Reckitt Benckiser keen to invest in the Internet of Things

CIO Darrell Stein says he will evaluate IoT solutions developed by companies in Israel and the US

Consumer goods juggernaut Reckitt Benckiser, whose brands include Air Wick, Cillit Bang and Nurofen, is looking to invest in Internet of Things (IoT) solutions, according to CIO Darrell Stein.

Stein told Computing that for him, IoT is about "connecting products".

"It's about how we provide the right products at the right time for customers, so that they can, for example, pre-order dishwasher tablets or other household products," he suggested.

The idea, Stein said, is about connecting with the consumer in a more seamless way, and he is now exploring a range of possible IoT solutions.

"We have hooked in with people from R&D, and have technical and marketing people working in a team to go away and try some things and look for some innovative solutions," he said.

Stein said he will soon visit Israel and the US in order to evaluate new IoT products.

"It's for [the developers] to show us the best things they have, and we'll look at bringing these technologies across the world into Reckitt Benckiser," he said.

"You need some help to filter it down and see what's relevant to us and then we'll work with R&D and ask ‘have they looked at this', ‘would this work', ‘can this be connected to that'," he added.

But who out of marketing, IT, R&D and products heads these mini-teams, is there a go-to person for the Internet of Things?

According to Stein, there isn't one division that necessarily heads the teams, and regardless, he isn't interested in creating siloes - so IoT employees aren't necessarily from just one division.

"We're trying to get away from is siloes; so you have marketing people knowing about IT, and IT people knowing about marketing. So that everyone's jobs are fusing together in teams to solve these problems. So I don't care if it's someone in marketing or products or IT [who heads an IoT project]," he said.

Last year, a Forrester survey found that more than 60 per cent of UK firms had deployed IoT solutions. According to the study examining IoT adoption in 16 countries, which was commissioned by barcode printing and RFID technology provider Zebra Technologies, the UK is leading the way.