The Internet of Things (IoT) is one of the latest tech developments that many businesses around the world are utilising to create products for their customers and more industries are starting to incorporate the technology into their business.
There are lots of products and devices that now include IoT technology in people’s everyday life and households from lighting that can be turned on or off from a command or mobile device to setting the temperature of your house without even being in your home. There is also a large range of appliances that can be controlled by your mobile phone from turning a kettle on or starting the coffee machine all from the comfort of your bed.
One major benefit to the IoT technology for businesses are the in-depth analytics that can be collated for real-time events at any time of the day from a range of products that they offer as the devices are connected to the network of IoT technology and sensors that pick up the triggers for the data to be collected. All the information gathered can then help companies make the right decisions to keep their business growing and keep customers engaged based on their everyday actions and triggers using various devices and applications.
Another industry embracing the IoT technology is the Retail industry as it is helping to transform their experiences to their customers by being able to offer personalised offers by utilising smart shelves which can track inventory as it is purchased as well as beacons that send location-based offers to shoppers’ devices as they are browsing their stores. All these experiences add a great value to a customer’s experience in a store and increases the chances they are going to return to the shop in the future.
IoT technology is also a great tool for businesses to help reduce cost of any maintenance needed as well as increasing operational efficiency as it is being used in the Manufacturing industry. The technology is helping manufacturing companies to help predict when machinery may need to be repaired or replaced by using IoT sensors this making it much easier for companies to minimise downtime for machinery as well as maintenance cost to repair any equipment rather than replace them, another example of how IoT technology is transforming industry.
The healthcare industry is also benefitting from the advances of IoT tech as they have been able to incorporate lots of new processes that can help to improve patients experience and health outcomes quicker and easier, they can offer remote patient monitoring as well as wearable devices such as Fitbit watches which help to track various health metrics for people daily. They also offer smart pill bottles that are helped to remind patients when to take medication.
Industry 4.0 is the result of incorporating new technologies to monitor the entire production process. It is a constantly evolving and expanding sector, although recent studies published by Deloitte indicate that in the coming years IoT will triple its presence, being the main global trend in the sector.