026: Building the Internet of Things with Maciej Kranz

Welcome to episode #26 of IoT Product Leadership, a podcast featuring in-depth conversations with product leaders on what it takes to build great IoT products. I’m your host, Daniel Elizalde.     I’m very excited about today’s show. My guest today is Maciej Kranz, Vice President of Strategic Innovation at Cisco. Maciej, a world-renowned IoT thought leader. In addition to his work at Cisco, Maciej is a frequent speaker at conferences around the world, and he is the author of the New York Times best-selling book: Building the Internet of Things.     It is a real honor to have Maciej in the show today. In this episode, we discuss some critical challenges’ companies face when starting their IoT journey.     This includes challenges around choosing which application to focus on first, how companies should think about their place in the IoT ecosystem, and common obstacles for finding IoT talent.     This is an episode no IoT product leader should miss.     About Maciej Kranz:  Maciej Kranz brings 30 years of networking industry experience to his position as Vice President, Corporate Strategic Innovation Group at Cisco. He leads the group focused on incubating new businesses, accelerating internal innovation, and driving co-innovation with customers and partners through a global network of Cisco Innovation Centers.   Prior to this role, Kranz was General Manager of the Connected Industries Group at Cisco, a business unit focused on the Internet of Things (IoT). He built a $250M business from the ground up in 18 months and relentlessly evangelized the IoT opportunity across Cisco and the market, making IoT one of Cisco’s major priorities.   Previously, Kranz led efforts across Cisco to define, prioritize, and deliver Borderless Network Architecture and roadmaps. He also drove business and product strategy for the wireless and mobility business and led product management for the stackable Ethernet switching business unit through its expansion from $400M to $6B in revenues.   Before coming to Cisco, Kranz held various management positions at 3Com Corporation, where he drove a $1B Ethernet network interface cards (NICs) product line. He began his professional career at IBM Corporation.   In his New York Times Best Selling book, Building the Internet of Things, Kranz offers practical advice to business decision makers on how and why to implement IoT today. He formed a thought-leadership forum and newsletter to exchange industry insights on IoT developments. Kranz is also a faculty member of Singularity University, focusing on IoT and corporate innovations.   Topics we discuss in this episode: Maciej shares his background and about Cisco.  Cisco’s philosophy around the Internet of Things. How IoT will impact the future of businesses. The challenges companies face when brining IoT into their organization. How companies think about the role they should play within the IoT ecosystem. Challenges companies face when looking for IoT talent. Advice for Product Leaders who are new at developing IoT solutions.   To learn more about Maciej and Cisco Systems: Maciej Kranz New York Times bestselling book, Building the Internet of Things Maciej on LinkedIn Forum and Newsletter Singularity University Maciej on Twitter     Free download: Don’t forget to download my IoT product strategy template, for free.   Related Resources: What Is An IoT Product Manager? IoT Framework for Product Managers How to Build an IoT Product Roadmap