Automation

Data and Automation Assist with Sustainability

How Can Data and Automation Assist with Sustainability in Your Business

The entire world is facing the inevitable digital transformation, which has not just changed the daily lives of ordinary men but has also changed the overall look of business operations in different industries. Technological progress and the introduction of innovative technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and automation are supporting company leaders to operate at better efficiency than ever before. They are capable of generating more revenue and delivering better services without any compromise. Hence making the globe a better place in the process. But the question is-How?

Why is sustainability a better method?

For many years, organizations of all sizes have acknowledged the intrinsic value of social, environmental, and governance (ESG) ambitions regarding customer retention and seamless operation at every step. Sustainability plans are smart business steps that can support company longevity and keep customers returning.

However, many company leaders acknowledge the importance of sustainable initiatives, but only one-fourth have embraced sustainability as part of their business model, as per the International Institute for Management Development (IMD).

To get the most excellent prospect for long-term business success, the Switzerland-based company stimulates executives and company policymakers to follow local laws and rules and take a more proactive direction to sustainability.

Data and automation technologies support by offering tools to established companies and startups to meet their sustainability goals.

Smashing barriers and executing green initiatives:

Ideally, an organization’s sustainable ambitions should be genuine and environmentally oriented instead of being focused on making profits.

Today’s tech-familiar consumers are using their spending power to support environmentally aware companies and are even willing to invest a few extra bucks in sustainable products and brands.

Future-focused companies maintain transparency by revealing their sustainability goals and ambitions and promoting customer feedback.

However, feedback would only be so effective if it has the capability to churn some sense from it, and automation can become a complete game-changer in this matter.

Automation software can support this by reducing data interpretation burdens, allowing companies to accelerate their green initiatives and save money along with time.

For instance, by using automation software, companies can swiftly and easily track energy use, the amount of waste produced each day, consumer habits, carbon footprint, and many other things in order to streamline operations. Based on the amount of data collected, it could take months for humans worker to organize and analyze the relevant information properly. Technology makes things much faster with greater accuracy.

Data-powered insights to disclose optimization:

When we talk about a company’s sustainability goals, waste minimization must be at the forefront of the conversation. For a valid reason-It’s challenging to know the exact numbers in industrial waste production. Waste generation is a significant global problem and is expected to grow with time.

In addition, solid waste management is indeed a wasteful process in its own way, causing approx 1.6 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere in 2016 alone, as per data shared by the World Bank.

Manufacturing may profit from the data-automation-sustainability interplay in a massively wasteful industry, beginning with conservative inventory management. Extra inventory can block the supply chain and landfills. Nevertheless, using data-based insights and intelligent automation, businesses can thrive in the balance between large and less stock, greatly reducing waste, emissions, and overall environmental impact.

Improved efficiency of operations:

Waste arrives in different ways, and many businesses are guilty of wasting time. The saying “time is money” gets into the process here-ineffective and inefficient operations and redundancies can heavily disrupt the day-to-day processes while wasting time and money of the company.

The good part is that automation can bridge some gaps, boosting the efficiency of processes at each and every level of the supply chain.

Human error leads to inefficiency and wastes the time and money of the company, and now company owners across industries are noticing this. Companies can now reduce workplace stress and monotonies through workflow automation. It allows employees to concentrate on meaningful work that boosts efficiency and makes fewer errors.

Companies ready to embrace and enforce workflow automation into their sustainability program should start small and know the operations wherein automation will provide them with the best result. The adoption will help achieve financial goals, environmental goals, or another plan altogether.

Measuring Weighing cost vs. benefit:

For small business owners, executing sustainability initiatives may appear more like a pipe dream than an achievable goal, as the technology implementation is costly. However, businesses that have already adopted technology to drive sustainability must hire skilled employees who can potentially use these resources and streamline operations for enhanced economic and environmental benefit.

As companies can utilize automation and data analytics to improve efficiency, alter energy use, reduce waste and otherwise support using sustainability, the expense of financing in automation is worth it. By empowering company leaders to see the big and better picture regarding carbon footprint, data and automation can support optimizing operations and enhance a company’s bottom line.

How Artificial Intelligence in the App Industry is Changing the Future

How Artificial Intelligence in the App Industry is Changing the Future

Artificial Intelligence is no more in fiction stories now. Today in our daily life, we can observe AI performing different tasks.

Even if it is a customer or business organization, machines are vigorously improving the intelligence of humans. The mobile app sector is growing day by day. After the covid hit the world, it has become the basic need of many companies. For customers, it has become a way to reach the maximum number of things through the mobile application. With the involvement of AI, it is changing at an incredible pace, and the users get the best use of the app to meet their basic daily needs.

What is Artificial Intelligence?

It is a system capable of imitating intelligence and behavior to work and act like humans. It is possible because of some of the algorithms. It provides a virtual assistant without any human intervention. AI delivers predictive messaging, learning and planning capabilities, and voice recognition that will assist in understanding the language. It holds impressive skills in solving problems. It just does not work for business organizations but also magically works for customers. It fetches the best solution to help your business flourish and build a strong customer relationship.

Benefits of AI

  • It provides the best output of investment where the marketers will receive essential feedback from the users. Digital marketing for all kinds of businesses guarantees that return is always two-way. Both customers and organizations should get the return they expect to survive in the competitive tech world.
  • AI also assists in developing customer relationships. It is challenging for an organization to personally connect with each customer’s problem. In such cases, AI works as a savior. Whenever the user reaches customer service on the app, AI offers incredible help and gives the most-suited solutions to the users. Therefore, creating a good relationship with the customer.
  • AI also enables the company to make a fast decisions on any strategies. It assures that the company can access real-time situations; AI provides qualitative customer and business decisions. It is the most convenient way to connect with the process and gain success in the field.
  • Market measurement plays a crucial role in the business. AI offers the best market measurement where the company is aware of the risks and benefits of an issue.

Here are the following ways through which AI is supporting the mobile app industry:

Internet of Things (IoT):

Today, many devices are connected to the internet. If not mobile, the internet connects with a fitness tracker, kitchen appliances, watch, TV, etc. The connected device collects user activity data and provides powerful insight. Both AI and IoT work together so that customers get the most enhanced experience. With the support of digital assistance, the developer is able to develop an app that will easily connect to the TV.

AI is connected with sensors in broad options and offers a location-based experience. AI is most appreciated in app development and is helpful in building the best app.

Automation development:

Development of the app demands excellent skills. In the process, many tasks are to be completed, which eats up time many times. However, by using AI, the development team can easily save time as well as money that can be used to automate the process. Not just this, AI can provide consistency and eliminates errors. AI can also help in skipping the repetitive tasks and mistakes caused by it.

AI chatbots:

When you visit any website, you’ll see a chatbot below the website. If you click on the chatbot and fill in your details, AI will identify your need and pattern and reply accordingly. If your problem has a solution, AI will immediately solve it and give sales support and customer service.

Understand user:

Selecting the clues from the users, AI comprehends what the users need and assure that they get the same thing. It analyzes the activities and behavior of the user and provides the best suggestions. Additionally, they can understand the user’s behavioral patterns and apprehend the users’ needs.

Personalization service:

We all know that every customer’s need is different from each other. Therefore, customization is the best way to offer customer satisfaction and will boost sales. The modern AI service will ease the work of developers and offer the best-customized services. AI detects the customer’s pattern, taste, or preference. It suggests the same interest and preferences so that customers get engaged and shop from the options.

Mobile App Industries that use AI to change the future

Healthcare App:

Now, healthcare services are just a dial away. You can get the best healthcare services at home and receive the reports in your mail. With the inclusion of AI in services, a patient’s medical details are now collected, stored, and managed efficiently.

Automotive App:

In the automotive sector, all the brands are embracing the latest vehicles where Artificial intelligence enhances the driving experience. While driving, one can use AI features for navigation and listening to music. Driverless cars are next-level features offered by AI.

Finance App:

In the banking sector, AI is helping customers to save money by educating them on where to invest. It assists them so that they can track their expenses and manages everything on points. It assures that finance sectors can help customers in solving their problems while sitting in their homes.

Law App:

Sometimes it takes work for attorneys to answer all the questions in person. In that case, AI can help by answering all the legal questions to clients so that they get answers to all their doubts.

Conclusion:

Though Artificial intelligence has its challenges, it still never fails to improve the app industry. Today, many app owners in various sectors are using this technology to stay updated with the trend and customers as well. AI ensures they can create a good relationship with the customers by recognizing their behavioral patterns in shopping or anything else. Therefore we can conclude that Ai is more than a technology. It is a blessing for app owners to develop a good relationship with customers.

Maximizing AI and IoT Business Value While Protecting Customers privacy

How to Maximize AI and IoT Business Value While Protecting Customers Privacy

Today more than 9 billion devices potentially utilize Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT). No enterprise or individual is untouched by the influence of these latest technologies. They are using it through their smartphones, applications, cloud services, sensors, RFID systems, and various other means. These unparalleled opportunities are skyrocketing business operations and constructing deep customer relations. 

But all these benefits come with a situation that every business needs to address appropriately. Many business owners and executives prioritize customer privacy and security while utilizing exceptional opportunities of AI and IoT, and all this is possible through CIAM.

CIAM to Maximize Business Value

CIAM, Customer Identity and Access Management, is a sub-category of identity and Access Management (IAM)that aids in improving customer experience and security concurrently. CIAM integrates digital identity-based authorization with authentication to customer-facing applications. Businesses can opt for CIAM solutions either on-premises or as-a-service. They can cause it through interconnected identity APIs on web services and applications.

As per IBM Security, today, about 80 per cent of organizations are facing security breaches, and they stated that cybercriminals targeted customers’ personally identifiable information that is PII.

As per them, a compromised security breach on average costs approx $150 per customer. Thus, management is an essential security measure every business should add. There are four primary things CIAM does when implemented.

  • It facilitates customized authentication mechanisms for enterprises and their customers.
  • It improves the customer registration and login experience by reducing the risk of a data breach or account hacking.
  • It generates scalability regardless of the customer headcounts.
  • It Impacts AI and IoT amid expanding Security and Privacy Demand.

We all know that AI and IoT will be flowering in the coming decades. Businesses are trying to utilize these technologies properly to improve business techniques and methods. IoT promises to produce new mechanisms that can streamline business operations and boost customer experiences with the increasing business workload and hiking competition.

On the other side, AI is carrying a revolutionary change in time-consuming and tiring manual jobs by automating systems. It can also extract insight from granular customer data to enhance business efficiencies and create better customer engagement opportunities.

AI and IoT are the leading technologies that support modern business. However, these come with the concern of data privacy and security. Collecting and processing data using modern technologies might compromise customers’ privacy. But organizations that respect customers loyalty and trust use essential privacy protection techniques. Organizations can raise their standards and services from their competitors by benefiting from CIAM and privacy maintaining management systems.

Security and Privacy Challenges arising from AI and IoT:

Most progressive organizations need AI and IoT to expand and know the growing sensitivity of customer data privacy. Regardless, the dawn of AI and IoT drags in security and privacy challenges jiggling user trust.

IoT Security Challenges

With increasing IoT system connection, evolution, and expansion across any industry or organization, it becomes challenging to keep data and communication safe and secure. IoT is still in the blooming stage, along with its communication protocols. Business executives and customers find it challenging and problem-alluring to benefit IoT systems due to internet-based software attacks, authentification flaws, network-driven attacks and hardware attacks.

Connecting Data in AI and IoT systems

Organizations struggle with growing pains in adopting these technologies because of privacy reasons. IoT devices are implemented in sensitive areas like the healthcare, pharmaceutical and finance industries. Without securing the authentication of employees and customers, the entire system data and privacy could face significant risk. Thus, it is essential to ensure the security of an organization’s and its customer’s data while churning the best AI and IoT.

Inadequate User Experience with Conventional Security Tools

In IoT, user experience is highly non-interactive. Customizing IoT systems for excellent user experience without compromising security and privacy is complicated in legacy systems. The authentification mechanism in IoT devices does not provide a user experience. Lack of user experience affects the business value of AI and IoT-driven systems.

Disadvantages of Legacy Security Measures

An organization that use AI and IoT systems deploy security and privacy controls to mitigate the challenges mentioned above. There is no doubt that these legacy security measures can reduce data breaches, identity leaks and control access management but at the cost of lowering the potential of AI and IoT. They might mislead that adopting AI and IoT technologies are unsafe or risky.

As per a report, senior executives and managers are concerned that AI and IoT might expose customers and employees to strict privacy, ultimately reducing the potential of AI and IoT usage in the future. These hurdles will sustain for a long time until organizations switch from legacy security approaches to CIAM solutions.

Advance CIAM solutions enables AI and IoT integration without hammering user privacy, security, and user experience. Organizations can leverage CIAM solutions that align with the business guidelines yet provide cybersecurity and privacy protection while customers interact with IoT devices or AI-enabled systems.

Integrating CIAM Enabled AI and IoT

Security researchers and CIAM providers support customer identity and access control solutions while dealing with IoT and AI-driven systems. Such effective solutions help manage the challenges of governing, managing, safeguarding customers’ access to sensitive data. CIAM is necessary to balance AI and IoT-driven organizations with customer identity management. CIAM solutions double-shield the security by facilitating MFA, SSO, social identity-based login, PIN, etc.

CIAM solutions also have classically-minted IoT authentication methods and AI-based intelligent login procedures that enhance user experience that help in strong protection upon account takeover and data privacy without negotiating with user experience. 

CIAM can provide tracking user consent, understanding and logging activities and helps in recognizing user preference at a granular level. It prioritizes customer privacy and security while generating a rich user experience in these static devices. It also aids businesses in deploying successful AI and IoT solutions.

Aligning Solutions

Organizations can manage or align CIAM solutions as per business policies. It can even analyze data extracted by AI or IoT sensors using predictive models while clearing privacy hurdles. It also emphasizes eliminating and removing data on demand when any customer ends the service or relationship.

Here are some essential points that the CIAM solution displays at an enterprise level.

Adopting Solutions

Today organizations are embracing CIAM solutions. These CIAM solutions offer different authentication techniques and measures like two-factor authentication, social media identity as login, biometrics login etc. Furthermore, the CIAM solutions also provide the service of employee identity and access management (IAM).

Maturing

The maturity of CIAM solutions assists organizations in deploying AI and IoT systems without concern. Advance CIAM solutions have direct measures addressing AI and IoT-specific security concerns. Reports state that organizations using advanced and matured CIAM solutions are 33 per cent more potential to implement plans in deploying AI and IoT than organizations with low CIAM maturity.

Advancing

Advanced CIAM solutions allow organizations to overcome AI and IoT-related security challenges. As per reports, organizations having mature CIAM solutions are 26 per cent to 46 per cent more feasible to overwhelm AI and IoT-driven security issues.

Deploying

Deploying mature CIAM solutions supports the security teams to draft a solid plan. Organizations with progressive CIAM solutions are 20-52 per cent more potential to boost business value without impacting the user experience or privacy. Besides this, these solutions also minimize customer data breaches and produce insights from the granular data they gather. 

Artificial Intelligence has different building blocks like  Machine Learning (ML) and Natural Language Processing (NLP). Although AI can generate a range of insights into several CIAM processes, the start of CIAM systems requires organizational knowledge, policy setup and human interaction to gain value from AI. 

IoT sensors and devices capture an immense amount of data, including device location and even status. Such data are primarily stored in cloud-based servers. The scalability and distributed data from IoT devices increase data mishandling. Such data breaches also cause corrupt authentication. Organizations can use CIAM solutions for better authentication, regulatory data collection, and compliance in such cases.

Running on Automation

Today, almost all industries have adopted automation, which means most things operate through AI and IoT. Business owners and executives interested in utilizing IoT and AI in full potential take precautions about customer data security and privacy without negotiating with user experience. Organizations must employ mature Customer Identity and Access Management solutions to integrate smart authentication and authorization. These CIAM systems offer omnichannel interactions and authentication along with track while managing granular user consent, preferences, and activities.

How is IoT Transforming the Retail Business?

How is IoT (Internet Of Things) Transforming the Retail Business?

Today, almost all industries are utilizing the benefits offered by the Internet of Things. One of the biggest markets affecting the industry, i.e. retail industry, is also encountering an exciting transformation with innovative IoT applications.

Retailers and marketers are enjoying unlimited opportunities with IoT applications to collect and produce more intense insights into customer response and purchasing patterns.

IoT applications aids retailers in increasing productivity, sales and enhances the overall customer experience. Such benefits have improved the image of IoT and made it a centre of attraction among retailers across the globe.

Marketers and businesses expect the revenue of IoT in retail to stretch around 35.5 billion USD by the end of 2025. Today retailers can use IoT technology in their business in different ways to get the most optimal result.

How IoT helps retailers in improving business?

Nowadays, retailers are adopting IoT to enhance customer experience, reduce costs, drive growth and enhance overall performance. Let’s see how IoT supports retailers in improving business.

Smart Shelves:

In a retail business, it has been observed that a considerable amount of time and energy is spent in keeping track of items, i.e. to confirm the availability of a product and know the condition of the product. Using smart shelves is a better solution to end the hassle. IoT technology in retail helps automate monitoring products and reduces the possibility of any possible vandalism.

Retailers attach sensors and RFID tags on the shelves to monitor the products and gather the data. The readers have to scan products on both display shelves and stock shelves.

IoT enabled smart shelve informs the retailer about when items are incorrectly placed on the shelf or running low. It helps to control the management of inventory in a precise and cost-effective way. The RFID tags are attached to a reader that gives the smart shelves the capability to identify in-store thefts. Hence, it cuts off the extra expenditure spend on security personnel.

Automated Checkouts:

Most of the time, store’s checkout counters are the busiest place holding lines of customers for their turn to pay the bills. IoT technology has solutions for this issue as well. It resolves the issue effectively by establishing a system that can read tags on each item when customers leave the store.

The checkout system matches the items with RFID tags and automatically deduct the cost from the customer’s mobile payment application. The automated checkout system improves the customer experience and increases the probability of their revisit to the store for next shopping.

Personalized Discounts:

Loyal customers expect some privileges like personal discounts or rewards for their loyalty. One of the best ways to meet their expectation is setting up sensors that send loyalty discounts to loyal customers when they reach the specific products with their smartphones.

Another way is to adopt IoT to monitor those items that the customer has been searching online and send a personalized discount when the item is available in-store. Through engaging offers Internet of Things can surprise the customers and sustain their loyalty.

Thus adding IoT into a daily business needs foresightedness and creativity. The innovative and smart approach attracts more valuable and long-term customers.

In-Store Layout Optimization:

By Implementing analytics on the data collected using infrared sensors, the store’s layout can be optimized by placing the products at their appropriate place. Also, placing the popular products at the front and least liked at the back can offer a comfortable way to customers to reach the desired item.

Suppose a customer is searching for a popular Smart TV in-store, but it is placed behind an old DVD player’s stock; thus, it is blocking the way to the TV. This inconvenience might result in losing a potential customer. Therefore, in-store layout optimization plays a vital role in a retail business.

The use of IoT applications helps a customer find and locate their desired products in-store, help find the best route to reach their selected items, and check the details of the product provided by the smart shelves.

Optimized Supply Chain Management:

The RFID tags and GPS sensors attached to each product provides precise data about the products’ condition like temperature, humidity, time spent in transportation, and other product-related factors. When the collected data is processed and analyzed to gain insights, it can improve transport and the overall supply chain. In addition, IoT sensors alert the person in charge in case of any emergency and enable them to take necessary actions immediately to avoid substantial loss.

Conclusion:

Internet of Things is transforming the outlook of the retail industry by implementing smart solutions. The adoption of IoT solutions in the retail business can help in improving customer experience, reduce operational costs, improves inventory management and high-quality services.

By extracting valuable insights through IoT and Data analytics, retailers can manage and schedule their operations, including inventory management, supply chain, boost marketing conversions, and ROIs. Thus these features will attract retailers to adopt IoT into their businesses in the upcoming year to enhance their benefits.

How is IoT Contributing to Reshaping Factories Worldwide

How is IoT Contributing to Reshaping Factories Worldwide?

Nowadays, when everything is moving towards automation, then automated factories are no new surprise. Even the smallest operations in factories contribute to success or failure, profit or loss, and productivity.

As business owners are looking for the most efficient, cost-saving technologies, factories have become a new testbed for innovation.

Factory automation leads to the generation of valuable data around processes and allows IoT systems to improve operations smartly and sustainably. This clears that IoT, i.e. Internet of Things holds a great scope in factory automation and provides an unbeatable application to enhance operations, ultimately providing better results. These useful applications showcase a subset of IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) use cases. Powerful IoT starts with reliable data collection and its storage.

Collecting Data and Unlocking Use Cases:

Thre are several use cases for well-employed IoT technology in a factory setting. Here is the list of few templates:

  • Asset Tracking
  • Cold chain management
  • Patient Safety and health tracking
  • Remote monitoring of system health
  • Process/Machine lifecycle tracking

In every use case, the process initiates with data collection and storage. IoT usage begins with one end in mind and extends to other applications. After installing sensors in the factory and collecting data, new opportunities and possibilities arise for what and how to use it for producing optimal outcomes.

Other than utilizing basic tracking and monitoring capabilities, using machine learning and other analytics approaches to handle the information communicated by the sensors potentially can boost the business.

Improved Performance and Productivity:

The most important and talked topic for IoT in the factory is how it improves efficiency and productivity. The improved and increased mechanization and automation of physical operations help organizations produce more high-quality speedily.

For instance, IoT allows the remote access and operation of devices that manage materials in an assembly line. IoT systems can employ advanced robotics technology to accelerate assembly line operations, standardize component creation, decrease product waste, reduce product errors and automate QA processes.

Enhancing Inventory Management:

Using remote monitoring of factory equipment and operations can generate data which allows more profound insights into procurement and planning. By managing fill-level tracking of a given material, an IoT system notifies the employees when he has to replenish it. Thus, it can monitor supply over months to analyze how many times the material has to be filled under different factors. It can proactively signal to employees for the supply orders, which ultimately reduces extra expenses and optimize inventory procurement.

Suppose, if there is equipment to be shared within a facility or between the facility, an IoT system can analyze data to recommend where and when the equipment should be transit.

If the particular department experiences a heavy utilization of single equipment on a specific day, say Tuesday, IoT system `will analyze different factors and recommend the quantity and type of equipment to be redistributed on Monday afternoon to optimize inventory usage and assure availability.

Thus, the IoT system can recommend when equipment needs to be preventatively maintained based on collected data on individual equipment usage pattern. Proper integration of IoT with the equipment enables IoT to detect the errors or upcoming maintenance issues. It even informs about the source of errors. This feature saves time and ensures the equipment’s potential use and enhances the equipment operator’s safety.

Enhancing Maintenance of Factory Facilities:

Most of the times, facility maintenance remains one of the underrated areas for factory improvement. An IoT system monitors the ambience and occurring changes. It controls temperature, humidity, and power usage of the factory facility’s HVAC systems, saving cost and energy. It can diagnose irregularities and standard maintenance requirements to help facilities. It can also add security measures into its monitoring to guarantee peace of mind for facility operators.

Increasing Employee Safety:

The reduction in equipment faultiness, product error, and more effective process management are few things offered by IoT systems, ensuring human safety in the factory. Suppose, if any accident happens like fire in a particular section, then the IoT system can transmit critical system information and other supporting data to confirm that employees are informed and safe.

Today, the havoc of COVID-19 has covered the globe. In this critical time, taking proper measures to assure the employee’s good health is the utmost priority. IoT systems can flag COVID concerns by tagging employees to detect when they are close to each other, check their health condition, and map anonymized employee data through more considerable contact tracing efforts. In fact, IoT can also send alerts if there are many people presents in an enclosed place.

Factory automation undoubtedly raises some questions like fewer jobs in the factory, decreased human requirement etc. Factory automation will not snatch the job but free the employees from tedious, repetitive and tiring tasks and shift jobs into process management or system administration. Employees will supervise the systems doing a repetitive job. This will improve employee safety and satisfaction.

Meeting Compliance Measure:

Remote monitoring of factory facilities ensures that compliance KPIs are visible and accessible. By sharing KPIs, automating reports and standard issues early and regularly, IoT integrated system can also help in satisfaction of compliance measures.

IoT just not offers better productivity, inventory optimization, reduced maintenance expense and better employees’ safety but it also supports compliance on different fronts, allowing an organization to create new KPIs that were just a dream earlier.

These unskippable IoT features help reduce financial, material, temporal, legal, and social costs.

Factory automation and involvement of IoT in it can attract immense growth and profits. It provides everything needed for business growth without compromising with the product’s quality or quantity or employees’ health. In fact, it adds much more than you can think of.

Adding IoT in your current your business is not a challenging task; you just need to contact reliable and experienced IoT service providers. The rest process will be like magic. Hence, we can conclude that the depth of possibilities and opportunities with IoT lies in one’s imagination and execution.

Why SMEs Need to Add Internet of Things?

Internet of Things, a familiar tech-solution is contributing to making a better tech-world for businesses and market. The infiltration of iot in every section has proved its versatility and frequent updates hints for the presence of unexplored potential. IoT has opened a new path to build vast networks of connected devices.

IoT integrated management systems are bliss for small and medium-sized businesses. It is often noticed that many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are struggling to stay alive while churning benefits. Today, companies incorporating advanced IoT system into their daily processes have developed a sophisticated way to make profits.

Industry 4.0 is a technical word used to address the new phase in the Industrial Revolution that includes automation, machine learning and interconnectivity. It strives to help businesses through various advanced technologies.

IoT is one of the heroes in the Industrial Revolution. It can connect physical devices to digital platforms to develop most favourable ambience for manufacturing and supply chain management. There are IoT service providing companies which can introduce IoT in your business.

What, Why and How?

IoT has added smartness in the way of thinking, it has added smartness to connecting platforms and devices, and the best thing about it is that it can be accessed by small, medium and large-sized companies. The unbiased nature and potential results drawn by IoT makes it different and most compatible.

IoT solutions consist of sensors and smart devices which can sense and communicate with each other over the cloud. The IoT integrated sensors and devices detect the change occurring in the environment or collect the data from the designated target for the software to process and then performs the automated response like notifying the responsible parties if any issue occurs.

IoT connected devices provide data which can be used to improve existing business practices and support machine-to-machine communication. No doubt, different industries suffer different challenges, but IoT is the standard solution in different ways.

How is IOT helping different types of business?

A) IoT in Logistics:

Logistics is one of a broad sector which is dependent on proper management of distribution and transportation operations. An error can turn the whole process upside down. The need for prompt and appropriate transportation along with the expectation of consumers has left no chance to plan for a series of pick-ups and sit with crossed fingers.

Earlier, experienced transport managers used to plan an efficient route. But today, regulatory laws like GDPR affect everything, from driver’s hour to how IoT and telematics data are utilized in fleet operations.

Following the regulation as well as last-minute requirements makes delivery and transport route complex than it was earlier. The complexities turn to be worst by the massive amount of information which has to be shared to coordinate different branches of a business. Well, IoT helps in this situation and untangle complexities by enabling enhanced data flow by developing a network of devices that connects and shares data.

In addition, IoT-enabled fleet management systems can cut excessive fuel consumption, time consumption, ensure driver’s safety through continuous vehicle monitoring.

Read More: Why is IoT Impossible Without an Open Ecosystem?

B) IoT in Manufacturing:

The one most crucial aspect in the manufacturing industry is effective resource management because SMEs have limited resources, and they cannot afford any kind of loses. Well, in reality, coordinating the manufacturing of goods becomes tiresome without the right tools.

IoT technology empowers businesses to manage their manufacturing processes precisely to curtail upcoming issues and improve existing procedures. More than 58% of manufactures have accepted the fact that IoT technology helped them in transforming their businesses.

IoT can be used to establish efficient asset usage, improve equipment service life and to get optimal ROI on assets. It is estimated that the global usage of IoT in the manufacturing sector would reach USD 45 billion by 2022.

C) IoT enhances productivity:

SMEs always tries to settle themselves into the successful list with maximum benefit and best customer experience. They follow the same basic principle, i.e. to increase productivity and in result, revenue will automatically increase.

The addition of IoT in SMEs helps in achieving the motive. The highly advanced IoT-integrated devices facilitate access to accurate and actionable data which improves decision-making processes and assist them in taking quick actions to important events and emergencies.

IoT systems help by enhancing collaboration between departments, monitoring fleet operation, reducing operational costs, tracking the transportation movement etc. Data collected by IoT devices can be used by companies to deliver product faster, meet the target quotas and enhance the supply chain.

D) IoT ensures proper maintenance:

Maintenance of assets in a company is crucial and complicated. Breakdown of an asset or vehicle can cause a massive loss to SMEs, so they need to maintain the health of every machine and ensure servicing on time. IoT-enabled car trackers diagnose and transmit malfunctions before they turn into some serious issues. The device connected through the OBD-II port allows access to engine error codes and diagnostic reports.

OBD-II is an onboard computer used to keep a check on vehicle data like speed, mileage, emissions etc. It can be accessed through a 16-pin usually placed under the driver’s side dash. Thes diagnostic reports identify and inform about which vehicle needs servicing and when to schedule preventive maintenance. IoT-enabled preventive maintenance solutions can cut diagnostic time up to 70% and causes a 25% reduction in repair time. It improves the operational efficiency of assets.

Read More: Six Inevitable Steps to Bring Digital Transformation in Your Business

E) IoT promises Consumer Satisfaction:

Today, customers demand are massive as they are aware of the latest technologies. They are expecting rich experience, and only IoT can provide that. SMEs can provide real-time information of product to their customers through IoT. On-time delivery is necessary to build loyal customers. When the delivery time exceeds the expected time, customers get frustrated. Sometimes late deliveries cause spoilage of the perishable product.

So, we can conclude that on-time shipment is an unavoidable requirement. IoT enabled devices integrated with sensors that are capable of diagnosing small changes in the condition of cargo or vehicle. It even maintains the required temperature to keep the product at a good state. It informs the company about the shipment-status which they further share with the customers to gain trust. By updating the shipment-status increases ROI by retaining their existing customers as well as attracts new customers with their top-quality services. IoT helps in boosting sales, lowers customer costs and enhances customer satisfaction.

F) IoT improves Security and Safety:

IoT solutions are not only meant for the benefit of the company, but they also offer advantages for the safety and security of a company’s workforce, property and goods, trucks & cargo. IoT solutions automate security processes and detect the flaws existing within the system, notifying the administration to eliminate any casualties.

Nevertheless, employees who feel safe and protected turns out to be more productive. IoT-enabled fleet management solutions monitor and manage the fleet remotely while providing real-time access to the location. It offers prompt alerts in case of an accident or any other emergencies which ultimately promises the safety of the driver and ensures quick actions in case of any mishap.

IoT is the next big thing in Tech-world.

Internet of things has changed the outlook of SMEs. It has added smartness in the operations and supply chains. In the coming years, businesses will be more dependent on the latest technologies. To say it straight, more on IoT.

Internet of Things has not just chartered a smooth path for complex operations, but it has also reduced operational cost, fuel cost and time consumption. IoT connected device provides data which can be analyzed to develop the demand-based products. It even helps companies to meet the expectation of the customers. From early detection of machinery breakdown to on-time delivery of a product, IoT is everywhere. If you still not a part of IoT-world then you might be losing a lot more than your imagination.