It is touted as the next industrial revolution. A new horizon and disruption on the planet. The internet of things (IoT) is the recent technological sensation. IoT enables digital expansion of existing connections between humans and machines. There are a lot of benefits for organizations in terms of efficiency, safety, and new opportunities.
Organizations have been taking full advantage by deploying IoT to enhance workflow and build the sustainable business along with improving lives of their customers. IoT would transform the world by connecting the devices that were never connected before. From making the workplaces safer to enabling better decision making, IoT has a lot to offer for organizations. According to the research firm Progressive Markets, the global internet of things market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 32.7% from 2017 to 2025. Following are some of the few significant reasons to be addicted to IoT:
1. Safe & Productive Workplace
IoT will transform the workplace into safer and more productive than before. The demand for data analysts will increase, which shows the creation of new jobs. In addition, the IoT-connected sensors will enable tracking hazardous places and processes and make humans safer. Then the sensor data and environmental data will be correlated over time and new insights can be gained to understand the events occurred in the past and anticipate risks for the future.
IoT will help in creating more productive workplace by allowing employees to work in new ways. There are phones buzzing with work-related notifications and we decide how to respond to the concerned party. The connected devices will act as a 24-hour workplace and offer flexibility. This flexibility offers to fit the job around life instead of fitting the life around a job. IoT improves collaboration in this way and offers freedom to work in a way a person wants. The “cognitive outsourcing” capabilities of IoT will deploy computers to perform repetitive tasks and free up people to find operational insights. Working in collaboration with new data and new ways will reduce unproductive meeting times, while still making the work engaging.
2. Optimization of Resources and Processes
Among the many benefits of IoT, IoT-enabled big data analytics offer new pathways to improve efficiencies. IoT unites the data generated from enterprise resource planning (ERP), manufacturing execution (MES), product lifecycle management (PLM), and supplier relationship management (SRM) systems. The operations of facilities are aligned with suppliers and customers. The past and future demand can be viewed, and processing times can be tracked.
Moreover, real-time quality monitoring is possible. For instance, in a manufacturing plant, nonconformities in products can be identified during production and adjustments to corresponding machines can be made. This will reduce waste and improve efficiency. The IoT-connected energy metering will help in efficient energy management and control energy expenses.
3. Behavior Monitoring
The IoT-enabled behavior monitoring will provide insights on the behavior of customers. The feedback of customers and usage data will offer useful information regarding customer preferences to enable business find new opportunities.
In addition, it will increase the productivity and efficiency of employees. For instance, insights on tracking clicks and eye movement will provide more insights on human-machine interface. These insights will help web designers to improve user efficiency, make friendlier interfaces, and reduce errors. The IoT enabled near-real-time data on illnesses, injuries, and absences will enable effective identification of health and safety issues. If some employees are absent, there will be sharing of workload.
4. Better Decision Making
Analysis of larger trends and making smarter decisions is what IoT can offer. The real-time monitoring and extracting data insights would enhance situation awareness. New contextual insights will lead to better decisions and increased dividends in operations. IoT provides a better visibility to every aspect of the business and becomes a guidance system. It is referred to as the convergence of information technology & operational technologies (IT/OT) or cyber-physical production systems (CPPS), the advanced analytics provided by IoT will offer visibility into complex systems.
5. New Business Opportunities
Similar to the dot-com revolution in the late 1990s and early 2020s, the IoT will create new business opportunities that never existed before. These opportunities are nothing but the emergence of “algorithmic” and “programmable” products and services. The utilization of analytics engines, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and smart grids will increase in everyday applications. The industries will be benefited from IoT by collecting customer feedback data and invent new products and services to add more value to customers. For instance, Tesla collects a huge quantity of data from its vehicles. Then the company uses this information to improve the experience of drivers, suggest maintenance dates, and add more features. The most important factor of a business is customer base. Taking inputs from customers will help businesses find new verticals and range of offerings to serve better.
Pratik Kirve is holds a bachelor degree in Electronics and Telecommunication
Engineering and currently working as a Content Writer at Progressive
Markets. He has avid interest in writing articles across different
verticals. When he is not following updates and trends, he spends his time
reading, writing poetry, and playing football.