What is IoT?
The Internet of Things (IoT) is transforming the way businesses and consumers interact with the world. The proliferation of connected devices combined with huge amounts of data has started an analytical revolution.
Essentially, IoT is a technology category that involves a system of interrelated devices with the ability to transfer data over a network, which enables these devices to collect and exchange data. As technology has gotten more affordable over the past few years, it is now possible to put a full computer with wireless networking ability inside almost any device. This has allowed IoT to flourish and become more mainstream.
From cars, thermostats, doorbells to your lights, IoT enables these things to connect and work together to give you the ability to control them from an application. Businesses take advantage of this technology by using its ability to display real-time data, which allows them to make well-informed decisions on the spot.
What are the benefits of IoT?
In the modern business environment, data is more important than ever. More data leads to better outcomes in areas such as customer analytics, workplace safety, and productivity. It is important to narrow down the data you want to collect to best achieve your goals.
Better Customer Analytics and a Personalized Customer Experience
Monitoring product performance helps companies improve their marketing strategies. Data flowing in from customer touchpoints can provide a multi-dimensional view of customer experiences and satisfaction levels, allowing a company to quickly respond to issues and requests as they arise. Gaining insight into customer behaviors through data analysis opens doors for better understanding of customer needs, increasing customer loyalty and value.
Data Collection
IoT devices can track and record patterns in device interactions. Sensors located in production systems, assembly lines, warehouses, and vehicles produce data to help managers understand how operations are working and to monitor and improve performance. Alerts can be set up for abnormal situations, such as temperature alerts on a refrigerator or severe weather conditions for outside equipment. Turning data into information helps companies gain increased insight into the productivity and performance of their processes, paving the way for innovation and growth.
Remote Work & Safety
Employees no longer have to be physically at work – they can connect and manage operations remotely. This leads to lower costs on office leases, equipment, and other overhead as well as access to global talent. Employee safety can be improved with IoT, as hazardous work zones can be accessed by machines (i.e. drones or robots), and optimal routes can be devised for efficient and safe transportation. In the offshore environment, IoT devices such as remotely operated underwater vehicles are used for maintenance and repairs, controlled by onshore staff in a safer environment and without the costs associated with offshore travel.
Informed Decision Making
It is vital for businesses to make appropriate decisions based on the facts they have been given. The availability of data from IoT allows them to make smarter decisions based on facts rather than assumptions. The ability to make decisions backed up by data allows businesses to lower costs to optimize a certain aspect without sacrificing efficiency. Alongside this, the data can also be used to yield new ideas to ensure that your business keeps up with the customers needs.
Real-life applications
So we know what it is and have read about the benefits, but how exactly can IoT be utilized in an everyday scenario? Below are some examples of industries where the use IoT is becoming prominent.
Healthcare
One of the key achievements of IoT application is within healthcare. Devices in the form of wearables equipped with IoT allows the monitoring of a patient’s health such as their blood pressure and heart rate. This has a major impact for the elderly or people living alone, as these devices are equipped to send signals and alert to family members and health providers in the case that it monitors a disturbance in the monitored data.
Manufacturing
The use of networked sensors and intelligent devices allows the process of manufacturing to be more efficient without increasing costs. IoT sensors are usually equipped within machines that can detect issues and trigger a maintenance request to an engineer immediately. This not only saves time, but also ensures that an issue can be responded to as soon as possible. Another use of these sensors is for preventive maintenance. IoT can predict when a machine will need to be maintained to increase it’s useful life cycle. This preventive maintenance approach saves owners quite a bit of money on unexpected repairs and replacements.
Agriculture
Modern agriculture utilizes IoT to allow for better control over internal processes, which decrease production risks. The data collected within these devices allows farming to be smarter and more efficient. These data includes things such as weather conditions, soil quality, or growth progress. The ability to monitor these real-time data means it can be used to ensure that the required and appropriate measures can be taken for the different types of crops based on their data to improve their production efficiency (referred to as ”precision farming”).
Before Implementing IoT
With all the benefits that IoT bring to businesses, IoT can cause serious downfalls if not implemented properly. There are a few things to keep in mind as you introduce your business to IoT.
Change in Mindset
The biggest challenge that enterprises face when they adopt the IoT methods is the cultural change that accompanies the upgrade. More often than none, the teams/employees are not prepared to handle the change in mindset on how to operate the new system. The experience needed to cope with this upgrade is not acquired overnight. Training sessions – which can be scheduled in parallel to the implementation process – are a great way of introducing the basic knowledge necessary, and will help reduce the gap that may be caused by the change.
Privacy & Security
Adopting the IoT methods can expose enterprises to risks and opens the way to non-stop threats if it is not implemented correctly. A common approach is cutting back on security features to accommodate additional functionality. Take IoT in the medical field for an example. If proper security measures are not carefully planned prior to connecting medical devices, they would be left vulnerable to hacking which can have fatal implications. Therefore, it is of great importance that enterprises give the security feature the highest priority during design and implementation. Following security best practices is key to ensuring a safer environment and to eliminate as many vulnerabilities as possible.
Scalability
As an enterprise grows, its database grows as well, as does the number of devices involved. A robust system should be able to handle this change without any failures or glitches. The ease and speed of connecting newer devices to the existing ones plays a major role in keeping everything in sync. This means that scalability capabilities should not be left as an after-thought when the team is designing an IoT system. In fact, it is a good approach to consider auto-scalability options to prepare the enterprise to scale their devices up and down as necessary. This will ensure greater productivity and cost-efficiency in the long run.
Data Collection
There are 2 aspects to look at when we talk about data collection: incorrect data capture, and data sensitivity. Sometimes, there is a time lag between data capture and data utilization. As well, a system may be set up in such a way that it cannot manage and handle certain variances in the data. Both these scenarios lead to the collection of incorrect data and thus produce inaccurate analysis. Periodically checking the data collected and comparing it with expected results is important in producing results as accurate and useful as possible.
Data collection can be a huge responsibility as it is often tied to a lot of sensitive information that must be managed and stored safely. Topics such as adding an identity access security layer to data, how to store the collected data, and the intended use of this data should be discussed during the design process of the IoT system to ensure a successful implementation.
Conclusion
In summary, IoT has tremendous potential to render great benefits to many organizations. This, however, comes with risks. Taking the time to thoroughly design the system you want to implement will maximize the benefits IoT brings to your organization.
Adapted from Forbes and IoT Evolution
