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ou may have read how
Microsoft customers such as
ThyssenKrupp Elevator and Rockwell
Automation are applying Internet of
Things (IoT) concepts to transform their
business. Their deployments reflect
the bottom-line impact that is possible
with advanced IoT initiatives. For
instance, ThyssenKrupp’s preventative
maintenance for elevator uptime paved
the way for reduced costs and a major
competitive advantage.
And while there’s much to be learned
from advanced players in IoT with
complex concepts and solutions, there is
also plenty of opportunity for companies
that are just starting out with IoT. When
you look at new IoT deployments in this
emerging technology landscape, there
are three key business fundamentals
where companies of any size can gain.
No. 1: Reduce costs
In most industries, it’s easier to save
on expenditures than to build revenue,
and the same principle holds true
when it comes to building value with
IoT. So it shouldn’t be too surprising
that creating efficiency and reducing
the costs of doing business was the
number one answer customers gave
to the question of what they think
they can gain from IoT in our recent
study by Keystone Strategy*.
For companies struggling to streamline
their vision for IoT and focus on the
fastest time to value, reducing costs
provides the shortest path to success.
With ROI realizable within the first
year, cost reduction is also one of the
most influential ways for business
group leaders to drive alignment
when board approval is required for
their IoT investment.
While nearly every company could
benefit by automating data collection
for analysis, other common IoT
scenarios for increasing efficiency
and reducing costs include real-time
inventory tracking to reduce the
time wasted searching for parts and
ensure the right ones are always on
hand. IoT is also being used to create
some of the world’s most reliable
factory lines. In healthcare, IoT can
be used to vastly improve patient
care, by automating medication
systems. And in some cities, IoT is
transforming life in urban areas by
creatingsmarter traffic solutions. The
reality is, scenarios to reduce costs
are as many and varied as companies
and industries themselves.
No. 2: Increase revenue
Increasing revenue is another big
reason companies are looking to the
Internet of Things today, but because
it often involves building out the
organization to accommodate the new
business, it generally takes longer to
realize ROI from the effort.
The rewards, however, can be
substantial, and we’ve seen several
customers leverage their initial IoT
work into new services that can be
added on top of products to generate
post-sale revenue streams.
Remote monitoring and predictive
maintenance scenarios are a prime
example. We’ve seen how both
Rockwell and TKE have expanded
their business to become service and
software providers as much as they
are equipment manufacturers.
Rockwell uses their solution to monitor
petroleum equipment in remote
locations, with a team of support
engineers at Rockwell headquarters
keeping tabs on the health of their
Y
Why IoT? Three Big Reasons Emerge from
Customer Interviews
Jerry Lee, Microsoft
New-Tech Magazine Europe l 34