Internet of Things or IoT is dramatically changing the processes of business optimization. IoT has significantly impacted the business world as it offers automation and advanced data collection, which can be used to make business decisions and improve work efficiency. For a better bottom line and enhanced business models, IoT is helping businesses all around the globe to streamline operations and explore the opportunities to expand their business digitally. IoT provides opportunities for digital transformation for businesses enabling them to retain a competitive edge. In short, if we say that IoT is revolutionizing industries in every way, then it is true. Industries might be unaware of the usefulness of this technology. Hence, the following article sheds light on the ways in which IoT is helping businesses globally, along with discussing the use cases of IoT in different sectors.
Global IoT Business Opportunities
One of the most important goals of IoT in business is to promote digital transformation. Currently, IoT adoption in business for automation has experienced dramatic growth. It has been forecasted that the IoT market will capture a value of about $1300 billion by 2026 and generate an economic value of $4-$11 trillion in the same period. Another research has revealed that 83% of the businesses that integrate IoT in operations are more likely to deliver efficient outcomes. Moreover, manufacturing companies, retailers, and senior executives in telecom, tech, and media significantly invest in IoT to improve customer experience and automate manual procedures. This indicates that IoT has a promising future in the business world with limitless opportunities.
Benefits of IoT for the Business World
With IoT, businesses can transform the data into valuable insight to optimize processes and achieve business growth goals. Here we have listed down some of the ways in which IoT can help businesses globally.
1. Cost Reduction
IoT facilitates the manufacturing, production, and supply chain companies to automate their procedures, streamline the existing processes and eliminate the manual work to a greater extent to reduce human error and increase the work productivity. For instance, the majority of the companies have started using robotic arms, which use IoT sensors and specialized systems to control their movement and respond to their surroundings. Manufacturing companies reduce downtime by 20-50% with the help of predictive maintenance technology, which reduces the maintenance cost by 5-10%. IoT significantly helps businesses in reducing costs and increasing operational efficiency.
2. Productivity and Profitability
Making the company profitable without compromising productivity is now the ultimate goal of businesses. With its unique technological features, IoT ensures a boost in both company’s productivity and profitability. IoT acts like magic for any business as it optimizes the workflows, streamlines procedures, automates the manual tasks, and ensures the optimal utilization of available resources and machinery. IoT is doing wonders for companies globally that have never been seen before. With IoT, the company’s operations are made more efficient and help recover the wasted man-hour with automation and optimization, resulting in the Delivery of error-free work. 83% of the organization that has used IoT have experienced a boost in the employees’ productivity and reduced expenditures. Additionally, the digital transformation of 75% of the companies with IoT has resulted in increased profit margins.
3. New Opportunities
IoT connects software, hardware, and artificial intelligence for deeper analytics and delivers the better insights businesses use to make data-driven decisions. It has been observed that the 36% of the companies that integrate IoT have the potential to discover new opportunities for expansion, product differentiation, improved customer experience, etc. Based on the emerging patterns and customers’ preferences, companies can create more viable business models and make the changes in the products accordingly. For instance, retailers plan the in-store display and inventory levels as per consumer behavior. Likewise, marketers utilize IoT to gain insight into the consumers. The data gathered by IoT sensors enable businesses to adapt to changes immediately and create market-ready products, which open the doors to new opportunities and ensure business continuity.
4. Asset Utilization and Tracking
IoT can easily connect equipment, machinery, asset, devices, and units in the business to a single network. With the IoT smart sensors, companies can easily control their equipment and track their assets. Autonomous control over the assets and real-time insight optimizes the workflow and reduces waste. Asset-heavy industries like construction, supply chain, and transportation can utilize IoT for asset tracking instead of relying on traditional and manual systems to get updates about valuable assets. The biggest IoT monitoring application is in inventory management, as the system can automatically track and manage inventories and prevent the theft of assets.
5. Security
IoT has the potential to eliminate vulnerabilities and security risks with the help of sensors that are specifically designed for live surveillance within physical locations. Powerful surveillance can be created by connecting CCTV cameras to the IoT network. This smart IoT network improves further with computer vision, deep learning, and automation to offer custom security solutions. For instance, IoT sensors can detect the temperature and smoke in an area and alert the managers beforehand when there is a fire risk.
6. Data Collection and Exchange
The decision-making process within any firm is dependent on data collection, analysis, and data exchange. If the data gathered from the IoT sensor is more efficient, it can unlock the opportunities for growth and better functioning of the business. For instance, the business can determine customer needs using IoT technology by tracking the advertising cycle, buyer cycle, customer journey, previous purchase history, and consumer requirements. This meaningful insight can help companies improve their products and service for more significant benefit.
7. Customer Engagement
One of the most significant advantages of the IoT for companies globally is to improve the customer experience and enhance their engagement. The IoT-enabled technology helps companies to gather data about their customer. IoT technology is utilized in vehicles, home appliances, and other electronic items to improve customer experience. For instance, modern cars in the automotive industry have sensors to detect the system’s failures and immediately alert for repair and replacement. This prevents the customer from wasting money when the car part or the system is damaged beyond repair.
8. Remote Working
Remote working has become the new normal now because of a pandemic. However, IoT is the primary technology enabling employees to work from anywhere they want. With IoT, the devices in the office and anywhere else can easily be accessed to complete the task remotely and efficiently. Remote workers can easily perform their tasks without leaving the comfort of their homes, increasing workforce productivity. Remote surveillance, remote asset management, and remote workforce training are the other IoT instances that benefit companies.
Conclusion
IoT has the potential to accelerate growth and unravel new opportunities for businesses all around the globe. The use of IoT in different businesses has boosted as companies opt for digital transformation by adopting automation and optimal working procedures. However, the thing that significantly differentiates the company from the competitor is the ability to adopt IoT quickly. Overall, it can be said that the IoT is helping every business and industry to reach its potential. Still, the essence of success depends on how efficiently the company makes use of this technology.
