Technology and eco-Link: Intel's smart hardware approach

With the advent of smart hardware innovation, the hardware and the Internet, various incubators and distribution platforms focused on smart hardware have sprung up.

One of the figures is Intel. The PC-era giant missed out on smartphone opportunities and is now chasing new waves of smart hardware. Earlier this year, Intel CES released the only SD card size, wearable device development hardware development platform "Edison", the display of their own voice helper smart headset "Jarvis"; together with Jingwei millions of U.S. dollars investment platform roll call time. Subsequently, through acquisitions, investment and cooperation initiatives, Intel has started wearable equipment to treat Parkinson's syndrome and plans to launch smart hardware products.

However, from Intel's early ideas, they have never been too involved in terminal products, more to do a backstage support, so concentrate on chip trading. "Intel never says," I'm looking for a product, so when I tutor you, I make one myself and I put it in the market to compete with you. " "October 10, Wang Yu, general manager of Intel China Online business, told the 21st century Economic report.

In 2010, Intel set up an online business unit to provide a fast, convenient and technical service support that meets these corporate and personal business models via the Internet, covering all stages from project application to incubation. The department seemed to embody its value at the beginning of the development of intelligent hardware. Recently, the Intel China Online business has also launched a hard platform "hard to enjoy" (CCE), developers have access to Intel engineers rapid technical support, a large knowledge base, online training and other resources, now about 1200 people in the country on the participation platform for discussion. In addition, the products produced by customers on the Intel China online business platform are flowing to the market, with an average social value of more than 30 billion RMB per year.

Wang Yu, in the 90 's, with the rise of software and the Internet, hardware to some extent overlooked, and now with the Internet of things, hardware and software combination, the importance of hardware also promoted.

However, in the hardware innovation process, in addition to some "money can solve the problem", there are actually some technical aspects of the problem, and no one can solve all the problems, development engineers are also limited by the development cycle.

"Hardware innovation is a very complex process. This process involves many problems that can lead to product development failures. Wang Yu told reporters that they have also seen a lot of small and medium-sized companies, think the root cause is small and medium-sized companies in the development of new products, it does not have a good control system and process. "Although there will be a variety of Internet search tools, and a number of questions and answers to the knowledge base, but those are only a kind of auxiliary, real professional engineers do not have the substantive help." Wang Yu told reporters.

However, for an intel that is accustomed to making a big customer business, such a business model in the face of SME customers is actually faced with many aspects such as staffing and performance assessment. Can Intel really continue to do this to build a new ecosystem of smart hardware?

Technology and ecological chain support

"21st century": Why does Intel want to build an online business unit?

Wang Yu: There are several main factors behind Intel's online business unit, where access to Intel's official base support was not smooth. Finding Intel is difficult, and finding Intel's vast array of technical data is difficult, and when it comes to technical problems, it's hard to find someone who really knows the technology in Intel. So our department wants to launch this platform to form a one-stop service that makes it easy for Intel's support engineers to do technology development based on Intel technology.

If each company has its own technology closed up to serve their own small products, we do not communicate, the society will certainly not progress. Only engineers can work together to overcome some problems in a social state, can bring a great technological breakthrough, or breakthrough faster.

"21st century": What is the difference between Intel online business and other smart hardware incubators?

Wang Yu: Now do hatch a lot, we actually did not define ourselves as incubators, now in the domestic incubator is mainly to provide funds, company registration procedures or office space and other help. But there is a problem can not solve, that is, if the entrepreneur is really high-tech development, if encountered technical difficulties, the incubator can not be able to provide guidance to him.

Today's software development is really difficult, basically few people can say from beginning to end is their own start-up of the few engineers, can make everything out. Hardware or software, you have to attach to some of the mainstream technology platform. Moreover, even if you design ability is again strong, if you do not understand the supply chain, the product finally also failed, the production of good products may be less than 50%.

Therefore, this kind of professional coaching is very important in these processes. Intel is a technology platform, so I can provide you with key technical support that you can use. The second is the eco-chain partners. For example, our design house, even the factory.

This layout is a key resource for a startup, and if your project is really good, we are in the technology and ecological chain.

"21st century": What would Intel do if Intel's competitors, such as Qualcomm and ARM, could provide such technical support?

Wang Yu: I think the internet has no secret, who can do the internet, and finally decided to do good and bad in their own some of the most essential thinking, and a company willing to do from this angle.

For example, Intel is a big customer-born company, and Intel in the industry chain in fact attaches great importance to offline support, for many large companies have accredited engineers to help them develop. Now, we support the model of small and medium-sized companies come out, in the company's internal strategy, do not recognize such a strategy, recognition of the online model will also become a mainstream form?

I think a big hurdle for a traditional company may be that they are not necessarily able to allow the status of an online platform or even a potentially destructive business model.

The challenge of institutional change

21st Century: What changes has the system made to Intel's creation of this department?

Wang Yu: I think the surface of the site to see the form is very simple, but behind its supporting organizations, systems, ideas, processes are not broken within the boundaries of the enterprise, and can not be the first to launch, the adoption of these ideas, is a big challenge.

For example, we emphasize "customer initiated, customer driven", this is subversive. Because previous reviews of salespeople were based on the size of the customer's contribution to Intel. Now our department has completely abandoned this way, we think this way is the old mode of operation.

When you call the customer, actually do not know what the customer is in the state, even if the content of your call itself is valuable to the customer, but the client was not in the most ideal situation, you do not know. So now we emphasize that the triggering relationship is a process of customer-driven, customer-controlled.

I even changed the Commission metrics for the sales staff, which violates all Intel's performance requirements. The Commission manager asked me why your organization was so set up. Through communication and understanding, he can really accept. So think about it, will all companies be allowed to do that? Not。

For example, our service to the individual support, in fact, in the short term, for our department is no performance gains. If the strategic orientation of a team is the business team, must be to assess the performance, a lot of companies may not do this, to my own completely no benefit, the following people have a great rebound, why to serve the individual Ah, 100 projects successfully a project, I service business success rate is much higher.

But I think the starting point for this long-term strategy is important to intel as well. Intel can also accept this long-term strategy. This is something that I think is actually a fundamental decision.

As for the last resort, it is likely that everyone will learn, and our competitors and we will have a process of improvement. But there is no long-term consideration, can have a lot of freedom, really in the customer-centric, Internet way to do things, I think this happens to a lot of traditional enterprises have great challenges.

"21st century": in fact, for the big company such as Intel, service SMEs is very hard, now is more than 1200 projects, if more projects after how to do?

Wang Yu: I think more than 1000 or 10,000, in fact, the most important thing is a business model. In fact, many customers come in, the combination of good technical documents and engineers mutual aid system, can solve a large part of the problem. Because we know that technology development, knowledge or key, you just grasp the core of knowledge and the ability of the engineer development, this thing you do it well, its growth scale will rise.

It's not like you used to serve a company to send two engineers, if 1000 customers will have 2000 engineers, now is not such a concept. Actually need to form a gathering knowledge base, this kind of knowledge base refers to the static document Knowledge Base, also refers to the human gathering this kind of vivid knowledge base, as long as gathers the bigger, its network effect is stronger. It can reflect the real need to support tens of thousands of of these projects without requiring us to increase our personnel too much. However, with the corresponding deployment, we certainly have to increase our manpower.

But this increase in the way, with the traditional mode of operation shows a great advantage. Now the Internet model, I think as long as the grasp of this knowledge as a gathering point, you can form a new technical support model.

(Responsible editor: Mengyishan)