The Internet of Things (IoT) is increasingly adding value and a range of possibilities to digital business. This silent revolution that IoT has provided is completely changing the course of the global market and its trends.
According to a recent Economist Intelligence Unit ( EIU ) survey, 96% of business leaders expect to incorporate the Internet of Things into their organizations, either directly or indirectly, in the coming years. This growth in the adoption and investment in technologies with great disruptive potential and the high degree of volatility in the corporate environment is due to the maturation of the IT vision defined by the business; that is, we are taking a path of no return. It is no longer possible to view your organization’s IT sector as a separate resource in your business model. It is essential to know that such initiatives are not just for large corporations. The Internet of Things also offers many opportunities for small and medium-sized companies or even startups, presenting itself as a differential for success and competitiveness in this dynamic market.
Possible Applications Of IoT For SMEs And Startups
We selected some Internet of Things applications for small businesses to create new solutions that integrate data, modernize structures and automate processes.
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Product Design And Marketing
Through product analysis programs, it is possible to collect information about the product, its market acceptance, and usability, bringing essential data in real-time that enables the creation of effective strategies for its successful insertion in the market.
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Product Maintenance And Manufacturing Processes
Critical processes in developing a product, bringing improvements in the production and maintenance of your products to reduce time and costs. With the development of Digital Twin technology(which can be translated as Digital Twin), this whole concept is being put into practice. The technology combines data and intelligence that represent the structure, context, and behavior of a physical system of any type, offering an interface that allows understanding past and present operations to make projections. Technology transforms physical products or services into virtual environments that respond to sensors. It makes it possible to study new ways of doing business to improve productivity, acquire new knowledge, and develop new approaches in the creation and maintenance of products and services intelligently.
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Agriculture
Every day we see new technological solutions to automate the agricultural sector, mainly IoT solutions, heating the market with new business opportunities. We can contextualize the application of IoT in this sector through sensors responsible for monitoring air temperature, soil, wind speed, humidity, solar radiation, probability of rain, leaf moisture, and fruit color, generating analytical data of great value. For the sector.
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Health
Medicine is increasingly adhering to solutions that automate its routines and assist in analyzing various clinical data. Health professionals have easy access to more complete patient data, improving care through more effective diagnoses and treatments. In contrast, institutions have greater control and management of their inventories, supplies, processes, and employees.
Demystifying IoT Projects
Being aware of common myths about the Internet of Things is crucial when developing IoT projects, avoiding impacts on the cost and time of its implementation. Here are some myths and how not to get carried away by them:
1. Focus On ROI
It isn’t easy to know what impact IoT will have on your business, using only ROI as a parameter in the early stages. The best solution is to perform rapid prototyping. This will help define other essential metrics for your business, serving as a guide for the progress of your project. In the experimental phases, it is necessary to do pilot projects quickly, try new things, and learn from failures, allowing greater maturity of the solution.
2. Analyze Network Requirements In The Final Steps
The IoT demands a lot from the infrastructure to ensure its integration and connectivity with the various devices and systems. Therefore, all conditions must be analyzed in detail from the project sketch stage, considering the aspects raised as crucial characteristics for project modeling.
3. Bring In Suppliers After Project Definition
Suppliers are the foundation to start any IoT project. They assume a key role serving as facilitators for the project’s progress. Establishing your team’s relationship with its suppliers is the key to determining the direction of the developed solution. Since many aspects of the IoT cannot be tested or proven in laboratories, but only with real users and external customers, bringing in suppliers from the beginning of the project is the best way to increase the chances of success in your strategies.
4. Consider Security Risks After Project Completion
The Internet of Things implies having more data available and traveling in a digital mesh, connecting different devices and systems. This makes the biggest challenge for the security area and its professionals to ensure data confidentiality in this complex environment, minimizing its vulnerabilities. Therefore, it is an irreparable failure to consider any risk after completing the project. The security practice must be aligned with the project from the beginning because security will go through this same process in the same way that the project evolves its characteristics over time.
In this scenario, organizations must adopt new approaches to modernize their structure, using intelligent platforms that enhance data integration and management, following trends. It is the guarantee of competitiveness and business success. With all this diversity of tools and solutions, there is no better time to start than now.
Also Read: The Internet Of Things Explained: Definition And Examples