Four hundred young companies from around the world have submitted their business models and solutions for the CODE_n15 CONTEST, revolving around the Internet of Things (IoT).
The motto for this year’s contest was – “Into the Internet of Things”. At the end of January 2015, an independent jury will announce the 50 finalists who will get the chance to present their ideas to industry experts and the international media in the CODE_n exhibition hall at the CeBIT trade show that is to be held between March 16-20, 2015.
“Once again, we have been overwhelmed by the response to our CONTEST,” said Ulrich Dietz, CEO of the GFT Group and the initiator of CODE_n, in a written statement.
“Although the Internet of Things is on everybody’s lips at the moment, it’s no easy territory for startups. You can’t simply program an app one day and expect investors to stand in line for it the next. You need industry and process know-how to succeed in this highly promising sector,” he added.
CODE_n is a global innovation platform for startups and other leading companies.The GFT Group is a global technology partner for future digital issues – covering everything from discovering innovation to developing and implementing sustainable business models. CODE_n, the Germany based GFT Group’s innovation platform, offers international startups, technology pioneers and established companies access to a global network.
The organisers of the content will be looking out for the quality of entries in these four topic areas: Industry 4.0, Future Mobility, Smart City and Digital Life.
“The first impression of the entries we’ve received is excellent. The jury will have its work cut out to choose the best 50 business models and the winner of the CODE_n CONTEST. There are a lot of bright young people out there with innovative ideas and extensive technological know-how who can help industry leaders drive their transformation process. Our CODE_n ecosystem is designed to bring the two sides together.”
From the entries it was established that in the field of Industry 4.0, startups were focusing mainly on platform solutions which companies can use to enhance the efficiency of their maintenance, administration and development processes for Machine-to-Machine (M2M) applications.
Many young companies were also working on Future Mobility solutions, such as how to handle the lack of parking space in major cities or how to network even older vehicles. E-mobility is a further focus area – especially the management of a battery-charging infrastructure and easy pay options.
As expected, most of the submissions were in the field of Digital Life. True to the maxim “everything that can be connected, will be connected”, many startups were working on solutions for connected toothbrushes, cameras, sports equipment and much more besides – often integrated into so-called gamification environments, i.e. game apps aimed at raising motivation for the respective activity. Among the applicants in the field of banking services, the FinTechs were focusing mainly on putting the customer at the center of everything.
You may also want to read: The Internet of Things is the theme of this year’s CODE_n contest
Image Credit: GFT/CODE_n
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