IoT in Business: Importance and Cases

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According to Statista, come 2023, there will be over 75 billion interconnected devices in the world. This would mean that 80% of the global market would rely on the Internet of Things. And it's a good thing as IoT devices are critical to the development of future markets and they're not limited to any industry. The market size and share are expected to reach 1,842 billion by 2028. 

So let's discuss why the Internet of Things is so important and how it can help your business.  

What is IoT?

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a connection of devices that share data with each other over the internet. These include appliances, security systems, industrial machinery, and intelligent sensors. IoT technology guarantees the transformation of different fields such as medicine, urban planning, the transportation sector, and logistics. For instance, many hospitals use IoTs to monitor the patient's progress through virtual visits and remote monitoring. 

How is IoT Used in Business?

In most instances, IoT is used to gather data in one place to allow manufacturers, suppliers, and resellers to make informed decisions and design more efficient systems and processes.

However, the data also needs to be analyzed and enriched to provide useful insights that businesses can rely on. IoT is also composed of artificial intelligence, automation, and analytics to uncover hidden trends and optimize business processes.  

Manufacturing Businesses

Many manufacturing companies today rely on IoT to optimize automation in the industry. It helps to collect data used in predictive maintenance, avoiding downtime, and increasing machine availability. This has allowed them to increase the levels of production more than ever before. 

Supply Chain Management

IoT can also help businesses track where each product is in the supply chain, helping reduce human errors in records. By providing an accurate and real-time location of each product, companies can easily reassure their consumers that their products will arrive soon. 

The Internet of Things can also help determine when a product is being underutilized or overutilized and calculate the most cost-effective routes to help shipping companies save on transportation costs. 

Importance of IoT in Business

The main advantage of integrating the Internet of Things into your company is to help reduce the costs of production and of doing business. IoT solutions help to streamline the existing processes across the manufacturing, production, and supply chain industries. 

IoT also boosts productivity through automation, which not only does away with tedious and repetitive tasks but also saves you time to focus on other important business goals. Through the Internet of Things, employers can monitor their employees' work progress even when they work remotely. 

In the future, as people continue to build smart homes, cars, hospitals, and industries, IoT will become the foundation of business functionality. Companies like HVAC, home security, automotive, and shipping companies will need smart gadgets to help them do business effectively. 

Benefits of the Internet of Things for businesses

Here are some key benefits that your business could reap from IoTs: 

Automation and Control

The automation and control brought by intelligent ITO devices have revolutionized the basic use of electronic gadgets. Smart bulbs connected to the internet have grown in popularity. You can keep lights on and still ensure the safety of your home or office through CCTV.

IoT also enables you to access real-time data as it provides information about happenings in your company. For instance, when monitoring production in a warehouse, IoT can provide information on the product movement and log-in date and time.  Additionally, you can also get data when new products are ordered in the exact quantities.

Improve monitoring with Sensors

The Internet of Things provides exceptional vertical growth and collection of data. When deployed, IoT can collect data that can help inform fundamental business decisions.  For instance, the internet connection tagged on supermarket goods provides information on daily purchasing trends, hence enabling the evaluation of products that need procurement.

Machine to Machine Communication

Since IoT rarely needs human intervention, data can be collected and recorded in real-time. Therefore, machine-to-machine communication provides efficiency in collecting data; hence the staff does not need to be present to extract information.

Examples of IoT in Business

Some top examples of the Internet of Things that you might have come across include: 

Connected vehicles

The automotive industry is making the most efforts to ensure the deployment of smart cars in the market by 2030. Still, there are some good prototypes out there and they're able to analyze data to self-drive and safely negotiate traffic and harsh weather conditions.  

Smart Homes

Property owners are using the Internet of Things to make their buildings more energy-efficient, comfortable, and convenient. This involves integrating a system that can monitor the HVAC infrastructure and use cameras for crowd management, door locks, appliances, thermostats, smoke detectors, and so on.

Environmental Monitoring

Connected devices can also collect IoT data to analyze the quality of air, soil, and water in a particular area. They can also help determine the condition of forests, fisheries, and natural habitats, and recommend countermeasures to preserve the environment. Government agencies can also use this data to predict natural disasters like earthquakes, tornados... etc. 

Industrial, Agricultural, and Commercial Management

In the industrial, agricultural, and commercial sectors, IoT is often used to enhance the security and productivity of companies. There are, however, a wide array of things companies can use on the Internet of Things in sectors. You can use IoT to map workloads, track wear and tear of equipment, and maximize seed allocations. 

Smart Grids 

Governments are using smart energy grids to efficiently control power supply. Today, power grids are able to receive communication from devices on the user's side, enhancing two-way communication in the entire supply chain. Utilities can, therefore, detect blackouts, redirect distribution, and theft automatically. 

Implementing IoT in Your Business

For proper implementation of IoT in your business, you may need to take the following into consideration: 

  1. Reach out to specialists. Specialists can help you figure out the investment required to cover your facility with IoT infrastructure that can boost your business within a short period.
  2. Test IoT solutions before launching. As more sensitive resources are uploaded to the cloud, the more secure and safe you should keep your system. Before launching IoT solutions, make sure to test for vulnerabilities using the right tools. 
  3. Decide on the correct hardware to install in your company. This consists of sensors that will collect data on things like weight, temperature, volume... etc, and store the data in the cloud.
  4. Create an IoT platform or system. In most cases, this is software used to control and centralize IoT networks and connected devices. It can help you gather any valuable data from the sensors and analyze the data to reveal how you can use it to optimize your production.
  5. Implement machine learning consisting of Al. This is set to review data in real-time and identify patterns depending on the implementation applied.
  6. Consider IoT security systems to shield your company from theft, as well as cyber-attacks.

Do You Need IoT Devices in Your Business? 

As more businesses across the globe embrace technology to increase efficiency and productivity, it may be a good idea to stay ahead with smart IoT devices. Homeowners who integrate the Internet of Things into their properties increase the property value by a large margin, while companies that integrate it can stay ahead of the competition. 

In order to succeed, many companies opt for professionals to help them upgrade their business infrastructure. Choose a company with immense experience as they will not only do an impeccable job but with fewer repair costs due to poor installation, you'll end up saving a lot of money in the long run. Don't be left behind.  

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