Vodafone has announced that Erik Brenneis, currently head of Vodafone’s IoT (Internet of Things) division, is to replace Jan Geldmacher as CEO of Vodafone Global Enterprises.
Tom Rebbeck, research director at Analysys Mason, commented on the news, saying: “It is an endorsement of Vodafone’s IoT strategy. Vodafone has been one of the most successful telecoms operators in IoT (the Internet of Things), for example winning contracts with some of the largest automotive manufacturers such as GM. It grew to 38 million connections in the last year (up 37% on the previous year); IoT service revenues grew 29%.”
Rebbeck continued, “We expect to see IoT in more digital transformation projects. IoT projects for Vodafone and for other operators have tended to be standalone initiatives. With Erik leading VGE, we would expect to see IoT elements gradually incorporated into broader digital transformation projects. This is all part of the gradual maturing of enterprise IoT.”
Analysys Mason believes that VGE be more aggressive. “Beyond communications services, VGE’s strategy has been relatively conservative,” Rebbeck added. “The IoT team though has been more aggressive. It has made a number of acquisitions – Cobra Automotive being the largest – that have allowed it to provide a wide range of solutions. We may see VGE become more aggressive under Erik’s leadership.”
Erik Brenneis is also a member of IoT Now‘s Editorial Advisory Board.
(Also see: Vodafone tops M2M rankings for record fourth time.)
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