Submarines, IoT, and Intrapreneurship with Ericsson's Rob Tiffany

Manufacturing Happy Hour

Rob Tiffany needs no introduction in the manufacturing world. His name might as well be synonymous with the Internet of Things, and right now, he’s a VP and IoT Intrapreneur at Ericsson.

In this episode, we cover a lot of ground, from submarines and the Navy to IoT, intrapreneurship, and saving the world. We chat about how Rob first got started in the world of IoT and manufacturing after a career in the Navy working on submarines. Rob shares some insights into the early days of smartphone manufacturing, how ‘trains as a service’ became a thing in Europe, the roadblocks in IoT’s way, and much more.

Tune in to learn more about the Internet of Things, where it’s heading in the future, and why we as manufacturers should stop over-complicating what it really means.

In this episode, find out:

• What IoT is and why we overcomplicate it
• What Rob learned from being in the Navy and working on submarines
• How working on submarines provides so many transferable skills for manufacturing
• The early days of IoT and building the early smartphones
• How ‘trains as a service’ became a real business proposition
• Why Rob loves IoT
• The challenges and roadblocks to IoT
• How Ericsson encourage intrapreneurship
• How Rob is helping to “save the world” with the Moab Foundation

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Tweetable Quotes:

• “Security is neck and neck in first place on why IoT is not working out.”
• “I'd say most IoT systems look like just modern versions of the old stuff that people did a long time ago.”
• “Think about a submarine. It is a heavy piece of machinery. And guess what? Things break, and things have to get fixed. And so, you definitely learn a lot of great skills just from spending time there.”

Links & mentions:

• Rob Tiffany Digital, website for the industry-leading technologist and thought leader
• The Moab Foundation, using connected intelligence to create a more sustainable world
• The Innovator’s Dilemma: When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail, by Clayton M. Christensen
• Ericsson, Swedish multinational networking and telecommunications company
• FX McRory’s, a bar that used to be located in downtown Seattle by the football stadium that’s currently relocating

Make sure to visit http://manufacturinghappyhour.com for detailed show notes and a full list of resources mentioned in this episode. Stay Innovative, Stay Thirsty.