5 Ways Your Business Can Take Advantage of the Internet of Things (IoT) Technology

IoT

Jul 30

The Internet of things (IoT) has emerged as the promising advanced technology of our time as it enables the interconnection of billions of devices to collect, transfer, and store data. We can find them in cars, thermostats, and many other smart technologies. The advancement in high-speed data communication and mobile technologies has further helped the IoT industry flourish as the Internet became more affordable and accessible.

Consequently, IoT usage has increased over recent years. According to IHS, by the year 2021, IoT connected devices will be 35 billion and will escalate more than 75 billion by 2025. The United Nations estimates the human population will be 8.1 billion in 2025. Many businesses are looking for IoT app development companies to improve their business efficiency. Here are some ways to flourish your business through IoT.

1. Reduced Business Costs

There are many ways to decrease business costs.

Efficient Inventory Management

Managing inventory can be challenging for many businesses. Common issues are delays in the order delivery and overstock, which caused by poor inventory management. It hinders productivity and profit in the end. However, good IoT software can help to automate business inventory and reduce error occurrence when inventory is carefully monitored and managed. It will also provide additional time to your managers so that they can work on core business tasks.

Less maintenance expense

IoT predictive maintenance technology will reduce your cost. It will notify you of a potential technical issue before they cause any damage to productivity. In this way, it will decrease your expense and minimize downtime.

Optimize energy usage

The simplest way to reduce energy consumption is to install a smart thermostat in your building. It will also lower your monthly utility bills. Using a smart thermostat will enable you to use energy effectively and minimize your company's carbon footprint.

2. Improve customer service and experience

The main factor that will determine the overall performance and profit of any business is the customer experience. IoT devices have provided more access to data and analytics. The newly collected information can be used to understand customer preferences and behaviors. It will eventually enable the business to provide a more personalized user experience.

Consumer demands have evolved over the years, and it has made online shopping more comfortable. Companies use IoT technologies to establish user-friendly online stores that facilitate fast online purchases. To increase customer experience, 56% of the companies in the Forbes Insights survey have invested heavily in IoT. Similarly, 42% of the companies have expanded their capacities in terms of personalized experience due to IoT.

Examples

Several airports have begun to use IoT sensors and cameras to help streamline the preventive maintenance in the escalator, security line back-ups, dirty washrooms, and bottlenecks within the corridors can be addressed. With these additional capabilities, airports can dispatch maintenance teams or opening gates, depending on the flight arrivals and foot traffic.
Enterprises can utilize hyper-local advertising and couponing to give the customer an enhanced experience by responding to their needs.
Utility stores can also use IoT technology to identify the problems and actively solve issues using smart grid technologies or small meters.
Retail products such as cars now evaluate the duration of the trip, traffic situations, and compute for fuel usage.
Ordinary doorbells can reveal who is knocking at your door, even if you are not at home.
Refrigerators are now very smart and quick and work according to your needs.

3. Remote working opportunities

The IoT technologies let you connect devices to the Internet and connect people in their work. IoT technology allows the individual as well as organizations to be more effective and productive.

With IoT technology, employees or field workers who work in various worksites, are not limited to the office to complete their tasks. IoT technology allows collaboration and communication among team members that enhances the productivity level in the workplace. Moreover, research has proved that remote workers are happier and productive. The reason behind this is that remote work encourages a healthy work-life balance and reduces stress.

According to Business Insider, "Companies that provide remote work are more likely to keep their employees, and remote workers tend to work more than the non-remote workers." If you allow your employees to work from home, it will decrease your business expense as you will have minimum office overheads. Moreover, you have access to a broader pool of talent, as you would not be limited to hiring staff in your local area.

Examples

Companies can gather employee's data to evaluate their productive hours. IoT devices can also enhance facility management by notifying employees about impending technical problems, enabling remote troubleshooting and repair of workstations, and even automating normal functions and setting coffee makers on timers and thermostats.
IoT boosts profit by giving in-time training and troubleshooting for employees, enhancing labor efficiency, and minimizing skills mismatch.
Business is smarter and quick with the operational insights where data gathered from the logistics network, factory floor, and supply chain will reduce the tracking of an asset using sensors. It will locate the issues quickly and run preventive maintenance to improve asset usage.
Files present in a central server can also be obtained outside of the organization's local network. Video conference is possible through applications like Messenger and Viber.
Smart devices can perform repetitive tasks such as environmental measurements, inventory checks, counting, and sorting effectively than any dedicated personnel. These devices do not sleep, don't take a break and work on weekends. These devices work efficiently without any mistakes.

4. Enhanced workplace security

IoT technology increases the security of your workplace or company in multiple ways. Research has shown that security cameras are an effective obstacle against criminals. Experts at Sobieski said that security cameras could monitor staff performance and decrease the risk of employee theft.

The wireless alarm system is another way to ensure your business security and protection of your equipment. The cost of business liability insurance can be reduced by installing IoT security devices. All the companies can benefit from IoT devices used to manage business premises, increase workplace security, and negotiate lower insurance premiums.

Examples

Workers in a high-risk environment such as mining, heavy industries, and construction are continuously monitored and notified against dangers, falls, and exhaustion through embedded sensors and wearables,

Wireless CCTV cameras are fixed anywhere within the business premises. These cameras give you 24/7 live feed on your smartphone or any other device, protect against physical threats and breach or attack on the system.

5. Tailored marketing campaigns

IoT has also affected the strategies used by modern companies for advertising their products. Modern companies use analytic tools to understand the preferences of their customer. So, it will help in providing more personalized marketing campaigns that will promote the brand more effectively.

IoT has provided access to valuable marketing data without spending money on market research. Marketers can utilize IoT to manage their campaigns and will get instant alerts on their progress. Sometimes, companies change their marketing strategies to get the best possible results. Expert claims that "IoT technology empowers marketing professionals by getting deep into the customer's behavior and preferences."

Conclusion

Lastly, IoT technology provides endless benefits and opportunities to modern business. IoT devices help businesses to enhance their productivity and improve overall customer experience. All companies should take advantage of IoT technology and utilize it to flourish their business by leaps and bounds.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

James Grills is currently associated with Cumulations Technologies, a Flutter App Development Company. He is a technical writer with a passion for writing on emerging technologies in the areas of mobile application development and IoT technology.

Business Strategy