The start-up company weaves an intelligent hardware network

After 2 years of unbridled development, startups are beginning to realise that only a group of companies will grow. So, in overseas, Misfit began to join hands with shine, Jawbone and Nest played a linkage.

At home, this phenomenon has also occurred, the typical example is this week two start-up companies and Bong cooperation began, one is to do body fat scale, one is to do bracelet. What is the logic behind this? Where is inevitability? The hardware was invented by two founders. Also heard the views of other entrepreneurs, such as Broadlink's Liu Zongji, after seeing hardware re-inventing reports on the manufacturer's cooperation, he told me that such cooperation, already and in the case of ongoing cases, is more demanding than we think of hardware start-ups.

In the communication with several, I am surprised that the start-up company's original intention is not to hold the team against the enemy so simple, this may be a reason, but not the most important point of departure. Let smart hardware have a richer and more complete experience, that is, a better experience. On the other hand, the access to data, users and sales channels can really make smart hardware more imaginative. The reasons and logic behind this can be seen in these areas:

First, to complete the experience can only cooperate

"Now the weight scale (or body fat instrument) and hand ring users are very high, cooperation mainly for the purpose of improving the user experience." "Bong founder and CEO Gu Yu this word out of the smart hardware company to choose the key to cooperation, each product although different, but the user is mostly the first batch of intelligent hardware products, the user is a high coincidence degree, is very natural."

The consequence is that hardware companies are hard to develop. The user in the intelligent hardware experience also added a barrier and cumbersome process, using several products, there are several sets of user systems and apps, so that intelligence is not true intelligence but cumbersome.

This is one of the reasons, the second is data. Michael founder CEO Li Xiaoliang said that, "from the industry's future trends, smart hardware after 2012-2014 years of development, intelligent hardware has been many, but the real user stickiness is not much." The problem is that the data is now generated, but the data is not used. The data becomes more valuable if all aspects of the data are available. Together, it will solve the problem. ”

Bong and wheat cooperation is the way to the data and users through the two sides if the user is also using each other's products, in the same app can see the other device data. The third reason is that the holding group has greater energy to withstand the Giants.

Gu Dayu said that this cooperation has 1 prerequisites and 2 basic principles, provided that: to improve the user experience for the purpose. The principle is that data interchange is equal; joint marketing and sales are free of charge. The simple generalization is equality and mutual benefit.

Second, Mickle only took the first step

In the domestic hundreds of innovation hardware company and the team, this kind of cooperation scope is still too small, one or two cooperation is difficult to reach a place. But a closer look, this is an inevitable process, from atoms to molecules, Mickle.

Early is a small area of aggregation, for example, now scales can work with the hand ring. On the other side, blood pressure meter and blood glucose meter can cooperate. This kind of small cooperation group can further cooperate to form a larger level of cooperation group, the final development will be, by a number of different areas of intelligent hardware companies, combined into a network structure of the cooperative body.

If you look at it separately from the Internet, it will be a smart hardware network. "From the industry, it is a continuous attempt to cooperate." It will also work with other people. The short term is simpler, and after that, there will be more forms, from small aggregation to large. "Li Xiaoliang said.

(Wearable products in 2018 will be worth billions of markets)

Third, whether the enemy is terrible before

A lot of people look at this kind of company's cooperation, the first reaction is: Is it to hold the team to handle like millet such opponents? But judging from the attitude I feel, this is not the case. For Giants they have two views:

1. The giant has educated the market. Take the bracelet as an example, the involvement of millet seems to undermine the rules, the price of the hand ring back to the original. But Gu Yu thinks, "Millet did a very good thing, is popularized the concept of hand ring." ”

2, the cost control subdivides the player to be good at. In fact, start-up companies in the fight against the giant's low-cost strategy on the help is not small, need to be in the field of expertise, such as the blood pressure meter on the special blood pressure meter to achieve the lowest cost, do scale to the scale to achieve the lowest. Li Xiaoliang this time to sell its second generation of scales to 49 yuan, canceled the LCD screen and body fat test. He believes that the core of cost reduction is the large order, and upstream of the Bluetooth chip vendors and other suppliers can be lower prices.

From these two points of view, the Giants are not scary, it is important that you make a subdivision of the field than others cattle.

Iv. question: How to deepen the shallow cooperation

I think the cooperation between Bong and Mai is not deep enough, one is the two sides of the app is not fully fit, for example, you have to bong in the app to see the MAI Kai data, need to open an app in the app, I think this is a kind of shallow cooperation.

On the other hand, Li Xiaoliang's "data use" has not been fully developed, data release and sharing, but has not fully played a role.

Li Xiaoliang says it's unlikely that users will get through now, and then it could be infiltration. In data mining, Gu Daewoo believes that the need for third-party developers to contribute some power and ideas, through data analysis, to provide life, weight loss and other aspects of the recommendations and methods, so that the smart hardware data use.

"It's not in the main interface, it needs an iterative process." We are also doing some application attempts to form a pattern and then move on to the main scene, "Gu Dayu said.

Five, linkage and users: two kinds of cooperation demands

Broadlink CEO Liu Zongji also listed some examples of their cooperation, Broadlink smart home products immediately and Bong II hand ring, through the hand ring "Yes key" to achieve and intelligent home products linkage. They are also cooperating with the ikair of environmental monitoring.

From this, it can be seen that the current smart hardware company's holding group is mainly two categories, such as Bong and Mai open, mainly users and data to get through for the purpose. The second type is to realize the linkage of intelligent hardware, especially the products of intelligent home. One common feature of these two types of cooperation demands is the improvement of the user experience and the improvement of the use value of the intelligent hardware.

Six, from "Love" Can to "marry"

At present, this kind of cooperation is in the "love" stage, because the partner does not involve the capital cooperation. In this respect, Gu Dayu said, "First of all to talk about love, knot not married." Need to be very pragmatic, the previous talk is too grand, behind will be shackled.

Conclusion: The emerging hardware network

In communication with three founders, a common word is "user experience", where the user experience is not what we normally understand to make a product better, but based on this, "a company can't do everything in smart hardware startups." ”

In the face of giants, the current hardware start-ups are more rational, on the one hand, the Giants are in the education market. On the other hand, also admits that the giant is unstoppable, need to do is to do their own, user experience, data mining, reduce costs.

From 1+1 to 2, and then from 2+2 to 4, it will be a normal development of intelligent hardware company, composed of a number of intelligent hardware companies in different fields, combined into a network structure of the cooperative body-intelligent hardware network.