Everyone is talking about the Internet of Things. Connected devices are gaining momentum in homes, businesses and public service infrastructure. These devices are not only creating new possibilities for how we work and communicate but fundamentally transforming every aspect of life, from automated drug administration devices to traffic lights and air sensors in buildings, writes Paul German, the vice president EMEA of Certes Networks. (more…)
May 27, 2016
Posted by: George Malim
When it comes to technological trends, the Internet of Things (IoT) is a very big thing indeed. Approximately 3.9 billion connected things were in use in 2014. Gartner expects this figure to rise to at least 25 billion by 2020. Connected devices are certainly changing the way our global economy and societies function, and they are dramatically changing the rules for IT security, writes Myles Bray, the vice president of EMEA sales at ForeScout Technologies. (more…)
May 26, 2016
Posted by: George Malim
As IoT becomes increasingly pervasive, a new and alternative services sector is evolving, called servitization – also known as outcome-based services, writes Joe Kenny, the senior director for Global Customer Transformation at field service management specialist, ServiceMax.
By integrating services with products, you can create bundles that are of greater value than products alone. As manufacturers move from being purely product providers to becoming service providers as well, it adds value to their products and generates additional revenue. In other words, service-based outcomes take you out of competing on price alone.
According to Ashton Business School, servitization delivers a 5-10% jump in annual services revenue, profits two to three times greater than those on product sales alone, cost reductions for customers as high as 30%, as well as the opportunity to increase service revenues even further by supporting existing third party or competitive products. This creates an ongoing relationship with the customer that effectively locks out competitors.
Machines are already able to self-diagnose themselves, and report back when they need servicing or require action to be taken to avoid breaking down. This is a game changer for any company with a service department, as well as the wider field service management industry. But shifting business models requires thought and planning. So let’s look at some of the key considerations on the business transformation journey to servitization.
First, validate your business model. Chances are you’ll be making potentially more money but in different ways which will require a rethink. Machines, products and consumers are now all able to communicate with each other in real time, which opens up a myriad of possibilities for monetising revenue in different ways.
Think through the customer experience, and look to add value or provide value in the ecosystem either upstream, downstream or both. By building a better customer experience that’s of value or creating more viability of an asset’s use, you’ll not only be able to unlock new value for your customer, but also potentially profit from it. Be careful not to create vulnerabilities or unnecessary technical baggage to a customer transaction or service. Opt for simple logical value. In my view, simple, reliable and consistent wins over cool every time so don’t over complicate things.
Second, look at security around how the data is collected, protected using encryption, stored and communicated. A good reference is The IoT Security Foundation, which is vendor neutral, non-profit and full of expert resources for knowledge sharing, best practice and advice.
Third, take a look at who owns the data captured and the consolidated trends. We now have laws that cover control data captured, data protection, ownership and the protection of personal information. Talk to your legal department and review these aspects, and include them in your end user agreements – clearly state what data is collected and how relates to protection and usage rules.
Fourth, ensure you understand the technology you are using. Have you designed for quality of reporting, and for failure, scalability, reliability? How will you know the sensors are reporting back with valid measurements? It’s really important to test, test and test again – everything from sensor locations, fixings, power supply, communication methods and circuit redundancy.
Fifth, check Industry 4.0 for ideas. In other words, check for standards and emerging templates or blueprints. You can be creative but it’s worth doing your research to get plenty of advice. Always build trial or proof of concept on small scale then methodically learn what business outcomes you can drive or improve – but keep a holistic focus on improving value. And consider how are you going to install, maintain, upgrade, retrofit, or decommission your solution, and once deployed, make sure you recalibrate your expectations on a continual basis.
There are a few obstacles to overcome, but the reality is we have been monitoring sensors in machines for years. As an industry, we already know what good, reliable data looks like and most companies are familiar with the thresholds of proper testing and validation.
The convergence of IoT and servitization is transforming business models in the service arena, opening new possibilities for proactive maintenance, prescriptive management and recall management. Your only decision is how to transform your business to take advantage of them.
May 19, 2016
Posted by: George Malim
The massive proliferation of threats and the shifting nature of risk were highlighted at the recent WeDo Technologies Worldwide User Group Summit 2016 in Lisbon, Portugal. Among the presentations and discussions at the event, Dr Patrick Dixon, a futurist and founder of Global Change Ltd., examined how threats will alter and why traditional approaches won’t work. George Malim reports from Lisbon. (more…)
May 18, 2016
Posted by: George Malim
According to reports published by ARUP the global Smart Cities Market is expected to grow to $1,134.84 billion by 2019. While this looks promising for all involved, writes David Rolfe, the Big Data Platform product manager at Openet, the challenges in supporting a connected city are a lot more complex than simply implementing the latest technology. (more…)
May 9, 2016
Posted by: George Malim
March 30, 2016
Posted by: IoT global network
When something is invisible, exercise caution and do all you can to reveal it and render it harmless. That’s the lesson the human race has learned from infectious micro-organisms—in many cases, the hard way. In enterprises today, writes Rob Greer, the chief marketing officer and senior vice president of products at ForeScout Technologies, where devices are constantly gaining access to networks sight unseen, fear of the invisible is certainly justifiable. But the good news is, IT administrators can put those fears to rest with currently available network access technologies that can largely “disinfect” the environment by making the invisible visible. (more…)
Posted by: George Malim
Something historical happened at the beginning of 2015. For the first time in human history, the number of people living in cities was larger than the number of people living in rural areas, writes Stephen Chadwick, the managing director for EuroNorth at Dassault Systèmes. (more…)
February 11, 2016
Posted by: George Malim
The Internet of Things (IoT) has truly begun to take off with enabled devices including smart watches, smart meters and connected cars as well as smartphones and tablets, writes David Watkins, the service delivery director at Virtus Data Centres. However, technology and appliances are not the only industries affected by this growing trend. In fact, IoT’s potential reaches far beyond, and could play a major role in helping disconnected industries re-engage with their customers. (more…)
February 3, 2016
Posted by: George Malim
Practical Lessons From Building An IoT Proof-of-Concept
What looks simple from 20,000 feet becomes complex as you get closer to the ground. Here are details on the approach we used, components we used and the lessons we learnt while recently developing an IoT proof-of-concept. (more…)
January 22, 2016
Posted by: Skilled Analysts