IoT is rapidly changing the business landscape, enabling companies and people to be more connected than ever before. And this trend is set to increase with experts predicting that there will be an estimated 41.6 billion connected IoT devices by the year 2025.
Navigating their way through this ever-evolving IT backdrop is Hyrde BV – a portfolio company of the VolkerWessels Telecom Group. The VolkerWessels Group comprises of 140 diverse companies, all of whom are independent, with well-defined regional markets, expertises and identity. Through control and support at the division level, VolkwerWessels pool resources to offer integrated solutions and provide the best possible service to their clients.
The newly formed Hyrde company has been making significant strides through its comprehensive ecosystem of IoT solutions. Credits go out to Gerard van den Houten -Managing Director of Hyrde BV – who has been the driving force behind the successes the company has enjoyed so far.
While recounting his personal career journey in IT, Houten highlights the challenges he has faced in this fast paced and dynamic environment and shares his philosophy on building a winning team. Excerpts from the interaction:
Key traits for success
Self-motivation and the self-will to get back up despite setbacks have been one of the key traits for his success. The thought leader’s ability to “think out of the box” and find creative solutions without having to reinvent the wheel has helped him throughout his professional journey.
A thought leader who walks the talk
Building a team of like-minded people and consistently motivating them with his contagious passion is a solid leadership trait in Houten’s arsenal. He encourages inventive thinking and creates a healthy work environment with the right balance of charisma and self-assurance. According to him, it is important for a leader to rally the team to meet both their personal goals as well as those of the organization. “No man is an island, and the support of a strong team that shares both your vision and passion cannot be under-estimated,” says Houten.
Challenges along the journey
According to Houten, Failure is part of success but it needs to be managed well. The lessons learned from failing, help one recognize one’s true potential and tenacity to succeed. “My journey to success has not always been plain sailing, but my drive and determination helped me to learn from my mistakes and move forward,” says Houten. “Recognize the signs of failure, understand its causes and limit the impact of failure. Book small successes to ensure you stay in a positive spiral,” he adds.
Staying in the positive spiral despite failures
According to Houten, staying completely aware of the industry dynamics is a crucial part of surviving. “I continually up-skill myself to fully understand the business I am in. This helps me recognize when the business model needs to be modified to ensure that our offering remains relevant.
Managing key relationships is also an area of business that cannot be ignored. Houten attributes most of his success to the strong alliances he has built up over the years. Strategic relationships with industry leaders as well as financial stakeholders, has provided Houten with an enviable support base from which to launch innovative concepts. Having the freedom and support to take calculated risks has resulted in the company being able to review its product offering to better meet the demands of the Industry.
Why choose IoT?
IoT solutions can play a significant role in changing the status quo of any business. IoT offers opportunities that might not have been possible a mere 5 years ago. A well-crafted IoT solution can not only assist in reducing operational costs – something most companies aspire to achieve – but oftentimes opens up new non-traditional revenue streams for the company. Today, almost all companies can benefit from IoT for one reason or the other and it was against this setting that Houten was inspired to create the Hyrde IoT ecosystem.
Hyrde IoT platform
The Hyrde ecosystem addresses the challenge of keeping IoT affordable by providing numerous types of devices, global connectivity networks as well as “off the shelf” IoT solutions. The platform is based on an open source architecture with a “no license fee” model. It can be seen as an extension to any competitive IoT platform and is well placed to suit the demands of emerging Smart Cities. The ecosystem is available on transaction and SLA based pricing which includes everything needed to roll out world-class IoT solutions.
Right Team for the Right Cause
“The truth is I cannot accomplish my vision without others. I need to find team members who are equally as motivated and trustworthy as me, who see the big picture and are willing to act with a sense of urgency,” says Nageli. As a leader, you must take complete and full responsibility for everything within your organization—good, bad and sometimes, the ugly.”
Be an Observer of Your Industry
With full of positivity, courage, and persistence, Nageli strongly believes in being an ardent observer of the industry to make revolutionary impact in the market. “People and organizations in the same industry think and act similar. The moment you begin to observe your industry, it becomes very clear how we all subscribe to the same. You need to borrow industry ideas from other industries if you want to make major changes in your own industry.”
From a business point of view, the focus is not to seek incremental efficiencies but for exponential benefits. “Once that mind shift occurs, you and the organization automatically gravitate toward solutions that can have a profound impact,” states Nageli.
Company: Hyrde IoT
Management: Gerard van den Houten, Managing Director
Founded Year: 2018
Headquarters: Amersfoort, Netherlands
Description: At Hyrde we are dedicated to facilitate you realizing your Internet of Things solutions. With our award winning IoT Application Development Enabling Platform we are able to connect everything with a ‘digital pulse’ with your preffered business and operating applications.