New business opportunities using Internet of Things (IoT)
Internet of Things devices and sensors enable the sensorisation of the environment, the fusion between the real world and the digital world. Thanks to IoT, smart devices generate a large amount of data that can be captured and processed with technologies such as Cloud, Big Data and Artificial Intelligence, allowing better decisions to be made and connected objects to act automatically and accurately, without the need for human intervention.
The development of technology has always revolutionised the business sector in one way or another. In the case of the Internet of Things, its use in the internal organisational aspect of companies can be a revolution when it comes to optimising work, production or processes.
The connectivity provided using IoT devices linked to Cloud platforms makes it possible to create new business models, products and services, and market strategies. In the business world, this also brings benefits such as optimising the use of assets, improving the customer experience, saving on operating costs and creating jobs
IoT devices generate a wealth of information that can be captured and processed with technologies such as Cloud, Big Data and Artificial Intelligence, helping to make data-driven decisions.
On the one hand, this technology allows companies to know what their weaknesses and strengths are, as they know their customers' activity and even their interests, due to the data provided by this type of device. The advantage of this is that the company can adapt the products or services offered to the specific needs of each customer. In addition, it also makes it possible to analyse the strengths and weaknesses of the employee in order to make the most intelligent decisions and distribute the work in the most efficient way.
The remote monitoring provided by IoT reduces operating costs by automating internal and external processes. It also enables the redeployment of available resources in a way that is more consistent with business objectives.
Examples of IoT technology in industrial and business environments
IoT technology, in combination with technologies such as Big Data and Artificial Intelligence, depending on the needs and characteristics of each organisation, is already being used successfully in different market sectors, such as:
- Logistics: The installation of a connected device in a company's distribution vehicles provides real-time information on the use and status of the vehicle and its precise location at all times thanks to the GPS system. This enables the optimisation and protection of personnel, vehicles and cargo and the optimisation of delivery routes. The logistics of the companies are also improved, as the coordination with distributors and suppliers’ benefits.
- Agri-food: The use of connected IoT sensors and actuators in the agriculture and livestock sectors enables improved productivity, efficiency and decision-making processes based on data captured by sensors and machinery that make up the value chain to form smart agriculture. The data collected will allow production models to be updated more frequently, shortening planning and improvement cycles, while historical data will allow trends, patterns and opportunities for improvement to be understood with lessons learned and combined with information captured by moisture sensors, soil, satellite and drone imagery
- Tourism: it allows both public and private entities to have a complete view of the anonymised behaviour of tourists, allowing them to anticipate their needs and adapt to their demands and preferences, as well as to provide and improve the tourism offer.
- Healthcare: there are major challenges facing the healthcare sector, in particular the ageing population and demographic growth, which make it necessary to seek efficiency in the delivery of healthcare services, while maintaining economic sustainability and offering a better patient experience.
- Industrial: IoT sensors can capture information from any process and turn it into value through the application of Big Data and Artificial Intelligence. LPWA and 5G Narrow Band (NB-IoT) wireless connectivity enables wireless and connected factories, improving employee productivity and safety, savings and efficiencies from IoT sensor data analytics, predictive maintenance for rapid response and planning, augmented reality environments and digital twins.
- Energy and utilities: IoT enables smart management of essential resources such as water, energy and gas, as well as technical infrastructures for greater operational efficiency and reliability of a large part of their processes, which in turn allows for a reduction in environmental impact and the development of new business models.
- Retail: to ensure a better, personalised and homogeneous shopping experience across all channels and to differentiate from the competition. Some of the main trends in the sector include localisation and hyper-personalisation in the shopping experience, the improvement of the physical shop experience and commercial spaces, the transformation of certain locations or points of sale into distribution centres and home delivery service to satisfy online sales.
A good example of what IoT can offer to make business environments more efficient and productive.
The big challenge facing companies that implement IoT technology is the control and management of this type of technology, employees must be trained to know the functions of these new devices in order to make the most of them and ensure that there are no errors in their use.
In this way, the installation of this technology also means the creation of new jobs. In fact, new courses and master's degrees specialising in the operation of IoT are gradually being established.
All this without losing sight of the main objective: to facilitate the daily lives of the people involved in the different processes. After all, the human being is at the heart of digitalisation and IoT transformation.
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