Co-Creating Future of Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT) Through Ecosystem Partnership: A Case Study of Advantech Co., Ltd

Abstract

Advantech is the world No. 1 industrial PC manufacturer and ranked No. 5 in the list of Best Taiwan Global Brands in 2018 (Interbrand 2018). While the sales of industrial PCs and various IoT sensing/communication devices still account for more than 80% of their annual revenue, Advantech has recognized the importance of the emerging technologies, including cloud computing, IoT, and artificial intelligence, and its impact on both service and manufacturing sections. Since 2014 Advantech has launched an ambitious project in taking the lead in establishing an IoT service platform and managing its ecosystem. This platform enables domain-specific solution integrators to build industry-specific solution ready packages that incorporate devices, cloud storage, and AI techniques in domains such as factories, hospitals, cities, and transportations. The co-creation process, the business models, the difficulties, and the strategies will be addressed in this article.