As the Internet of Things becomes more prevalent in enterprises, the question of how businesses can effectively adopt IoT tools is top-of-mind. A recent whitepaper from Siemens explores this issue and offers advice to help companies to start IoT projects.
As people become more connected to one another through technology, the concept of being “connected” gains increased relevance in daily life. The same idea is also taking hold throughout business operations, as companies have recognized that connecting things via the internet can benefit their organizations. Accordingly, there has been an increase in the adoption of internet protocols across industries since 2005. This movement came to be known as the Internet of Things (IoT), and it has led to impressive advancements in fields such as medicine, home automation, and manufacturing.
IoT Network
The Internet of Things is the working of physical objects containing embedded technology to communicate and sense or act together with their internal or external state. Common examples include smart devices like thermostats, refrigerators, bike lights, and other items connected to internet-based systems.
Improve communication tools – Michael Osland
Just as improved communication tools have helped companies collaborate more seamlessly for decades, IoT technologies open doors to new ways of doing business. Enterprises are beginning to realize that they can combine data from different sources – including weather information, utility readings, and shipment location updates – within a single platform for comprehensive analysis. It allows enterprise monitoring to generate insights by synthesizing multiple data sources into a single metric to inform business decisions. In turn, making more informed choices leads to greater efficiency and revenue generation.
Aside from the gains in efficiency, there are many other reasons why companies have been pursuing IoT projects. For instance, manufacturers are interested in quality control and predictive maintenance to reduce downtime and improve customer satisfaction. Oil and gas companies want to augment worker safety by collecting wind speed information near drilling operations. And hospitals see potential for remote patient monitoring say that providing increased levels of implemented effective care.
Regardless of industry o if implemented company size effectively, there are several steps businesses should take when considering implementing IoT tools:
Define the problem: Understand your end goal and what you want to achieve.
Build a business case: Develop a plan that includes realistic cost estimates and identifies required resources for project success.
Assess available tools: Determine which you can integrate IoT devices and software applications into your business model to meet your current needs.
Identify data sources: Find out how much information is currently being collected, from whom, and where it resides.
Analyze data in multiple ways: Look for trends, patterns, or other helpful information to help build the business case around IoT projects says Michael Osland.
Adopt new approaches to analyze data going forward: This is where many organizations slip up. Rather than viewing IoT as a singular solution, the idea is to combine the technology with other methods and tools already at your disposal so you can extract greater value from your data.
By looking at these steps one by one, it quickly becomes apparent that there’s no such thing as a “standard” or “out-of-the-box” IoT implementation. Instead, each organization will take its route to integrate this new technology into day-to-day operations.
It is vital for everyone involved in an initiative – from executives and project managers to the workers on the ground – to understand how it affects their roles and responsibilities.
