At the recently concluded IFA Berlin 2017, the CEO of Samsung‘s Consumer Electronics (CE) Business, BK Yoon spoke to the media in a press conference where he rolled out the company’s plans for its connected products and Internet of Things (IoT). Mr. Yoon disclosed that Samsung plans to “lead the hyper connectivity of the future” by making all its products to be connected in order to form an IoT (Internet of Things) ecosystem with external partners.
Samsung’s wide range of products cut across different sectors, from IT to home appliances to integral abilities and components including an IoT platform. Samsung’s concerns also extend to cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), voice recognition, wireless communication, semi-conductor chips, sensors and security solutions. The tech giant even offers B2B solutions for vehicles, communication, electricity, distribution, content and other areas of interest to the company’s global partners.
The Consumer Business CEO Yoon said among other things that “Samsung will draw out synergies from all product lines. By connecting them to the external IoT ecosystem, we will be able to provide added value to the customers along with enhancements to their everyday life experiences.” To this end, the company plans to get all its products connected by 2020 and that would be done through Samsung Connect which was recently unveiled. Samsung Connect is a cloud computing based integral platform and application and also controlled by Samsung. Controlling the devices connected to the platform will be done using the Bixby AI which is being gradually integrated Samsung smartphones. In order to increase the synergy effects from the company, Samsung is currently running an IoT committee in which each department is participating. Furthermore, a task force team is in operation to provide comprehensive IoT and AI services.
Samsung, as a board member of the Open Connectivity Foundation (OCF), also leads the establishment and spread of IoT standards. OCF is the biggest IoT standardization group in the world. The company also plans to collaborate with Google Home, Amazon’s Alexa and other AI services through the open platform strategy. Samsung will also work towards enhancing external IoT product connectivity using its own SmartThings platform with great scalability. The tech giant will even reveal its IoT-related cloud computing source code at the Samsung Developers Conference (SDC) in San Francisco, U.S. in October, all in a bid to expand the ecosystem.
CEO Yoon also emphasized that an easy to use IoT service for everyone was impossible without cooperation between businesses. “By making open cooperation between Harman, SmartThings and internal groups with external IoT businesses, we will realize a user-oriented IoT service at home, in the office, in vehicles and other areas,” Yoon added.
Finally, the Samsung CEO disclosed that the company’s main investment focus will be on IoT and B2B in order to continue innovation in the Consumer Electronics business. The company plans to enter the North American built-in home appliances market and become one of the top-tier companies in three years using Dacor. Dacor is a California-based subsidiary of Samsung Electronics America that designs, manufactures and distributes kitchen appliances, specializing in the ultra-premium product tier, including wall ovens, ranges, cooktops, dishwashers, warming drawers, microwaves, ventilation hoods, refrigerators, wine dispensers, barbecue grills and beverage centers. Samsung acquired Dacor in August last year.
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