You can learn a lot sometimes by reading a company’s job listings.
And so when I read about an Electrolux opening for a role called the “Connected Consumer Solutions Head” – in particular the part where the role would be responsible for “Development, Maintenance and Operation of the Electrolux Connectivity Platform (ECP) including the ECP mobile SDK and the Electrolux.io development and collaboration platform” – I thought, ‘huh, what the heck is the Electrolux Connectivity Platform?’
I’d never heard of anything like it, or its associated mobile SDK, or a developer environment by the name of Electrolux.io. Apparently neither had the Internet, since when I Googled the term ‘Electrolux Connectivity Platform’, the only thing to pop up was this job listing.
So what exactly is the Electrolux Connectivity Platform?
From the sounds of it, it could be an IoT cloud and associated mobile platform that could serve as the underlying software architecture for future Electrolux connected products.
The job will “contribute in a cross functional environment in the development and release of key deliverables to enable successful launch of connected products and solutions to production.”
The listing goes on to describe a role that is responsible for hiring talent, setting strategy, building out an operations team. In short, the job has all the responsibilities you’d expect for a senior person hired to build out a new division.
So what does this mean for Electrolux’s efforts in the world of smart home and connected kitchen? My guess is that this new ‘platform’ will likely work with vertically focused efforts (such as Electrolux’s work with Innit, which the company calls its “Taste OS”), as well as act as a underlying and unifying technology architecture across all their various product lines. In that sense, it could ultimately look something like BSH Appliances Home Connect platform, an IoT/smart home framework first rolled out by the German appliance conglomerate in 2014.
We’ll keep an eye out for what becomes of the ECP and let you know if we find out any more.
Interesting 🙂