Indra K. Putra: Brief Discussion on The Internet of Things
The conversation about The Internet of Things (IoT) has been trending for quite some time now, not only in the professional setting but also outside of it. The concept has been translated and appeared in pop culture as well, notably in Netflix’s Black Mirror. By now, more and more young people have some idea of what IoT is. But what is exactly IoT and how will it affect our lives?
To have a sense of what IoT is, we sat down with Indra K Putra from Industrial IoT Operational and Delivery team at Telkomsel. In our discussion, he points out his view on how Indonesia will adopt this technology, as broadband Internet becomes more widely available, high penetration of smartphone, and more devices being created with sensors and Wi-Fi capabilities. Indra also shared his view on how Telkomsel will play its part to push the adoption of IoT in Indonesia.
In general, how do you see Indonesia’s future in terms of adopting the latest trends in technology?
Globalization has pushed the development and adoption of technology in many parts of the world. In Indonesia, especially in the past five years, we can see an increasing conversation about blockchain, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and IoT. Do we have those technologies in Indonesia? Yes. Do we have the community? Yes. However, when it comes to monetization or making the business out of those technologies, few companies have the capability to implement it correctly and swiftly.
Talking about IoT, give us a walkthrough of this technology
A simple explanation about IoT would be connecting any devices to the Internet. When we talk about any devices, these would be various kinds of things like smartphones, fridges, lamps, coffee makers, and many other home appliances or wearable devices. On the industrial side, you can include different parts of machines, for example, sensors in a factory’s assembly line.
From a philosophical point of view, we can define IoT as how The Internet ‘allows’ things to communicate with each other. Imagine this, you entered a café and sit in a ‘connected’ chair (let’s name this chair Alpha) that is equipped with a sensor. Once you sit, Alpha can tell your weight, temperature, and how long have you been sitting on top of him (Alpha: ayayayay red: mighty morphin power ranger). Alpha can then remind you to stand up and stretch after sitting for a while, or give you food recommendations based on your body profile. If we break it down, there are three things that let Alpha do all that amazing stuff (mostly called IoT’s DNA):
Device: weight sensors, temperature, timer
Network: a network that enables the sensor to send data
Application: a platform so that the chair can display data, give notifications, and recommendations
Philosophically, Alpha is communicating with the application about the human that is sitting on top of him.
That sounds quite exciting, and I think we have seen a glimpse of it in different applications all over the work. So, for Indonesia, how do you think IoT will empower society?
If we look at the Ministry of Industry’s blueprint, we can see that IoT is one of the enablers for the Making Indonesia 4.0 program. I am pretty sure IoT will play an integral part to boost productivity in our country.
When we look at the charts, IoT’s position is between AI and application in 3D printing, robotics, and wearable, which later will be adopted in five sectors: F&B, Textile, and Apparel, Automotive, Electronics, and Chemical. These are the sectors that have been identified by the Ministry of Industry as sectors with broad impact. From this blueprint, it is evident that IoT is the connector between the data process center and actionable device. IoT plays a crucial role in providing accurate, relevant, real-time, and seamless data so that AI can produce the best recommendation to the application layer.
How do you see Telkomsel taking part in IoT’s development in Indonesia?
First and foremost is our network. We consistently rolling out the network to different parts of Indonesia, including rural and remote areas. So, our digital connectivity capability will play a massive role in IoT’s implementation outside of big cities. Still, on the network side, we are also excited about the upcoming 5G technology, which will be the crucial element in enabling IoT. We are monitoring this space very closely to make sure that we have a seamless transition from our current technology. With 5G technology, the IoT implementation will be extended to another level of applications, mostly on the remote technology that needs almost zero delays. I am talking about remote surgical, remote heavy machine driving, and autonomous vehicles.
As we speak, we are adding more projects to our portfolio by working closely with different business partners. These use cases can be beneficial for our next projects, especially when dealing with government projects. In F&B and the automotive industry, we are currently implementing IoT for cold chain tracking, asset tracking, liquid asset monitoring dan fleet tracking. One way that IoT can help human is by using it to monitor vaccine’s temperature during its distribution and make sure that it stays between 2 to 8 Celsius degree
What are the challenges when we are talking about IoT implementation?
From a technical perspective, first, I would say network coverage. When we are talking about implementing IoT in remote areas, such as in oil rigs, you definitely need a network that can reach unpopulated areas.
The second is the sensor’s battery life. Most sensors are small, and a battery is needed to keep the sensor monitor the conditions all the time.
The third one is data security. Leaving a sensor which is an endpoint of a system will create security risks that involve software, whereby it can manipulate, exploit, steal information, and alter data in the system. Making sure the network is safe is crucial.
From a non-technical perspective, I think the challenge would be the time to market. The process is quite long, since there is a regulatory compliance element on it, such as in terms of certification and calibration of the equipment.
What are your predictions about IoT in 5 years time?
I guess people will get exposed to IoT and use some of the applications in their daily lives. They probably do not fully aware of the IoT terms but getting more accustomed to the end-to-end solution of the technology, such as autonomous taxi, smart home, building automation, and many more.
The implementation of 5G will also accelerate IoT. One particular industry that I think will make use of IoT in healthcare. The application can be varied from cold chain logistics, telemedicine and remote surgery, and healthy lifestyle tracker.
Can you tell us a bit about Industrial IoT Operational and Delivery team at Telkomsel?
We are a team that covers different roles and functions: technical product manager, pre-sales consultant, installer, customer service, and developer. We work together with the product team to define customers' technical needs, but at the same time also work closely with the sales engineer team is preparing Proof of Concept (POC), conducting training, and delivering POC presentation. More than that, we are also handling the installation of sensors, as well as troubleshooting. So pretty much what we are doing in the end to end.
Will you share some of your experience working for the Telkomsel?
I consider myself lucky (preparation meets with opportunity). I got exposed to IoT early, since my studies, so I am well prepared about the subject. When the opportunity to join Telkomsel came, I was excited due to the fact that as a market leader in telco Telkomsel has the capability to apply IoT business.
Working in the biggest digital telco means getting access to a big B2B market and B2C market. For us in the IoT team, it gives us the privilege to develop a customer-oriented product. We have the opportunity to get user requirements from the end-user. Moreover, we have an environment that supports agile working methods, which I think beneficial for progressing faster. I have also been very lucky to be surrounded by people that are experts in their field: connectivity, product management, and sales engineering, but more importantly, they have an attitude of being collaborative. Last but not least, there is a lot of learning or upskilling opportunities at Telkomsel through internal academy programs, such as UX Academy, Data Science Academy, Cybersecurity Academy, Back End Developer Academy, and many more.
