IOT & competitive advantage

Any strategic decision regarding investment in IT should be linked with ROI and the case with IOT deployment is not any different.  Internet of Things is being adopted widely by corporations large and small across Germany, Spain, Netherlands, Denmark etc to deliver enhanced value to business operations and customer experience. IOT in construction industry,  IOT in Agriculture and IOT in building automation are some of the areas we have clients using the Ripples solutions.

IOT as a strategic tool

We get to hear a lot about the Internet of Things (IOT) now a days. Gartner talks about the IOT Hype cycle. At the IOT solutions mobile congress 2016, many companies showcased their early adopter success stories in sectors such as healthcare, supply chain, transportation, automotive, smart cities, oil and gas etc ; Interesting to know how hundreds of smart sensors – integrated or retrofit on plant and machinery can transmit realtime data to bring meaningful operational information for related actions in board rooms have helped companies adopt new business models in a fast changing digital world.

Connected devices are about cost savings and customer experience. This means that IOT is now above technology, more to do about crafting organisation strategy for competitive advantage in helping businesses connect the dots.. Improved efficiency, on time delivery, equipment uptime, predictions to help prevent downtime.

IOT for business models

The capability of wireless sensors to transmit realtime data from retrofit on equipment on their environment, location, usage, temperature, vibration etc results in operational data hereforth not available for decision making in the construction industry, will change business models to enhance competitive advantage. Printing as a service, truck tyre as a services are examples of different business models through the adoption of IOT.

As an example, realtime SLA data and guidelines can be tightly managed in an increasing product as a service environment. Transport logistics and supply chain visibility in a shared economy model brings transparency and cost optimisation.

IOT return on investment

Now the question remains on how can one go about computing the IOT return on investment. We hear that large companies such as GE etc have saved millions of dollars through IOT deployment in aircraft engines to help in improving aircraft uptime. The landing gears give problems and aircrafts often miss their scheduled time of departure ; which has a ripple effect on connecting flights for passengers ; delayed luggage ; hotel and food expenses need to be reimbursed etc.

IOT shaping competitive advantage

Let us take the case of a construction industry equipment such as fork lift or crane. An IOT platform such as Ripples can help businesses to optimise on the cost of maintenance and operations. A rise in temperature could make the tool become ineffective ; or an early warning on the erratic behaviour of the motor would help save thousands of dollars.

IOT in construction industry can also be about work place safety – providing tracking of people going inside tunnels, basement etc. Construction equipment can also be traced by deploying retro fit devices with long battery life.

Does your construction business have an IOT strategy ? Are you thinking of adopting IOT solutions to help optimise your construction business operations ? Clueless ?  Do give us a call and lets talk on how our IOT software and integrate IOT devices for construction industry can help your business achieve cost optimisation and efficiency.