Key Takeaways
- Xyte launches modular Hubs structure for its Device Cloud platform, offering targeted solutions for various business challenges.
- The new Product Hub enables manufacturers to deploy branded cloud solutions up to 20 times faster and more cost-effectively than proprietary solutions.
- Xyte’s Commerce Hub facilitates subscription-based revenue models and ecommerce stores for manufacturers and their partners.
- The Support Hub provides remote monitoring and troubleshooting capabilities, improving customer service and reducing issue resolution time.
Topic Summary
Xyte, a developer of business and commerce cloud platforms for device manufacturers, has unveiled a new modular structure called Xyte Hubs for its Device Cloud platform. This innovative approach allows manufacturers and their partners to “subscribe” to specific Hubs designed to address various business challenges and growth opportunities across different organizational departments.
The Xyte Device Cloud platform represents a significant advancement in cloud-based device management, offering an efficient and cost-effective solution for hardware and IoT device manufacturers to create branded cloud experiences. Xyte provides a unified platform for system integrators, dealers, and end-users to manage and monitor diverse device fleets, including AV, UC, IT, and other connected devices.
The newly introduced Xyte Hubs encompass several modules: Product Hub, Commerce Hub, Support Hub, Marketing Hub, Operations Hub, and Finance Hub. The Product Hub, in particular, stands out by enabling manufacturers to deploy self-served, branded cloud solutions up to 20 times faster and more cost-effectively than developing proprietary solutions. This acceleration in deployment allows manufacturers to swiftly configure, connect, and manage their cloud-connected products, significantly reducing time-to-market.
The Commerce Hub focuses on driving subscription revenues and creating sustainable value for customers. It empowers manufacturers and their partners to offer premium features and establish e-commerce stores, facilitating easier and more cost-effective access to new device features. Notable AV manufacturers like Symetrix and WyreStorm have already leveraged this capability to enhance their offerings to channel partners and end-users.
Xyte’s Support Hub enhances customer service by enabling remote support and services for multiple customers through a unified interface. This functionality allows for real-time monitoring of device status, performance metrics, and alerts, facilitating proactive management and troubleshooting. By streamlining the support process, manufacturers and system integrators can significantly reduce issue resolution time and improve overall customer satisfaction.
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Our Thoughts and Commentary
It’s a tale as old as time. Well, perhaps not that old, but it’s certainly familiar territory. Most product vendors are skilled at designing, manufacturing, and selling products. After all, that’s what they do. But many (most) product vendors fail to capture their fair share of services revenue.
To be clear, it’s not that product vendors aren’t interested in selling the cloud. Trust me … they yearn for the high margins, recurring revenue, and customer stickiness of cloud service offerings. Nevertheless, no matter how hard they try, many product vendors just can’t seem to get to the promised land.
Some product vendors try and fail, while others don’t even start along the cloud path because they can’t get past their product-centric mindset. Others carry scars from prior software development failures. Still others think it’s too risky to invest time and money into services because services haven’t performed well in the past. You get the idea.
To be fair, every one of these reasons is valid. Software development takes time, costs money, and involves significant risk – especially if cloud development is not your forte. And then there’s Xyte.
A few years ago, Xyte wisely recognized that the cloud-needs of most product vendors are extremely similar. Sure – a meeting room display is not the same as an HVAC system or drape motor controller. But the cloud needs of the vendors behind these products are not that different. This is similar to the CRM market. No matter what you sell, your basic CRM needs are the same.
So, given the allure of cloud services and the purported simplicity of “Xyte-ing” your product line, why hasn’t Xyte taken over the world? Here are three reasons.
Reason #1 – introducing a new product and new concept to a market takes time and money. Xyte has grown significantly in the last year or two, but it’s still a small company that until recently was operating on a very tight budget.
Reason #2 – the Xyte concept challenges what many product vendors believe to be self-evident; the notion that because their products are so special (different / custom / proprietary / advanced / complex / flexible / etc.), a custom cloud platform is a must.
Reason #3 – although deploying Xyte Device Cloud was much easier, faster, and cheaper than custom development, it took some time and expertise to spin up.
The first item was taken care of – at least to some degree – by Xyte’s $30M Series-A funding earlier this year. The second item is a matter of educating the target audience, which takes time and also money (thank you, Series-A). This new announcement tackles the third item.
Thanks to Xyte Hubs, vendors can now choose the services they want to launch. The process is fairly simple. Select the modules (Hubs) you want. Configure the platform to talk to your devices. Personalize the front-end experience with your brand, colors, and desired workflow. And start selling. Yes, I know. Nothing is that easy, but you get the idea.
While we haven’t tested Xyte Hubs yet, we’ve known the Xyte folks for decades (literally), so we’re pretty confident that Hubs does what they say.
SNEAK PEAK – During our briefing, Xyte revealed an exciting roadmap item — a universal gateway capability that will enable third-party platforms to interact with Xyte-connected devices.
Imagine a service provider with its own cloud management platform. Traditionally, the provider would need to code to the API of each device they want to manage. Developing such modules is a tedious and ongoing task that control system vendors like Crestron, AMX, Extron, Kramer, Q-SYS, and others have grappled with for years.
But with Xyte’s upcoming Universal Gateway (XUG), the provider will only need to connect their platform to XUG. Once connected, the provider’s platform can interact with all Xyte-connected devices from vendors that have opted into the XUG service.
Xyte plans to launch XUG in late 2024 or early 2025. How cool is that?
For vendors seeking to cloudify their product portfolio without the headache and risk of custom coding, Xyte might be just what the doctor ordered.
Well done, Xyte. Well done.