INTA Digital World: Don’t be scared of IoT, says Nokia
The ‘internet of things’ (IoT) will completely change “the structure of the industry” and nature of competition, but it is not something to be afraid of.
This is the opinion of Leo Baumann, director of EU affairs at Nokia, speaking in a personal capacity at an International Trademark Association conference in Brussels on Friday, December 2.
Baumann explained that Nokia has one of the industry’s “most comprehensive and complete IoT portfolios”, creating “the path for customers to enter the world of IoT”.
IoT data is growing exponentially, he said, warning that companies need to be transparent in their data collection and should not be more invasive than necessary.
“They have to explain what the value added is, how secure they are, leave the consumer with choices and protect their personal data as if it was the most precious resource you have,” said Baumann.
The EU has adopted a general data protection regulation (2016/679), which will become effective in May 2018.
Baumann added: “It provides a higher level of harmonisation but also a number of risks. For most data operations, you will need the consent of the data subject.”
As part of the regulation, severe penalties of up to 4% of global company turnover can be imposed.
“Many companies just put IoT devices out there and don’t provide any type of security, just because it may be easier, cheaper or it’s a small device that doesn’t have the processing power. But it’s very dangerous,” said Baumann.
He explained that companies are often not aware of the amount and type of data they produce through IoT.
“It’s time to embrace IoT now. Your companies will need time to adapt and they will need to develop IoT strategy, create new business units, etc.”
INTA’s ‘Digital World Conference: Navigating the Digital Yellow Brick Road’ took place between December 1 and 2 in Brussels.
