Brian Modoff, EVP, Strategy and M&A, at Qualcomm takes the stage for the opening keynote at the Enterprise IoT Summit in Austin, Texas.
“A lot of people know Qualcomm as the company that make the phones work. That’s been truth for the last 30 years. We will spent the next 30 years interconnecting people’s things. At Qualcomm, we understand two things very well. We understand communications systems and we understand SoCs. We can build sensors, processors and power management in connectivity into very tiny chips. These expertizes set us up to be a leader in the Internet of Things field,” Modoff said during his keynote presentation.
The executive highlighted that future efficiencies IoT will offer to several areas including home, office, transport, health, logistics, retail, smart cities and autonomous vehicles will generate a significant global economic value. According to the company, this impact is expected to reach $6-8 trillion during the 2025-2030 period, the executive said.
Modoff also said that the key elements for IoT transformation are connectivity and intelligence, including the use of advanced computing, sensors and Artificial Intelligence. “We are expanding our investing in Artificial Intelligence at Qualcomm to make our sensors and our systems more sophisticated.”
The executive also said Qualcomm sees LTE technology as a key enabler of IoT connectivity. “Why we believe this. Because LTE simply works.” Modoff said that prices of LTE-M and NB-IoT need to be cheaper in order to allow a wide implementation of IoT technologies. “We are working to drive that,” the executive said.
Regarding 5G technologies, Modoff said that this technology will also be key for a massive implementation of IoT, as 5G will provide enhanced mobile broadband and will also allow the provision of mission-critical services and massive IoT offerings.
Qualcomm currently has over 25 purpose-build and mass market platforms in the IoT field, including platforms for smart homes, smart lighting, wearables, and home automation, among others, the executive added.
Brian Modoff is executive vice president of strategy and M&A for Qualcomm Incorporated. In this role, Modoff will partner closely with the Executive Committee to help define Qualcomm’s strategic direction and long-term vision in order to ensure strong cohesion and alignment with all strategic planning efforts throughout the organization. Modoff also will have oversight of Qualcomm’s venture investment portfolio.
Prior to joining Qualcomm, Modoff served as a technology analyst for Deutsche Bank covering the wireless networking and communications systems sector for more than 20 years. Modoff was an institutional investor, top ranked analyst for his sector over the past five years. He has advised investors and fund managers on how to best position their portfolios ahead of industry technology evolutions, identifying the best-positioned companies in the industry based on their technological edge, financial stewardship and managerial performance metrics. Prior to working at Deutsche Bank, he was a manufacturing supervisor in the defense electronics industry for seven years at Rockwell International. He also served in the United States Navy as a Communications Specialist.
Modoff holds a Master of International Management from the American Graduate School of International Management (Thunderbird) in Glendale, Arizona and a bachelor’s degree in Economics from California State University, Fullerton.
