How can VARs/solution provider capitalize on IoT?

The IoT space has lots of opportunities for VARs. There will be a high demand for professional services and application development for millions of use cases. VARs can leverage open (Application Program Interfaces) and (software development kits) for Zebra's various platform such as WiNG, MPact and Zatar to deliver new and unique cases of enterprise asset intelligence.

Do you see any opportunities as a Wi-Fi competitor following HP’s acquisition of Aruba?

Consolidation of vendors always creates opportunities for the competition and their channel partners. When two vendors make the same technology it creates a high level of product and channel uncertainty as to which products will be discontinued and which partners will be left out or demoted following the consolidation. 

Does the acquisition surprise you, or was it somewhat expected? Is this a big deal in the Wi-Fi market?

Market consolidation is a natural event and usually happens when the vendors see headwinds in their business and decide to combine with the hope of getting stronger. In this particular case, history speaks for itself and one can look at past acquisitions to predict how well this will one will perform. There is a high probability that the competition will capitalize on this and come out as the winner.

What is Zebra doing uniquely in the marketplace?

Zebra is uniquely positioned at the intersection of the physical and digital world. Our market leadership in specialty printers, RFID and location give physical things a voice into the digital world. Our leadership in enterprise mobile computing and barcode readers then transports the digital identity and state of these physical objects and finally our market leadership in infrastructure and analytics enables us to deliver Enterprise Asset Intelligence.
This enhanced business insight allows enterprises to make more informed decisions and improve performance — making the smart, connected enterprise a reality.

What is your vision for Zebra?

Our vision is to deliver visibility solutions to improve productivity and the customer experience through secure real-time operational intelligence. With real-time data, enterprises know what is happening with their assets, workforces and customer transactions at any given time, providing a 360-degree, high-definition picture of business operations. From the status of key assets to daily operations, Zebra's tracking and visibility solutions provide a single version of truth, telling companies exactly what it is, where it is, and the item’s status and condition at every point in the supply chain.

Our solutions capture and generate data intelligence that leads to better decision making through technologies like (radio-frequency identification), barcode printing, mobile computing, data capture, location and motion sensing.