Staying up to date in the era of digitalization and new technologies is becoming more and more challenging. Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, and the Internet of Things are all innovations that keep executives of many companies up at night, forcing them to rethink the ways they operate their businesses. This article dwells on the Internet of Things (IoT) and the solutions it offers to average and large businesses.
According to IDC, worldwide spending on IoT-powered technologies in 2022 will grow to $1.2T at 13.6% CAGR. Transportation and discrete manufacturing are forecast to spend over $150B for the adoption of IoT and will be the two biggest industries in global IoT technology spending.
The industry of connected devices expands at a rapid pace, changing many areas of our daily lives – from single processes to enterprise infrastructures, as well as from fitness trackers to complex healthcare solutions. The MarketsandMarkets reports that the overall IoT market size is expected to grow from USD 170.57 billion in 2017 to USD 561.04 billion by 2022, at a CAGR of 26.9%.
Defining the Internet of Things: IoT is the Future
Abbreviated as IoT, the Internet of Things is a network of interrelated objects, devices, and sensors that can interact with each other and exchange huge sets of data over the Internet. The Internet of Things (IoT) can help businesses increase efficiency, improve health/safety, and create better consumer experiences. In essence, this technology allows us to connect practically all things in the world, making them able to exchange information.
Big Data, Big Potential
In today’s world, information is everything. As many companies strive to improve their businesses on a large scale, searching for solutions that can leverage their customers in new ways to enhance profits as well as positively impact customer experience, real-time data are the crucial element.
Before IoT got in the game, most information had been exchanged between data centers, so all the devices, in most cases, had to request data from central servers, which was quite time-consuming. As IoT emerged, devices became data generators rather than data consumers.
Softengi is currently focused on the development of distributed networks. The advantages of such systems are obvious:
- The processing speed of the request is incredibly high compared to centralized and decentralized networks. And this is possible due to the high geographic spread;
- The stability of the system is also a big pro in distributed networks. After all, if one individual node is hacked or broken, it doesn’t affect the rest of the network;
- The possibility of growth in distributed systems is simply colossal and cannot be compared with other types of systems. Adding every new device is quick and easy;
- And, of course, the diversity of the network also increases significantly when in the application distributed networks. When the basic network infrastructure is created, the evolution will be huge.
Embedding devices and systems with sensors accelerate the process of data generation considerably, making managers understand better operation flows, as well as enhancing product performances. With sensors and IoT systems, companies can get real-time data and gain insights into business processes.
Even a small pause in production costs a lot of money for the company. Sensors and IoT systems can detect future damage by collecting data in an extensive range of criteria. The data is analyzed in the cloud, which prevents failures in advance. The company can rest assured equipment will not fail.
Reading the Customer’s Mind
As products become more and more commoditized, competition between companies strengthens. One of the most important keys to survival in a highly competitive market is to have a thorough understanding of customer behavior.
Shep Hypken, an American best-selling author and customer service expert, wrote in Forbes: «New research proves that consumers expect, if not demanding, highly personalized experiences. And the good news, for those businesses that can deliver, is that customers are typically willing to spend more when they receive such custom-tailored service».
IoT technologies enable companies to reach a brand new level of customer delight. By applying interconnected devices and IoT analytics, companies get better insight into buyers’ choices and needs, allowing them to perfect their operating methods and strategies for customer attraction and retention.
Creating a Perfect Environment with the Help of IoT
IoT can help to create an ideal environment for workers. Firstly, IoT sensors analyze the initial environment and then calibrate climate indicators depending on the extensive range of criteria, from temperature and humidity to vibration, noise, and CO2 level, even the weather outside the window.
The efficiency of workers is growing simultaneously with the company’s profit. Softengi company is the prime example of the implementation of this technology in the office.
Time for New Business Models
An important issue for all companies is to choose an appropriate business model. And this is where IoT-powered solutions can help. IoT offers many applications like predictive maintenance or performance monitoring that serve as a beacon in the company’s search for the most suitable revenue model.
Efficiency, Productivity, and Effectiveness
The spread of connected devices across various industries leads to enhanced digitalization of business processes, resulting in greater efficiency, lowered expenses, and enhanced speed of operational processes. Efficiency, productivity, and effectiveness are gained from the data obtained from IoT systems, which are analyzed without human intervention.
How Can Your Business Benefit From IoT
Smart Business
The result of implementing IoT technologies is a smart ecosystem, which provides monitoring and collecting actionable data from connected, networked devices. IoT solutions can identify shortcomings and problem areas of operational processes, thus helping to reduce costs and workloads. IoT-powered technologies offer applications management, data processing, and data analytics, allowing companies to understand better the input, output, and real-time performances of their ecosystems.
Smart Security
Innovative technologies like IoT not only make business more efficient but also offer a greater level of safety for business owners. IoT-enabled security systems give business leaders an opportunity to oversee their offices remotely. By applying smart cameras, executives can view various office areas straight from a tablet or smartphone at any time. In case of detecting any unusual activity, the IoT system sends an emergency signal to the leader. Additionally, wearable IoT devices can ensure that employees are safe and secure while working in and out of the office.
Smart Management
With IoT technologies, companies get a better understanding of operations management. By implementing smart management, business leaders can optimize single as well as complex operational processes, therefore enhancing effectiveness, product quality as well as operational uptime.
Who is Making Money with IoT Today?
Coca-Cola
A drinks giant Coca-Cola Co is already reaping benefits from implementing IoT systems in its business. With IoT-powered technologies, the company can track soda sales and monitor equipment performance. Many Coca-Cola coolers are now equipped with sensors, which transfer a range of data to the company. These data help Coca-Cola reveal the busiest locations, best-selling drinks, uneconomical inventory levels, as well as sales efficiency. A particular example is that the implementation of IoT has enabled Coca-Cola to start a new line – Cherry Vanilla, as mixing Vanilla and Cherry Coke was reported by the system to be extremely popular among buyers.
Bank of America
Bank of America, an American multinational investment bank, developed sociometric solutions based on IoT technologies. The bank equipped its employees with wearable sensors-embedded devices that gather real-time data in order to measure company productivity and effectiveness. The IoT-powered IDs are able to monitor employees’ voice tone, movement, and even their posture, thus letting companies determine the most efficient model of communicating with customers.
Tesla
Tesla, the alternative energy company founded by entrepreneur Elon Musk, which is known for its self-driving cars, has been heavily investing in IoT and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies. These cars are embedded with a huge amount of sensors, which allow to collect and analyze gathered data. Using the collected information, the company can remotely monitor its vehicles, providing buyers with improved functionality due to permanent over-the-air upgrades.
Conclusion
The world is going through a stage of digital transformation in which the IoT plays one of the key roles. By enabling an in-depth view of customer needs in a way that has never been possible before, as well as providing real-time feedback on the operation of equipment, IoT opens new business opportunities for companies, allowing them to enhance asset utilization, increase the efficiency of operational processes and productivity, improve safety, as well as save their expenditures.
