The term IoT, or Internet of Things, gets used a lot these days. It may conjure images of Apple Watches and various other wearable devices, or perhaps even larger items like smart fridges. But IoT is making its biggest impact in industrial settings, and with among businesses that are utilizing it to drive smart business development.
We spoke with TechQuarters, who provide business IT support London companies have benefited from, thanks to their cutting edge technology insights. TechQuarters told us that the power of IoT comes from the amount of data it produces – which is something they have lots of experience with as London IT services providers. Data is arguably the most valuable resource any business can utilize. When properly processed and analysed, the data produced by IoT device can give very useful insights into everything from business operations, to customer trends. So what are some of the ways in which Internet of Things is changing business?
Improving the customer experience
For a business to be successful, they must optimize the customer experience. To do this, there must be a clear and in-depth understanding of how the customer uses a business’ product or service. TechQuarters said that, as providers of IT support for small business, they have experience with their customers needing to utilize technology to improve the customer experience. For example, the continued success of physical retail relies on optimizing the customer experience. While many people do enjoy physical shopping, it is hard to compete with the convenience of online shopping. In fashion retailers, smart fitting rooms are one way in which IoT is being implemented already. As for food retailers, companies such as Sainsbury’s and the Co-op have been trailing new IoT enables systems where customers can scan items with their smartphone, as well as pay for them on the spot, thus streamlining the shopping process immensely.
Digital Twin technology
IoT technology can also make it capable to reduce downtime in industrial contexts. An emerging technology known as Digital Twin technology makes it possible to utilize Internet of Things to create a real-time digital representation of environments such as factories or a building. Let’s say that a fault occurred in a factory which needed to be identified and fixed, thus causing downtime. If there was a digital twin of the factory, then it would become much easier to identify faults in machinery. Moreover, it could even be possibly for factories to analyse the data streams and predict when components of the factory are likely to fail or experience an issue.
Internet of Things is a powerful technology that is becoming more and more commonplace. It is something that any business should consider utilizing if they wish to make smarter decisions around business process development and customer service.
