The Business Functions of the Internet of Things

Do you remember the days when wireless connectivity was primarily associated with computers, or laptops? With today's advancing technology, virtually anything is able to connect to the internet. We call everything in this category the Internet of Things, or IoT. 

Your business deserves to have access to tools which will greatly benefit you, and your staff. Knowing which technology will help your business and which will hinder its success is crucial. The IoT has a lot to offer, so let’s look at what some benefits are to embracing and procuring this technology. 

Customer Service Improvements

Whether your company specializes in business-to-business or business-to-consumer, there is one thing your business cannot thrive without - customers. The IoT can increase customer satisfaction by providing simple things such as a shopping cart with a display, which provides information on product location, or recipe recommendations based on proximity to ingredients. If your business offers an in-house service, trackers can inform customers when your experts are en route. Whichever field your business works in, the IoT has solutions focusing on improving your customer’s experience. 

Productivity Increases

Now that we’ve established how important a customer is to your business, you will need to provide your service to the customer in as timely of a manner as possible, while keeping costs minimal. The IoT can help with this too! 

If your business produces goods, keeping track of inventory is important. Nothing is as large of an expense to your business as downtime. If you manufacture machined parts and your employees run out of material, your staff will not be able to do anything but twiddle their thumbs while they wait for new stock. The IoT can be used to monitor supply levels, automatically ordering new material when inventory reaches a set quantity. 

Not only can it be used to track inventory preventing downtime, it also can be used to monitor productivity. Nothing is less satisfactory to a customer than the late arrival of a service or good. The IoT can collect data regarding production speeds, allowing for accurate product delivery estimates. 

Improving Safety

Accident prevention should always be a high priority no matter the field your business works in. It’s important not to forget that accidents still happen, even in low-risk office environments. However let’s say your employees work in higher-risk scenarios. If they work for a roofing business the IoT can transmit critical information which might prevent disaster. Let’s say Ronald went out to repair the seal between the roof and a chimney, and based on your IoT productivity tracker you estimate the job should take around two hours. Ronald’s work vehicle tracker showed he arrived on the site at 9 a.m. However, at noon - when it’s time to meet for lunch - neither you nor any other employees have heard from him. It turns out Ronald’s ladder blew over once he had climbed atop the roof, and his cell phone was in his vehicle. Without the IoT monitoring production as well as location, Ronald would have been waiting on the roof until the customer returned home.

Smart locks, as well as video surveillance, are incredibly useful security tools to enhance your confidence in your business’ ability to stay secure. 

Reduce Costs

If time is money and when there are IoT products designed to save time, guess what you’re saving? By automating different tasks, your employees can put their precious time towards tasks that cannot be completed by AI. 

Some tasks simply require the human touch, however the IoT can still save your business money. Installing smart gadgets such as lighting or thermostats allow you to control environmental settings when your business is closed. 

Data Insights

If you’ve ever analyzed your business, scrutinizing the numbers, going through page after page to better understand the details, then the IoT can save you a lot of work and a lot of headaches. The beauty of the IoT, is that there are devices out there to do virtually everything you can think of. We encourage leveraging IoT products, but warn of potential security hazards with doing so.

Horne & Benik knows just how useful IoT devices can be. Whether it’s your Wi-Fi-connected coffee maker or different tracking devices, your business needs to understand risks associated with the IoT. Our experts at Horne & Benik are able to help you evaluate risk with implementing certain solutions, and assist in procuring different technologies. Give us a call at (603) 499-4400 today!