Connected DEVICE

Do we think of the software apps or content or games in the same emotional but special and symbolic way as we do our iPod or Xbox or iMac? Is “mass manufacturing” going to be disrupted by “manufacturing by masses”, transforming passive consumers into active innovators or makers?

Can bringing the idea to life as a product ready for customer’s usage become so much easier in hardware, as already proven with software?

In this information age that dawned 4 decades ago, powered by computers and internet, human imagination, skill and creativity, we witnessed the tools of software design, production, distribution and delivery completely democratized. Digital, internet and software technologies have ushered in an era of unprecedented transformation in the global economic and business order. The world’s most iconic, most valued, most profitable businesses today were upstarts not too long ago, operating out of a campus dorm or café or a garage. Twenty something old tech- entrepreneurs turned CEOs have become more powerful today in several business sectors than their much older counterparts often celebrated as industry stalwarts managing decades old corporations with a global footprint. By harnessing the power of software technologies and further by leveraging the huge access and reach made possible by internet, computer and mobile, these archetypal tech startups have created huge markets, global business networks and ecosystems, iconic brands and billion dollar businesses.

Now with mobile, social, data and cloud technologies further expanding the possibilities of innovation, the target market for the software startups has expanded beyond the enterprise and into our homes, our schools, our journeys, our malls and almost into every walk of our modern lives.

But what brings consumers in direct connect with the power of the software is the hardware — the device; whether in our factories, our offices, our homes, our malls, our schools or our hospitals. Devices have become a part of our lives, making life easier, healthier, safer, more fun and symbolic too.

Do we think of the software apps or content or games in the same emotional but special way as we do our iPod or Xbox or iMac?

Just as the tools of software design, development, demand generation, distribution, delivery and adoption were democratized, so are the tools of hardware design, prototyping, production and distribution.

Hardware is the NEW software!

The emergence of affordable electronics & embedded development DIY kits (circuits & processing), plug­and­play sensors (data & analytics), simple 3D modelling & printing tools (UX & plastics), low­cost cloud platforms (interconnect and analytics), combined with access to a manufacturing supply­chain ready to produce very small batch sizes, has democratized hardware design and manufacturing.

We are entering an internet age industrial revolution with the potential to transform ‘mass manufacturing’ into ‘manufacturing by the masses’. A few large giants manufacturing devices in billions will be disrupted by a million small innovators/startups. These modern day makers — no they are not manufacturers, each aim to solve unique real­world problems faced by smaller sized customer segments or micro markets with only few hundred or thousand customers. Many of us passive hardware consumers will transform into active hardware innovators and producers — actually makers.

Hardware is HARD, not anymore!

Connected DEVICE — the next generation hardware, elegantly designed, adequately capable, simple to use with the intelligence and connectivity, have the potential to solve several key problems challenging the possibility of a happier, cleaner, safer, eco­friendly, and healthier human lives. Combined with the ever advancing tools of software, it is today very pragmatic and affordable to develop the circuits, intelligence, sensors, plastics and connectivity capabilities of new age Connected Devices aimed at solving millions of unsolved human, business and planet problems, and in very low volumes and with much less cash too.

To FORGE is to innovate, to build, and to startup a hardware tech business aimed at manufacturing the next generation of hardware connected devices. As with software in hardware too fostering a revolution in tech innovation and entrepreneurship requires combining skills with access to technology, tools, and resources aimed at accelerating the journey from an idea to the final device ready for launch.

Accelerating this journey is achieved by ‘learning how to build the devices right’ through acquiring skills in designing and building a device, by ‘targeting the right device to build’ through targeting the right customer facing the problem most severely, by ‘building the device right’ through following the methods of lean hardware and connecting tightly with the electronics supply chain, and by ‘launching the product in the market fast’.

To FORGE FORWARD is to fast forward enthusiasts to become successful hardware tech innovators and entrepreneurs, by solving human problems, business problems, and planet problems with smart, intelligent, and elegant connected hardware devices.

Originally published at www.forgeforward.in on July 29, 2015.