The benefits of IoT for Business

The Internet of Things occasionally known as the Industrial IoT when used in the context of business, the benefits of IoT for business depends on the particular implementation. The key is that enterprises should have access to more data about their own products and their own internal systems, and a greater ability to make changes as a result.

As your Internet of Things or Industrial Internet of Things solution is bringing in truckloads of data, you have to be able to look into it and do something with it or it’s 100% useless. Your IoT data should be stored in an accessible way, it should not just be archived and used for reactionary purposes.

IIoT Benefits

Manufacturers are adding telemetry sensors to the components of their products so that they can transmit data about how they are performing. This can help companies spot when a component is likely to fail and to swap it out before it starts to cost them. Companies can also use the data generated by these devices to make their systems and supply chains more efficient because they will have much more accurate data about what’s really going on.

Some of the IIoT Benefits:

• Logistics and Supply Chain Optimization
• Quality control
• Inventory management and tracking
• Production flow monitoring
• Facility management
• Power/Utility savings

Segments

Enterprise use of the IoT can be divided into two segments: industry-specific offerings like sensors in a generating plant or real-time location devices for healthcare; and IoT devices that can be used in all industries, like smart air conditioning or security systems.

While industry-specific products will make the early running, by 2020 Gartner predicts that cross-industry devices will reach 4.4 billion units, while vertical-specific devices will amount to 3.2 billion units. Consumers purchase more devices, but businesses spend more: the analyst group said that while consumer spending on IoT devices was around $725bn last year, businesses spending on IoT hit $964bn. By 2020, business and consumer spending on IoT hardware will hit nearly $3tn.

The IIoT Impact and Adoption

Over 29% of organizations globally and across all industries have adopted some level of IoT into their program strategies. By 2013, 12% of organizations globally had already launched an IoT project, commonly referred to as Machine-to-Machine (M2M): the adoption rate for North America alone was 14%. By 2017, that rate across North America had grown to 27% and now continues to climb.

Of the 27% of organizations that have implemented some level of IoT into an existing product or service, 33% are seeing higher ROI’s. Another 24% are seeing the new market or product opportunities allowing them to expand the existing business into new industries. These numbers are on the rise and are expected to grow by more than 20% by the end of 2018. Companies that are just arriving in the IoT marketplace will see significant growth in the next 6 to 8 months with the addition of new technologies to be released this year (2018). Companies that do not yet have a robust IoT strategy should strive for an increase in that strategy quickly to ensure continued growth.

Outside Help

Companies are often concerned that their front-line employees lack the IoT skills and knowledge to move forward with implementation, and that their senior managers lack the knowledge of and commitment to the necessary technologies to succeed with an IoT strategy.

The Internet of Things is still relatively new and considered to be a nebulous idea. In fact, 70% of companies often look to outside consultants or IoT-centric companies for help or try to learn from early adopters in similar markets.

When companies look for and secure outside help they tend to be more successful in developing and implementing a feasible strategy, and therefore reach the market faster. Consultants experienced with launching IoT-based projects have seen the variety of potential pitfalls in practice and can, therefore, detect and resolve issues efficiently.