities.” On the importance of the IoT solution to Avnet, Ramani said, “In many ways, the core business that we have is becoming more commoditized. A lot of people can sell devices." When an Avnet customer talks about solutions that provide a service that is “budget-neutral” for an entire city, “people talk less about the actual components and more about the end-user value. That’s the space we want to be in.” Smart cities have been a CES focus (see 2001090037).