IoT in Business: The Need of the Hour?

A Brief Introduction to IoT

What is IoT? Let’s assume you have the very basic idea on how to answer this question. You are a manager, or analyst, in charge of studying the employability of IoT in your business with a statistically supported data. You could also be a tech enthusiast who recently started to concentrate on this disruptive technology and the industry backed by it. You know that Internet of Things is but a network of smart devices and appliances coordinated under one huge umbrella of device & data management to achieve a common set of goals. Right now, you are to learn whether you want to employ a dedicated IoT ecosystem in your workplace; i.e. to learn whether you’ll be benefitted from it, whether your decision be backfired due to lack of necessity and increased implementation costs, the fluctuating rates of return of investment, and whether, regardless of how productive, it be worth the effort.

Should you employ IoT?

IoT, as we have learned earlier, is a coordinated collection of smart devices that can sense and actuate data according to the instructions of the control hub. They work together as a single unit to achieve a common goal or a set of goals. Almost all the electronic devices and appliances around us configurable under IoT are currently being converted to smart and beyond, facilitated with AI and ML. The advantages of IoT, hence, are vast and wide, and varies greatly with the environment you employ it in. Despite of that, even regardless of the location and employment constraints, IoT guarantees a few key performance parameter boosts to your work and home environments, like;

• Improved asset management.
• Automated process line.
• Improved safety.
• Improved operation cost control.

But should you employ IoT in your environment? Do all these above mentioned merits justify your choice to spend resources and time on IoT? How would you statistically analyze the aftereffects of deploying the IoT ecosystem in your business? For that, you have to consider the following questions:

What are the Unique Advantages IoT brings to your Business?

• Does it improve productivity? – IoT brings all the smart devices and appliances in your environment under it. With its superior cloud management and data informatics analysis, it can monitor, control, and analyze the activities of each element of the ecosystem, thus improving the whole productivity of the process line by optimizing the flow of work, reducing lead times, and increasing efficiency.

• Does it guarantee a deserving ROI? – Implementing IoT is expensive even now. The various service vendors across the globe offers you multiple platform services – some are paid and licensed, some are open-source. There are even specific platform types designed and developed for particular kinds of usage scenarios. Choosing the right platform and service vendor can make a big difference in your ROI statistics.

• Does it refresh your process flow? – Operations that ran on previous technologies, both analog and manual, are criticized for their increased lead times to complete the flow, mainly due to poor time optimization and wastage of resources. IoT, if deployed correctly, can revamp your process flow by automation and continuous analysis of machine data.

• Does it jeopardize your security? – IoT is often employed with cloud-level computing and data storage facilities. This often results in organizational security concerns. Antonio Grasso, CEO of Digital Business Innovation and a top Digital Transformation influencer points out that security is the most challenging concern IoT faces in the present scenario. Although the platforms we deploy today have enhanced connectivity with multiple firewalls and sovereign data accumulation systems, it isn’t baseless to accuse the Connected Device ecosystems of breaches. Antonio terms cyber security issues as a big issue against digital transformation. Constant updates, architecture upgrades, and security awareness are the key to maintain a bulletproof IoT environment, he adds.
• Do you NEED IoT? – Now just like every new innovation in the world require an analysis of this kind before you actually purchase them, IoT also faces the question- do you need it to be implemented right now? Since we have already learned the merits IoT brings to the table varies with many things (like the environment you put it in, the result you want from it, the extent of its implementation in your environment, the depth of its grasp in your process automation and data monitoring etc.) it is actually up to the implementer to answer the question. But here is a few criteria you can check out to decide whether you require IoT in your business. Deploy IoT if;   
• Your process flow is flawed and un-optimized.
• Your lead times are high.
• You need a better monitoring over your machines and operations.
• You need real-time and statistical data on demand.
• You need process automation with least errors.
• You need to evolve to the latest technologies of employing Machine Learning and AI to boost business.
• You want increased security in your data flow and informatics study.
• You want your business to be equipped with cutting-edge technology.

How to productively employ IoT?

Employing IoT is one thing; employing it productively - optimized to the core and exploiting to the maximum - is another. From the decision on whether to deploy IoT to choosing the right platform, the choices vary; as the choices vary, the outputs vary too.

Since the main target of attaching an IoT ecosystem to your environment is to boost efficiency, and your business is unique and distinct from the rest, it is essential to learn what you exactly require off an IoT service. And how to choose the right components.

Setting the budget is where you should start. Depending on your goals, a few key parameters of IoT deployment might vary. Hence, the process should be kick-started only after a careful study of expendable budget, estimated ROI, and resultant growth in asset value due to productivity rise. You don’t want to invest on a state-of-the-art IoT ecosystem for a small operation boost.

Employing an IoT service begins from choosing the right platform. There are many vendors who offer unique platform solutions with varying sets of features, pros and cons. Choosing the right platform from the broad verticals of classification is key.

The next step would be to educate yourself about the various devices that you can, and will incorporate in your ecosystem. The devices vary from each other in functioning, sophistication, costs, operability, employability etc. Choosing the right set of devices hence becomes comprehensive of your level of requirements and the extent of implementation you’re planning.

Choosing the right connectivity and security protocols from the list of options can help you optimize your ecosystem, and reduce unwanted threats and expenses. As far as connectivity protocols are concerned, you have a wide variety to choose from; Bluetooth Low Energy, Wi-Fi, Ethernet, and Serial port are some of them. Security is often enhanced using dedicated firewalls and transfer policies.

Employ Data Science for Reference Sets to convert and compare sensor data for a meaningful interpretation of input parameters.

Choose and include Machine Learning and Predictive Analysis in the system for attaining the maximum potential of IoT. The insights provided by the data analysis techniques integrated in the ecosystem can help you to critically evaluate the overall as well as specific performance parameters.

Design a responsive and user-friendly UI for easy access and operation. Since the major users of the system would be high-level managers and operation supervisors, it demands a certain level of quality and smoothness in the control of the system. Time being a very critical factor for them, it is essential that you try and integrate the most responsive UI which is least error-prone too.

Challenges faced by IoT

• Persistent hardware concerns: The various components in the ecosystem including the end-point devices and local storage need to be cross-compatible with timely firmware updates and maintenance.
• Data connectivity issues: In spite of being a key point in IoT implementation, and there exists even dedicated platforms for network connectivity, most of the implementers cut corner in this sector of the ecosystem. This gradually results in performance depreciation and down-times. Even if the part isn’t skimped brutally, there might still arise technical issues that could sabotage the entire framework.
• Skepticism on Analytics and Forecasts: Since most of the data analysis under IoT is assisted by AI, skeptics point out the possibility of computational and coding flaws in processes that might thwart the actual purpose of IoT deployment.
• Lack of standardization and regulation: IoT, although being a major game-changer in the technology world unfortunately suffers from a lack of standardization under common guidelines. Even the governmental organizations in charge of sanctioning protocols and deployment policies turn a blind eye to the rising demand for localized authorization and implementation laws.
• Data handling capabilities: According to some, IoT is a technology that is fairly far-fetched for the present scenario. They argue that the contemporary data handling techniques might prove to not suffice for the IoT demands, and hence predict the deployment to be uneconomical and a waste of resources.

The cost of implementation and lack of proper guidelines might become a nightmare for some – especially to those who are poorly educated on the topic. Most of the challenges and accusations against IoT might seem true to the point too. But at the end of the day, Internet of Things is neither a baseless ambitious prodigy nor a far-fetched dream; it has been, and still being implemented, and the results seem to justify its existence. IoT is a technology that could revolutionize the whole world, and it is safe to say we are already on the right path to achieve the ultimate success – give it time, give it support, learn it, optimize it, and develop it; IoT will surely take you to the frontlines of competition and venture to victory.

About Nikhil P S

Nikhil writes things, mostly the old-school short tragedies and fictions. He, owing to his passion for technology, also writes tech blogs and end-user documentation. He is fascinated by the evolving trends in information technology as much as he is enticed by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Harper Lee. Nikhil is also an upcoming author, with his first novel currently under development.