Last Updated on September 8, 2023
Technologies are quickly developing and are actively changing the world around us. A lot of solutions that could seem impossible some years, today are available to a rather wide audience. One of the technologies that has an incredibly strong impact on the evolution of the business world today is the Internet of Things (IoT).
It’s also worth mentioning that in 2023, the estimated spending on IoT technology worldwide is around $805 billion. And though this figure is impressive, the previously made forecasts were even more optimistic and according to them, this figure could have reached $1.1 trillion by this time. Nevertheless, due to the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, tech investments are lower.
In this article, we offer you a look at the changes that IoT can bring to the business space.
Real-time location monitoring
Thanks to the introduction of IoT solutions, it has become significantly easier to track the real-time location of vehicles, items, and even people. One of the core technologies that make it possible is GPS. With the data received from satellites, users can quickly detect the geolocation of their goods or devices.
This functionality is among the core of the solutions powered by IoT in logistics. By getting the exact location of their trucks, managers, operators, and logistics specialists can make better-informed decisions, timely introduce changes to their plans and routes, increase the accuracy of their forecasts and general planning, and, consequently, enhance the quality of the provided services.
Equipment downtime reduction
Downtime of machinery and failure in their performance can lead to serious financial and reputational losses for any enterprise. That’s why it is always crucial to carefully track the work of equipment, detect any deviation from normal functioning, and regularly perform maintenance services. Nevertheless, it can be challenging (and quite often, even impossible) to conduct all these tasks manually. And here is when IoT-powered solutions with preventive maintenance functionality can enter the game.
Such solutions presuppose the installation of special IoT sensors that are able to continuously track the performance of equipment, detect the state of health of different parts of the used machines, and send all the information to the app. The solution can also identify the probability of failure and notify about the necessity to take any actions before the failure happens (for example, conduct maintenance or replace some parts).
Thanks to the implementation of such IoT-based solutions, enterprises can greatly optimize their expenses on maintenance services and ensure better downtime management.
Optimization of fuel and energy consumption
When it comes to resource consumption, this functionality of business solutions may greatly resemble the features of smart home apps. Thanks to such smart solutions, lighting at your facilities can be switched on and off automatically based on the data received from motion sensors. It means that if there are no employees in the office room, all the lamps will be turned off which will help to reduce your costs for electricity. Moreover, some sensors can react to the changes in natural lighting to eliminate the over-consumption of resources.
As for the fuel, its consumption can be optimized thanks to smart IoT sensors that can detect resource leaks and send notifications. As a result, specialists can timely address the problems and eliminate resource leaks.
Remote control and automation
IoT-powered systems allow specialists to perform a lot of tasks in a fully remote format. Today, there are already a lot of enterprises that have implemented such solutions at their facilities. They allow employees to manage the devices in the IoT network with the help of the app installed on their smartphones or tablets. For example, they can easily change the temperature by switching on a heater fully remotely. They can also get access to the cameras that will demonstrate everything that is happening in the office or warehouse in real time.
Moreover, IoT devices can send notifications, warnings, and alerts to users in different situations, for example, in the case of various emergencies, such as unauthorized entry or abnormal functioning of any equipment. It means that IoT can enable two-way communication between users and smart devices.
In combination with all the achievements made in robotics, IoT can also take automation to a completely new level. Already today, a lot of supply chain processes, including warehousing can be facilitated and streamlined thanks to the use of drones and robots.
Conclusion
As well as any tech innovation, the implementation of IoT products requires investments from the side of businesses. But with all the benefits and new opportunities that such solutions can bring, all the investments will pay off already in the near future. IoT systems help to increase the efficiency of business processes, automate repetitive tasks, reduce the risks of human errors, and optimize the use of resources. Thanks to the introduction of systems powered by the Internet of Things, a lot of enterprises may get the possibility to turn to more advanced and modern business models.
