Every day there are new predictions about how the internet of things (IOT) will connect 20 Billion, 30 Billion or 50 Billion devices to the internet. I thought I’d weigh into the commentary, to give a view on the business benefits, which seem to be missing under a wash of monstrous numbers.
The IOT sphere covers a range of areas such as Connected Humans, Connected Homes, Connected Cars, Connected Cities and Connected Industries. I’ll focus on the business end, rather than the consumer end.
The Top 3 business benefits enabled by the Internet of Things are:
The ability to track assets in industries isn’t new and is fairly standard across many industries. Location is just one element of what can be done with data captured from assets. Giving the right information to the right people to ensure more informed decision making is a very powerful proposition. These decisions will then influence the following areas of your business:
With an ever increasing, globally enabled competitive landscape, differentiation of products and services is a constant requirement for businesses. The trend to services over product sales is also gaining traction. The IOT is playing its part.
The battlefield of today seems to be less fought on the product and service mix and more on the fundamental business model. You’ve probably heard this quote,
“Uber, the world’s largest taxi company, owns no vehicles. Facebook, the world’s most popular media owner, creates no content. Alibaba, the most valuable retailer, has no inventory. And Airbnb, the world’s largest accommodation provider, owns no real estate.”
What they all have in common is a unique business model. They are all creating ‘platforms’. Just the same way TV, Newspapers, Microsoft Windows etc, by matching content consumers with content creators. IOT is enabling these new and innovative business models. An Uber driver is merely a car with a internet connected phone, however it is the experience that people are buying with Uber; the technology is an enabler.
The list above isn’t exhaustive but hopefully it will give some context as to how these 50 billion internet connected devices will translate to the bottom line (financial, safety, risk, environmental or otherwise). Each of these will impact different parts of an organisation (internally or externally).
Many businesses are already investing in IOT strategies and engaging in IOT projects, to understand the impacts on their organisations. If your business is yet to start then now is the time.
Connecting your assets to the internet is not a benefit, understanding how it will benefit your staff, customers and business should be your focus.
If you want to talk through how the Internet of Things can benefit your business then please contact us.
Anyone who is interested in exploring these ideas further can contact me.
This article was first published on LinkedIn on 8 July 2015.
Image by Don Skarpo | Getty Images