IOT THE NEW OPPORTUNITIES

The Internet of Things (IOT) is a network of physical objects embedded with sensors, software, and other technologies that communicate and share data with other devices and systems via the Internet. The concept of the Internet of things has grown as a result of the integration of various technologies, such as real-time analytics, machine learning, commodity sensors, and embedded devices. The Internet of Things is supported by embedded systems, wireless sensor networks, control systems, automation (including home and building automation), and other traditional sectors.

In the consumer market, IoT technology is frequently associated with products that support one or more common ecosystems, such as devices and appliances (such as lighting fixtures, thermostats, home monitoring systems and cameras, and other home appliances) that support one or more common ecosystems and can be controlled by devices linked to that ecosystem, such as smartphones and smart speakers. IoT may also be used in healthcare systems.

There are a number of serious concerns about the dangers of IoT growth, particularly in the areas of privacy and protection, which have resulted in industry and government moves to address these concerns, including the establishment of international standards.

THIS HISTORY OF IOT

The basic idea of a network of smart devices was discussed as early as 1982, when a modified Coca-Cola vending machine at Carnegie Mellon University became the first Internet-connected appliance, capable of reporting its inventory and whether newly loaded drinks were cold or not. The current vision of the IoT is based on Mark Weiser’s 1991 paper on ubiquitous computing, “The Computer of the Twenty-First Century,” as well as academic venues such as UbiComp and PerCom. In IEEE Spectrum in 1994, Reza Raji described the concept as “[moving] small packets of data to a large set of nodes, in order to integrate and automate everything from home appliances to entire factories.” Several companies proposed solutions between 1993 and 1997, such as Microsoft’s at Work or Novell’s NEST. The field gained momentum when Bill Joy envisioned device-to-device communication as a part of his “Six Webs” framework, presented at the World Economic Forum at Davos in 1999.

The term “Internet of things” was coined by Kevin Ashton of Procter & Gamble, later MIT’s Auto-ID Center, in 1999, though he prefers the phrase “Internet for things”. At that point, he viewed radio-frequency identification (RFID) as essential to the Internet of things, which would allow computers to manage all individual things.

Defining the Internet of things as “simply the point in time when more ‘things or objects’ were connected to the Internet than people”, Cisco Systems estimated that the IoT was “born” between 2008 and 2009, with the things/people ratio growing from 0.08 in 2003 to 1.84 in 2010.

ADVANTAGES OF IoT

The Internet of Things (IoT) is the network of physical objects (‘Things’) that use sensors to capture data and embedded connectivity to exchange information over the internet to drive new value creation. ‘Things’ can be computing devices, mechanical and digital machines, objects, animals or people.

The anticipated benefits of IoT are widely touted. But what is today’s reality? What are the real business benefits of IoT to take advantage of now?

1. New business opportunities

IoT can enable you to collect data from the network and use advanced analytics to uncover business insights and opportunities while also lowering operational costs. As an example: Choose a sample of data from your top customers and the key processes that support them. Break down what you can gather to establish a starting point. Examine how customers request your services and how you typically respond. Are you only responding to requests, or can you create new revenue opportunities by leveraging IoT data?

• New capabilities to predict and act

The ability to predict needs before they arise and act with precision based on insights from the IoT network is a key opportunity. Data collected can be used to create historical trends that predict and alert you to issues before they occur. Manufacturer warranty and maintenance information, for example, can be combined with IoT-collected data to predict maintenance incidents. You may be able to provide customers with a value-added service that saves them money while also increasing their loyalty.

• Improve monitoring

Sensors and smart devices in IoT enable the management of a network of physical objects. Consider monitoring across multiple layers of your and your customers’ network and infrastructure. Data from an onsite monitor could be supplemented with information about hardware version, firmware version, and location. To improve network performance, look beyond sensor data and consider how that data is captured and transferred, such as timestamps and error logs.

• Increase customer dialog

IoT is being used by cutting-edge businesses to fine-tune their services and products. Consider light fixtures that have a sensor that activates the lights when you enter the room. However, after a while, the room goes dark, forcing you to wave your arms around to turn the light back on. It irritates me! Now, take this example and apply it to your customer: Do they require something from you, but the flow of information is disrupted because it is not tuned? (Turn off the lights!) Look for data gaps or interruptions in relation to the process in which your customer is involved. What can you do to fine-tune and close any gaps your customers may encounter?

• Fine tune services and products

Leading edge firms are using IoT to fine tune their services and products. As an analogy, think about the light fixtures that have a sensor so that the lights turn on when you enter the room. But after some time the room goes dark, forcing you to wave your around arms to turn the light back on. It’s aggravating! Now apply this example to your customer: Do they need something from you but, because the flow of information is not tuned, it is causing an interruption? (lights off!) Look for gaps or interruptions of data relative to the process your customer is engaged in. What can you do to fine tune and close any gaps that your customers experience?

• New revenue streams

IoT capabilities enable you to quickly set up and launch new products and services. Use data collected by IoT devices to better anticipate what your customers require and to accelerate the preparation and delivery of new revenue-generating offerings. Merge IoT data with historical data to proactively define areas of new work (i.e., new revenue). How can knowledge be communicated to the customer in order to improve engagement and demonstrate a high level of customer focus? Provide information to call center agents, for example, to assist them in proposing new products and services that are tailored to the needs and desires of each customer.

• Improve control of operation processes

In addition to new capabilities, we should recognize IoT’s ability to refine and improve controls. Examples include the visibility of new data and the automation of a control using IoT knowledge, artificial intelligence, and machine learning. Consider how you are capturing data anomalies or gaps in your data set for each power. Each anomaly should generate an answer and an action. The truth, however, could be that the anomaly is not noticed or addressed in a timely manner. Examine each component of the infrastructure to see what can be done to close gaps, strengthen controls, and develop them.

The opportunities that come with IoT are enormous and can be game-changing for virtually every company or organization, particularly those embarking on a digital transformation. Best wishes if you are actively implementing IoT solutions! I look forward to hearing your feedback and success stories in the site’s comments section!