More and more companies recognize the Internet of Things (IoT) as a game changer within their industries. The IoT represents the vision that every object and location in the physical world become part of the Internet. More specifically, the key novelty of IoT solutions lies in the extended nature of the ‘things’, including their connectivity and most important, the digital services they ultimately facilitate. Various existing studies evaluate how the IoT affects the value proposition and value creation of companies, while IoT revenue models have not yet been systematically researched. Against this research gap, we aim to shed light on IoT revenue models that describe the revenue streams of IoT business models. Focusing on the IoT consumer and IoT business markets, we identify and discusses IoT revenue model patterns based on case studies and cash flow analyses. Our studies reveal that each revenue model pattern can be assigned to specific revenue model types, which are characterized by archetypal cash flows. Finally, our research shows that certain revenue model types with their archetypal cash flow streams require adequate norm strategies in order to ensure long-term profitability.

Fleisch, E., Wortmann, F., Bilgeri, D., Weinberger, M. (2016). Revenue models and the Internet of Things – The Consumer IoT Market, Bosch IoT Lab Whitepaper.