Re-imagine your Business with IoT

IoT  (Internet of Things)

 The Internet of Things, or IoT, is a growing infrastructure with very fast pace of internet-enabled devices ranging from small objects like sensors on network to capture and transmit the, all aimed at increasing control, automation and even data collection. IoT can be a huge benefit for a business’s when used appropriately. The experts have predicted that by 2020, there will be somewhere between 20 billion and 30 billion IoT devices connected to the interne and it will be expected to be $520 billion market by 2021.

 Benefits of IoT in business

Now that consumers are more excited about IoT, the focus is shifting gears toward business applications integrated with IoT. And, while there are applications for industrial and commercial use, small business owners are also turning towards to invest in IoT. The benefits for businesses and consumers are similar in terms of the ability to share and receive information as well as minimize some time-consuming tasks through automated functionality. There is also a good level of personalization that can be achieved thanks to machine learning and Artificial Intelligence that the devices use to improve various interactions and experiences.

Remote Management

The skilled labour shortage has impacted many industries, and the use of robotics and monitoring systems is growing to help fill the gap. Even many smaller job shops are leveraging automation to gain a competitive advantage. The IoT allows organizations to remotely monitor various parts of their operations to allow production to continue around the clock, even if workers aren’t on the production floor.

Initially these Sensors were highly costly but now have come down in price in recent years and are now more accessible for the SME’s. These sensors are attached to machines to measure temperature, Humidity, vibration, pressure and other mechanical elements and can notify technicians if a set threshold is exceeded so they can perform preventive maintenance and avoid downtime. This kind of visibility into an operation increases productivity, efficiencies and product quality. In many cases, this has been enabled by cloud platforms provided by the likes of Microsoft Azure, AWS, IBM, and Google (alongside hundreds of more specialized vendors), but there is also now a shift towards edge computing in some industries, in an effort to reduce the latency (and other drawbacks) introduced by relying on remote, third-party data centers.

Use IoT sensors to heat-map of premise

Interesting modern uses for IoT devices is activity-tracking within your office or any premise. A system of connected devices can monitor activity in rooms, hallways, galleries and on the floor. Are there areas or zones that are often congested or areas that never get used? Find out with place heat map, then make a floor-plan reorganization to fix these points of stress. Mapiq and Zensie are providing heat-map solutions in the industry.

Improved business insights & customer experience

Integrated and connected equipment in business’s like manufacturing, aviation, the supply chain, agriculture, healthcare, and many other industries, is creating data streams and analytics potential, which gives the business a greater insights into their business operations and customers usage patterns of  their products or services. These stats can be used to optimize productions, storage and Supply as these will be basis market demand and consumption analytics. These Analytics can cut down on waste and save time, and machine data can be used for improving work force efficiency. The list of potential improved efficiencies is endless. The entire goal of business automation by leveraging best of technologies is to make our life simpler, easier, and productive.

These analytical data can also be used to improve the customer experience. In a shopping environment, IoT is all about enhancing the e buying experience and helping customers to interact with products. This enhancement of the user experience coupled with new data streams and insights is a common benefit across all IoT applications. Sharing one of the practical example that is workers of Ford Valencia engine assembling plant in Spain are using special IoT enabled suits with tracking body movement technology. By accurately tracking its workers’ movements, Ford is enabling data-driven changes to its vehicle production processes, making them safer and more efficient.

Track Assets and Inventory Management

The use of bar or QR coding systems in inventory management has been in use for years. Some of these tracking systems, however, still required someone to physically scan individual items to get an accurate count with location.  Warehouses and retail stores are becoming “smarter” as IoT sensors come into play. Cost-effective RFID chips can be placed on products and remotely connected to technology to create real-time visibility of the product details with locations and quantities and tracking these all in central database.

One of the example as In the US, Amazon is employing a more advanced solution for its own physical Amazon Go store: its system detects products that have been moved, places them in a virtual cart, and knows once customers have left the premises. And in US startup Zippin is exploring the use of a whole range of technologies to provide a similarly seamless experience to help the customer, and also the retailer in terms of reduced costs and improved inventory management, by tracking which goods are most popular.

Beyond IoT

These are some of the benefits of implementing IoT technology as part of a wider digital transformation strategy. When merged with other emerging technology, such as AI, VR, AR, robotics, and blockchain (in terms of smart contracts and supply chains), businesses are able to optimize and even gain more by unlocking the previously untapped revenue, gain new competitive advantages, and produce higher quality products and services.

We do help many of small businesses to optimize and bring in efficiencies by automating it using IoT’s and leveraging best of Technologies. Finally these IoT devices at times become vulnerable to some of security threats, so it’s always advisable to keep your devices updated to latest patches and better if these devices are connected to secondary network in DMZ zone. But to achieve these you’ll need the right expertise and infrastructure to integrate the IoT within your business and keeping scope for futuristic technologies integration.