Internet of Things: Tablet Computers

Challenge

The internet is increasingly becoming a tool of business, rather than being merely an asset. As well as being a way of promoting and growing a company; people are starting to see the potential that the internet has for introducing new ways of selling, or more correctly leasing their physical products to consumers on a subscription-based licensing model.

An example of this from one of our customers recently was with a new start-up who manufacture tablet computers. Courtesy of a large investment they had been able to manufacture a batch of first-generation models of their devices, however, it would have been difficult for them to sell these at a suitable profit - due to the competition in the market and the number of entry-level devices that major companies were already producing.

Approach

It was for this reason that the company decided to take a different direction, with the help of NetLicensing and its subscription management capabilities - they would lease the devices to companies and charities for significantly less than the upfront cost would be. The idea was to provide a mutual benefit to both parties. Enabling the consumer to access a product which they would otherwise be unable to access due to the prohibitive cost.

Results

For the business; this gave them a regular income stream, which although it had a smaller profit margin than selling the devices outright - enabled them over time to reinvest in developing the product further as well as manufacture more devices.

All of this was made possible through the internet licensing managed through NetLicensing. The devices required an active subscription in order for them to work; with a registered email address that was then added into the NetLicensing system in order to track all of the necessary information including; usage, payments and length of subscription.