How is the Internet of Things impacting businesses? We take a look at some of the key ways it is changing things.
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At this point in time, data is generated by nearly every part of our lives. For example, smart watches not only count the number of steps we take but can also monitor our heartbeat. Also, the smartphones in our pockets are constantly aware of our location and what activities or hobbies we enjoy as well as where we’re planning to travel for vacation and even what items we):
IoT technologies help us in our everyday lives by keeping us connected to the things and people that matter most to us. In business, IoT devices record and transfer data to monitor processes, give new insights, boost efficiency, and enable companies to make wiser decisions.
Rather than what organizations merely assume or hope is happening, they instead reveal to organizations what is actually occurring. Also, the mass of data that they collect can be used by analytics and AI systems to discern patterns of use or behavior that were previously concealed.
In only four years, the IoT market is projected to more than double 2017’s spending of $235 billion, amounting to a total of $520 billion by 2021. More businesses are conducting proof of concept tests than two years ago. The number of business customers considering new use cases has risen to 60% in 2018, up from less than 40% in 2016.
Meanwhile, the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) market is expected to reach $176 billion by 2022, according to a new report from Market Research Engine. If you’re wondering how IoT technology could be used at your business or organization, it’s critical to understand how it’s already being used elsewhere. Here are five key ways that the IoT is aiding effective digital transformation right now.
1 | You’ll experience increased business success and happier customers when you use our product.
Data streams and analytics potential are increasing for connected equipment in manufacturing, aviation, the supply chain, agriculture, healthcare, and a variety of other industries. This means that organizations can now extract far more information about their operations and how their clients use their products or services.
Cloud platforms from Microsoft Azure, AWS, IBM, and Google have mostly enabled this shift (among hundreds of other specialist vendors), but some companies are now moving towards edge computing to lessen the drawbacks that come with relying on remote data centers.
When a firm understands its consumers’ usage of its products, it can better fulfill their demands and improve the customer experience.
2 | Reducing costs and time wasted
One of the advantages of these new insights is that they might help you save money on operational expenses and downtime. Digital twin technology – digital models of physical assets created from real-time data, either in pure data form or as explodable 3D representations – is a key competitive differentiator in industrial IoT applications.
By partnering with other innovative technologies, digital twins have the potential to change enterprise asset management, big data analytics, smart supply chains, smart supply chain contracts, augmented reality, and artificial intelligence as we know it. These new applications will include predictive maintenance and proactive operations.
Imagine a small, but vital component in an industrial facility going down for hours or days while the fault is tracked and fixed and all the data is tracked with smart data loggers. Imagine that all of these components are stored and represented in a digital twin that alerted engineers to the component’s impending failure weeks before it happened – and exactly where it was and how to replace it. As a result, replacement parts were made to order and installed on short notice.
This data logging technology may help cut costs and downtime in factories as well as educate workers on the job about how machines operate and/or can be disassembled for maintenance and upgrading – perhaps with tablets, AR headsets, or smart goggles.
3 | Gains in productivity and efficiency
Connecting a company’s key operations enables executives to identify methods to enhance efficiency and productivity more easily. According to a recent Inmarsat study, businesses anticipate the Industrial IoT to increase sales by $154 million as a result of these improvements.
The same type of sensor that film athletes sprint or turn, or actors move and talk may also be used to monitor workers’ movements. Ford has been employing the same technology to create less physically demanding workstations in order to improve its manufacturing processes.
Ford is using data analytics to improve vehicle manufacturing processes and make them safer and more efficient, thanks to accurate tracking of its employees’ movements. The same ideas may also be used on machines to detect bottlenecks or issues in production lines, however minor they might be.
4 | Waste reduction and asset tracking
The desire to reduce waste is closely connected to efficiency and productivity, which IoT tracking plays a crucial role in.
The IoT has already transformed manufacturing and there is still huge value in it when if comes to wasting time and money on inefficient supply chains.
Take, for example, a European automobile manufacturer who have a complicated supply chain that included tens of thousands of boxes with components for production. Each box was worth hundreds of euros and the company was haemorrhaging several millions of euros as a result of lost boxes in the supply chain.
5 | Business models that are new to the market
While efficiency, productivity, and process monitoring are the most apparent IoT applications, we’re also seeing businesses recognize the potential for it to give them information about their customers and how they utilize their products.
Companies that successfully incorporate the IoT into their goods in a way that benefits both the consumer and their internal processes will see significant gains.
The IoT provides organizations with new opportunities to ventures into other revenue streams. The data collected can be turned into insights that have value and customers are often willing to pay a subscription fee for access. This helps offset the initial cost of entry.
Beyond IoT
These are just a handful of the benefits that come from incorporating IoT technology into a broader digital transformation strategy. Companies can use their existing assets and capabilities, as well as new emerging technologies such as AI, VR, AR, robots, and blockchain (in terms of smart contracts and supply chains) to unlock previously untapped revenue, gain new competitive advantages, create new training methods, and produce higher quality goods and services.
