IoT refers to the manner in which devices connect with each other in a network environment. They can execute any number of tasks in devices like sensors present in thermostats, factory machines, refrigerators, printers, and more.
The great thing about Internet of Things (IoT) has transformed how SMBs see the use of their devices in the workplace now. Today, these devices can talk to each other irrespective of their size and type in real-time.
In short, from Amazon’s famed Echo Dot to other specialized apps for logistics, IoT apps in both personal and business settings are varied.
IoT adoption has surged significantly in the past few years as businesses and consumers are reaping its benefits.
Specialists in the IT industry have estimated that by 2025, the number of devices connected by IoT will go up to 31 billion from 10 billion recorded in 2019 and one billion in 2010.
What are the top benefits of the IoTtoday?
Given below are the top five benefits of the IoT-
- Reduction in costs
- Productivity and efficiency
- Business opportunities
- Positive customer experience
- Agility and mobility
For a small business, the increasing dependence on the Internet of Things represents a sort of industrial revolution without about 80 percent of businesses using some IoT platform or another.
For an SMB, this increase in technology offers businesses opportunities to expand their digital capability. It gives them a chance to deploy IoT technology for improving their operations to become extra productive, profitable, and protected.
How does IoT benefit the end-user of these businesses?
Like businesses, IoT also has benefits for the end-user. Companies should not underestimate this before embracing IoT for their growth and development.
IoT enhances the mobility that can be brought to workplaces, especially for those employees who spend a lot of time outside the office, like technicians or sales executives.
IoT is a boon for those businesses that work with employees in areas like the above. They are the first to reap its advantages. A recent study conducted by an esteemed source revealed that the implementation of IoT on a large scale helped businesses to boost the levels of employee engagement leading to the following-
- Better productivity
- Improved job satisfaction
- Better performance and customer satisfaction.
Business advantages
Experts from a reliable name in database management, administration, and consulting, RemoteDBA.com, state SMBs should never ignore the business advantages of IoT. They can levy its future and edge-cutting technology to boost all the critical aspects of their business with success.
Cost reduction
The more an SMB uses IoT empowered devices for streamlining their operations to boost profitability, the more technologies in the field will become customized to help such businesses grow and succeed. From the workplace to cybersecurity efficiency, IoT empowered devices to impact the bottom-line profits of companies today.
Maintenance costs are positively impacted when these IoT devices are deployed with sensors to keep their business devices operational even during peak hours. Trouble-shooting is faster, and the office staff is not impacted as the time as well as costs on large repairs are saved.
The above also reduces costs and the extended downtime for other repairs. This is another great advantage that IoT brings to the maintenance workflow and your business operations.
There are multiple ways for your business to use IoT technology to favorably giving you profits, especially when it comes to streamlining general workflow processes that are a primary driver of IoT investments for most businesses today.
What do statistics say about cost reduction?
The reduction of costs results from the implementation of the Internet of Things in specific industries, predominantly manufacturing.
For example, Deloitte conducted a study where it was discovered that predictive maintenance or PdM could reduce the time needed for planning maintenance by at least 20-50 percent for increasing the uptime in equipment and its availability by 10-20 percent. This reduces overall costs of maintenance by around 5 to 10 percent.
Obviously, for manufacturing companies, reducing costs in the above manner is very beneficial. The above types of businesses benefit the most when it comes to the adoption of IoT. This means that SMBs can widely get numerous advantages of IoT for their companies as well.
The above is evident when it comes to reducing labor costs by boosting the efficiencies of processes. 83 percent of businesses that have been introduced to the technology of the Internet of Things have improved their efficiency. Expenditures have been reduced, and they have experience better output from their employees as well.
McKinsey has also estimated that the monitoring of activity with the help of IoT can boost productivity for businesses by at least 10 to 12 percent bringing in more profits for the company.
Productivity and efficiency
Productivity and efficiency boost revenue and profits for SMBs. One of the best ways for companies to leverage the potential of IoT is by boosting company efficiency. This can be done by cutting down on tasks that are repetitive and time-consuming. One example of this IoT function would be implementing automated PDF conversions and creation tools to mitigate obstacles businesses face with PDF archiving and editing. This, in turn, boosts the communication as well as documentation speed of business processes.
In the workplace, IoT can be deployed to optimize office floor plans and mobilize resources of the company like printers, copiers, and the bandwidth of a WIFI for improved workflow and a streamlined and effective approach to business management.
Finally, the deployment of big data analytics with IoT offers you an overview of the employee’s productivity to help determine what tasks are boosting the functions of the company and which of them are hindering it.
Big data can play a major role in tracking the efficiency of your business for the supply chain processes of a manufacturing company. You effectively can adhere to delivery systems and later monitor inventory and products to remain ahead of demand for them in the market with success!
