Digital transformation

How AI Is Changing the Outlook of the Retail Market

How AI Is Changing the Outlook of the Retail Market

The Best Examples of Using AI in Retail:

Artificial Intelligence is omnipresent in today’s retail sector. Here we represent some examples of retailers that are efficiently using AI in their business functions:

Sephora Utilizes AI to suggest makeup. Famous makeup brand Sephora uses AI to recommend makeup for its customers. Finding the correct makeup for most females can be challenging because of their skin type and color complexion. Color IQ examines their face and advises foundations and concealers accordingly. LipIQ is also a component of the ColorIQ technology that scans the lips and proposes an appropriate lip color.

LOWES uses LoweBots to find Items. Finding an item in stores where multiple items are placed can be a back-breaking task for customers. This is where  LoweBots come in conveniently. In the LOWES stores, these bots wander around and give directions to customers. They will keep asking about what you’re trying to find and assist you based on the answers you provide them.

North Face brand advises Coats to CustomersNorth Face employs AI to offer coats to its customers. The customer has to tell the event details to the bot, which can figure out which coat will best suit the event.

Walmart employs AI to Monitor InventoryWalmart is one of the earliest retailers to use AI to operate its in-store inventory. The advanced bots can scan all the galleries to see the inventory level. They send notifications to the store’s depository to refill inventory whenever required.

How AI is Setting New Consumer Standards:

Artificial Intelligence plays an essential role in generating new consumer trends and standards. AI plays a vital role in setting new consumer trends and standards. Consumers do not need to struggle hard to find products anymore. Previously, consumers faced a dilemma in finding out what they were looking for.

Artificial Intelligence now maintains track of their last searches and recommends a product even when the customer isn’t asking for it. It just strikes the nail on the head, as customers now don’t have to see the unwanted ads anymore. Since AI-fetched ads are relevant, they become more engaging rather than annoying for customers.

Social media users are also experiencing the power of AI. Have you often seen a product on a social media platform when you have searched for it on Google? Possibly, every time. These targeted advertisements suggest to customers what they want. If many customers like the product, then it becomes a new trend. AI also identifies customer behavior towards a particular product and aids companies in knowing whether it’ll sell.

The Future of AI in Retail:

No doubt, the future of AI is shiny and glittery in the retail world. Although this technology offers so many benefits, it is still in its beginning stage. We are the first generation experiencing the magic of AI. The reality is that AI has just started to bloom, and in the coming years or decades, we will be able to see its full potential.

Even when it is in its infancy, many retail companies are leveraging its benefits. They now create their strategies based on consumer behavior. While AI keeps advancing, we can expect it to automate more and more operations in the retail industry in the coming years.

How to Address Data Management Challenges in IoT Using Fabrics

How to Address Data Management Challenges in IoT Using Fabrics

Whenever we talk about data management, the whole conversation remains incomplete if we do not mention the most important aspect related to data management: the Internet of Things, IoT networks. Today, everything is connected, and all credits go to IoT networks. From smart towns to industrial sensors, our world is interconnected with smart devices, and the volume of data generated has reached unbelievable proportions. This is advantageous for our digital transformation initiatives but carries a parallel increase in vulnerability to data piracy, cyber attacks, and privacy infringements.

The amount of data generated is directly proportional to the higher stakes regarding safeguarding it. This raises the need for data protection measures in IoT ecosystems, which has now become a significant challenge for organizations. It has also necessitated robust data management strategies to guarantee IoT data’s integrity, security, and privacy.

However, enterprises are still making errors. They emphasize more on expanding IoT and are least interested in making the data streams safer and more authentic. More comprehensive IoT networks assure more users and faster streaming, yet they lack in terms of data protection.

Critical data management challenges in IoT

In the domain of IoT, significant data challenges emerge, including security risks, privacy concerns, data authenticity, and data proliferation. Security risks create a constant threat, as IoT devices are vulnerable to breaches, unauthorized access, and tampering, potentially resulting in data leaks and network attacks. 

Safeguarding privacy is crucial due to the collection and transmission of personal data by IoT devices containing sensitive information like location, health data, and behavioral patterns. 

Securing data integrity and authenticity is difficult in IoT environments, as changes often lead to erroneous decisions and compromise system reliability. 

Besides this, the sheer volume of data created by IoT devices can overcome traditional management systems, making it necessary to have sufficient storage, processing, and analysis strategies in a timely and cost-effective way. As per the ‘State of IoT Spring 2023’ report released by IoT Analytics, the worldwide count of operational IoT endpoints rose 18% in 2022, reaching 14.3 billion connections. 

How can data fabrics handle these challenges?

Data fabrics are essential in allowing scalable data management in IoT ecosystems. They provide valuable support in different aspects of IoT data management. They play a vital role in privacy protection by using data masking techniques that pseudonymize or anonymize sensitive information.

By substituting original values with masked or randomized data, the identity of individuals or devices remains safe, diminishing the threat of data breaches.

Data fabrics also allow access control, restricting access to authorized personnel or systems. Encryption also improves security by shielding transmitted or stored data from unauthorized access. Data fabrics offer an extra layer of security against attackers by integrating encryption with masking.

In addition, data fabrics support data minimization by reducing the amount of sensitive data stored or transmitted, using masked or aggregated data instead.

  • Data integration and aggregation: Data silos create a  significant challenge in IoT, as they can cause data duplication, loss, or inaccessibility by different systems. Data fabrics can support breaking down data silos by offering a unified view of data across the IoT ecosystem. Data is created from different sources and in diverse formats; data fabrics can enable the integration of this data into a suitable view. This allows organizations to comprehend their IoT data landscape and make informed decisions. Data fabrics can collect and merge this data in real-time, offering a compressed and contextualized view of the IoT environment. This collected data can be used for real-time analytics, irregularity detection, and predictive modeling, allowing organizations to derive valuable insights and make proactive decisions.
  • Data processing and analytics: Data fabrics offer processing power, permitting IoT data to be analyzed and changed into actionable intelligence. By using distributed computing and parallel processing, data fabrics can handle IoT data’s high volume as well as velocity. This empowers organizations to conduct complex analytics on the gathered IoT data, like machine learning algorithms, extracting valuable patterns, trends, and correlations. 
  • Data management and quality: Data fabrics offer a management layer guaranteeing data quality, consistency, and compliance. As we know, IoT data comes from different sources and devices, and it is necessary to ensure data integrity and reliability. Data fabrics can implement data management policies, perform data validation and assure data quality standards are fulfilled, thereby enhancing the reliability and trustworthiness of IoT data.
  • Scalability and flexibility: IoT establishment often includes multiple devices creating data at a high frequency. Data fabrics are designed to be scalable and flexible, enabling organizations to manage the high intensity of IoT data and acclimate future growth. They are seamlessly scaled horizontally, adding more resources as required and adapting to evolving IoT infrastructures and data requirements.

Not just this, data fabric tools also enable real-time data processing and help in decision-making. In IoT systems, real-time responsiveness is essential for upcoming maintenance, monitoring, and dynamic resource allocation applications. Data fabrics can process and analyze data in real-time, allowing organizations to take prompt actions based on IoT insights.

Some robust platforms for managing IoT data

For handling IoT data, many platforms offer robust capabilities. One such platform is K2View, a data integration and management solution that allows organizations to merge and manage their data from various sources. Their technique pivots around micro-data management, emphasizing granular test data management instead of replicating entire datasets. This strategy streamlines operations, decreases complexity, and minimizes the risk of data inconsistencies. Organizations can overcome data silos, improve data quality, and achieve valuable insights for informed decision-making using their scalable and flexible architecture. 

For companies planning their AI move, IBM Pak is an available option. It is a pre-integrated, enterprise-grade data and AI platform that assists businesses in accelerating their journey to AI. It offers a unified view of data, streamlines data preparation and control, and allows rapid growth and deployment of AI models. It is also available on-premises or in the cloud.

There are other platforms like Talend, known for its data integration and transformation capabilities. Talend is a data integration platform that gathers, cleans, and converts data from IoT devices. It also offers a combination of connectors to other data sources, making it uncomplicated to build a data fabric. It also offers a set of data integration, quality, administration, application, and API integration capabilities. Their Fabric also supports organizations in getting trusted data promptly, improving operational efficacy, and reducing threats.

The realm of IoT- connecting everything

The Internet of Things (IoT) will become the most powerful domain in the coming years, and data fabrics will be the best solution to encounter and subdue data challenges. They empower businesses to break free from silos and gain a holistic view of their digital landscape. With the help of data fabric, real-time insights become the standard, promoting intelligent decision-making and growing businesses into new frontiers. With the adoption of this paradigm, data fabrics come out as beacons driving organizations to the vast intricacies of IoT data and unlocking endless opportunities.

IoT Digital Transformation is on the Way to Change the Business Outlook

IoT Digital Transformation is on the Way to Change the Business Outlook

The Internet of Things, also known as IoT, is the interconnectivity of physical devices, vehicles, people, and objects with sensors, software, and network interconnectivity, allowing them to collect and exchange data.

Today, it’s not hard to access or collect data; it’s readily available. However, many processes, machines, and other technologies still need to be fully connected and become something the industry deems smart. This digital transformation is all set to begin.

As per Grand View Research, the global IoT devices management market size was estimated at 1.88 billion in 2022 and is assumed to increase at a compound annual growth rate of around 34.9 percent from 2023 to 2030. The growing importance of enterprises on controlling linked devices and enhancing operational efficiencies across industry sections would lead to an increase in the demand for IoT device management.

The continuous growth of IoT gives a clear signal that it will stay for a long time and will highly help and impact shaping the future. Though some processes, machines, and other devices are yet needed to be connected, it’s just a matter of time before they will need to be integrated into this technology-driven world. This indicates that the future is strongly linked to IoT, and its increasing demand and day-by-day expansion prove this fact.

A Faster and More Un(predictable) World

The continuous advancement of technology is forcing businesses to adopt the Internet of Things. It promises to fulfill the desire for efficiency and has become a necessity. In today’s rapidly changing and advancing world, it has become mandatory to maintain efficiency, and if one fails, it will lead to a huge failure. ChatGPT‘s technology is best to quote as an example to support this. Surprisingly, for the first time, Google has stepped into difficulty as they ignored that technology must continuously update to keep a sync with the dynamic environment.

The Internet of Things has become a game-changing technology that offers more predictability in an unpredictable world. IoT allows the device to collect and analyze real-time data from connected devices, which can be utilized to predict and prevent potential problems before they happen.

IoT Driving Transformation on its Way…..

Digital transformation means integrating digital technologies into all sections and processes of a business, causing fundamental changes to how the business operates and delivering results to customers. The current status of IoT, with its swiftly evolving technology and the increasing adoption of interconnected devices, is all set to bring pace to digital transformation across various industries.

By authorizing businesses to gather and analyze immense amounts of data in real time, IoT provides:

  • The optimization of business processes
  • The generation of new revenue ways
  • The development of innovative business models

Integrating IoT devices into business operations allows businesses to gain insights into customer behavior, enhance operational efficiency and improve overall customer experience. Hence, the Internet of Things continuous advancement and expansion is expected to drive digital transformation across industries forcefully.

IoT is Adding More Meaning to Technology Advancements

The features offered by IoT have eased the prediction process and made it less intimidating. The very influential Internet of Things has positively covered the digital and physical world gap, offering a futuristic environment that can sync with the changing technologies instead of being left behind. It can gather and analyze flooding data from interconnected devices to provide meaningful insights into various aspects of lives and businesses.

Various challenges have appeared with the growth of the Internet of Things, yet it has persisted and achieved its current state. Starting from compatibility challenges to data security and scalability. These are some initial installation issues while implementing IoT technology in businesses.

Businesses that embraced IoT as a newcomer played a significant role in resolving issues via testing and establishing the technology. As a result, businesses can now leverage the faster and more dependable implementation of IoT solutions, enabling smoother integration into their operations.

Effortless Interoperability: The Way to Leverage Seamless Technology

The complexity of IoT can be overwhelming for many, creating confusion and uncertainty. When many devices are added to an IoT network, managing and scaling the infrastructure tends to be a big challenge. The increasing number of devices and the immense amount of data generated by them can crash the existing systems, creating a challenge to manage and analyze data properly.

Business owners usually need clarification about upgrading their equipment and the different technology stacks involved in IoT. Now, it’s high time to shift the focus from a complex technology stack to a simple solution.

Old technology and processes should not limit your ability to make informed business decisions. The solution is not to remove them but to connect and boost them by linking them with advanced technology.

We hope to see even more innovative applications in various sectors as IoT evolves. The growth prospect is high, and businesses adopting this technology will be in a better place and reap its benefits.

As per Mckinsey, The Internet of Things has now become part of more than 200 applications in enterprise environments and is not just limited to large corporations alone. Early adopters have done trials and testing and are scaling IoT solutions throughout their businesses. The features and versatility of IoT technologies have resulted in several remarkable applications in various sectors like smart cities, connected cars, smart buildings, smart homes, e-health, and many others.

The latest IoT technology advancement has enabled all sectors to access non-existent features. For example, Business-to-Business (B2B) companies are now using Industry 4.0 technologies to create direct connections with their products in the field.

Upgrade your business- Take Action Today

The Internet of Things has come a long way and has become essential to our lives and businesses. The continuous growth and development of IoT and the increasing number of connected devices, combined with the need for efficiency and relevance, make the technology imperative to be adopted. By adding IoT, businesses can churn the maximum benefits and make the existing processes more efficient and cost-effective.

How will Smart Farming decide the Future of Agriculture

How will Smart Farming decide the Future of Agriculture?

Today, farmers are facing more pressure than ever before. Demand for food is growing as the population increases, whereas agricultural land is used for urbanization. Not just this, the challenges caused by climate change are also decreasing the yield. Sometimes drought, sometimes flood, and unseasonal rain impact the total yearly yield, ultimately causing a shortage of food. 

In the coming years, agricultural enterprises must operate in new and adapted ways to achieve sustainability and the capability to survive. The latest and most advanced technologies, falling under the roof of  Smart Farming, provide opportunities for farmers to overcome unprecedented challenges while passing the agricultural way of life to future generations. This has led to a boost in the yield along with the profit. 

Unfortunately, local farms, including some in the world’s most fertile lands, are also declining today. Therefore, creating a viable business is becoming challenging, and farmers must find ways to work more smartly instead of shedding sweat in the field. 

Historically, agricultural structures demand immense amounts of time, money, and effort to order, unload, store, plant, monitor, cultivate, and harvest crops. 

Advanced smart farming technologies provide new methods to simplify the workflow and enhance operations, leading to robust businesses.

IoT’s Shining Agricultural Future

The Internet of Things (IoT) is the soul of this transformation process. Intelligent sensors are implanted throughout a farm that behaves like the eyes and ears of the farmers. It collects information about crops, the equipment’s condition, and performance. One of IoT technology’s most crucial characteristics is its ability to expand visibility to new endpoints. IoT empowers farmers with real-time monitoring and analytics systems through which they gain more insights into their operations and the capability to handle them more efficiently.

Let’s know some of the ways through which smart farming improves agricultural enterprises and will continue to do so in coming years:

1: Monitoring Crop Growth

IoT in the agriculture industry acts like a superhero; it assists farmers in improving the crop’s quality and the land’s fertility. Sensors integrated with IoT systems collect nutrient density information, allowing farmers to adjust the amount of fertilizer to be used. If any symptoms of infestation are observed, using pesticides can eliminate the invasion. In actuality, data-driven agriculture always empowers farmers because the information received permits adjusting activities imaging the current conditions, handling the crop cycle more effectively, achieving efficiency, and enhancing crop growth.

2: Improving Greenhouse Operations

Greenhouse IoT sensors improve visibility and automate traditional manual functions, making the entire process more efficient and automated. They gather and transfer real-time data, like air pressure, humidity, temperature, soil conditions, and light levels. In fact, water consumption can be managed with SMS or email alerts if any defects occur. In modified systems, adjustments are made automatically. The processes turn out to be more cost-effective and accurate, and operational performance improves.

3: Tracking Water consumption

Agricultural IoT supports farmers in monitoring water tank levels in real time by tracking the amount of water being used and the amount of water left in the tank. Smartphones provide intuitive reports that analyze trends and make recommendations in many cases. Farmers can alter water usage as needed, making irrigation more efficient and economical.

Predictive Equipment Maintenance

Farmers can monitor their land, vehicles, and other assets through IoT. Farmers wish to reduce downtime as the equipment is essential to daily operations. It offers a clear view of the device’s performance, which updates as the equipment operates. Advanced data analytics provides them with the required management insights. Artificial Intelligence and machine learning measure an asset’s typical efficiency and wear and tear based on metrics like vibration analysis, oil analysis, and thermal imaging.  

Predictive maintenance models depend on complicated algorithms to determine when an asset must be serviced, fixed, or retired. These insights come before the device stops performing. This assures that operations and processes at farms are continuous and seamless. The other advantages include lengthened machinery lifecycles, reduced downtime, and productive outcomes.

Smart Livestock Management

We all know that livestock management and monitoring demand good quality of time, effort, and money. Traditionally, employees are hired on farms to look after the health or injury of the cattle. The process is undoubtedly costly, highly unreliable, and inefficient.

IoT solutions terminate speculation when diagnosing an animal’s health by monitoring temperature, heart rate, blood pressure, etc. The information is sent through the wireless network to an application in real time.

Farmers can then access the mentioned information using mobile devices:

  • Each animal’s health condition and location in its herds can be checked from anywhere at any time.
  • Farmers can also check the peak mating time and season of the cattle.
  • Farmers receive alerts if a metric falls outside of the normal range.
  • Most suitable gazing spots can be easily determined.

Benefits to Agriculture and Personalized Services

By embracing smart farming technology, farmers can develop more suitable approaches, and this proficiency changes the relationship between customers and retailers. The farmers can emphasize consumers’ interest in sustainability and eco-friendly food while focusing on creating new strands of their products. They can then charge a premium for their products, enhance revenue and create a more substantial business.

Smart sensors automatically observe every facet of everyday agricultural work. This advanced technology allows farmers to automate real-time data collection, boost production volumes, cut down costs, reduce waste, and much more things that increase productivity. These many advantages are compelling farmers to spend on technology.

According to the worldwide smart farming review, investment in this field will increase from $3.715 billion in 2022 to $7.040 billion in 2026, a CAGR of 13.65 percent. It means farmers will have added hundreds of millions of IoT sensors to improve their everyday operations.

Steering Efficiency

Smart farming technology provides businesses with new ways to increase agricultural efficiency, reducing costs and boosting revenue. In other words, smart farming technology is most significant for the growth of modern farming, increasing the yield to meet growing demand and will keep agricultural industries viable in the future.

Need Enterprise IoT Solutions for Digital Transformation

Why do We Need Enterprise IoT Solutions for Digital Transformation?

We all are well aware of the changes brought by digital transformation, or we can say that digital transformation has achieved many advancements in the past few years. However, the primary question remains: Why do we need Digital transformation? The answer is that to stay competitive, businesses must adopt digitalization. It is mandatory to maintain the minimal digital standard. So, the question should be changed to What are the benefits offered by digitalization to the company?

Let’s assume that company is already leveraging the benefits offered by digitalization. But not everyone can implement or execute it seamlessly, especially considering the highly structured nature and operations in the difficult-to-reach area, increased safety requirements, and a small room for risk.

These challenges are commonplace in sectors like construction, agriculture, and mining. Luckily, the technologies backing digitalization are regularly upgrading to provide the most suitable combination of digital solutions for successful digital transformation. Let’s know how companies can start or continue digitalization using enterprise IoT solutions without the hassle.

Why go Digital?

Digital transformation has not been limited to desktop computers. The level of digitalization in a company can be estimated by the digitalization of its assets, usage, and labor. Product companies must enhance their products using digitalization, for example, by customizing thermometers or developing an agricultural product range with a digital irrigation system. 

According to recent statistics, almost 70% of companies embrace and have a digital transformation strategy or perform on it. These organizations represent the following reasons why digitalization can be advantageous for them:

Top Benefits of Adopting a Digital Model (Source: IoTForAll)

It is apparent that many of these factors are interdependent or outcomes of the same digital improvements. For example, by replacing the old-traditioned button-operated interface with the sensor interface in a tabletop printer, a company could boost its final product quality, which naturally impacted operational efficiency. Therefore, having a clear goal is vital for a potent digital strategy. A more thorough approach means a more valuable outcome. This is true for production and enterprise process improvement, as digital enterprise processes can enhance performance while IoT can speed up adoption.

Business IoT Solutions & Digital Transformation:

These four core target components give a holistic look at the digital enterprise of today:

  • Automation
  • Efficiency
  • Security
  • Maintenance

IoT-embracing companies are already familiar with the benefits and vital points of the IoT ecosystem development strategy. IoT adoption is considered one of a company’s digital indicators. However, it is more reasonable to consider IoT as a tool for enterprise organizations for transformation. This approach empowers to counter any inflated expectations, for instance, executing IoT components and expecting the company’s revenue to skyrocket. It is necessary to ensure that each tool is used appropriately and strategically.

Digital Strategies: 

An IoT implementation process is more intricate than various digital strategies. This is why we call it an IoT ecosystem, where all the components, from sensors to people, communicate with each other to achieve the primary business goals. Besides their extensive nature, IoT ecosystems are adaptable and permit companies to enforce them irrespective of their digital level.

Therefore, we suggest Enterprise IoT solutions for these two main digital strategies:

  • Initial digitalization: By creating an IoT ecosystem, businesses become digitized. By integrating crucial equipment, assets, vehicles, or cargo into intelligence, one can get real-time status, monitor environmental conditions, people’s activities, track location, etc. By adding analytical tools to the IoT ecosystem, one can predict equipment failure, create optimal routes or detect failure due to human factors. One can even add a cybersecurity program due to the potential vulnerability of the endpoints.
  • Advanced digitalization: Besides the capacity to deliver the vector for further business development, Enterprise IoT Solutions are best to estimate the other vector for the digital development of a company. For instance, if you execute a machine vision for improving QA processes at the first step, it is easy to track its efficiency and pick up complementary solutions. When all the essential assets are implanted with IoT sensors, companies can implement a digital twin and meticulously investigate data in their ecosystems. Therefore, you can get a solid analytical advantage empowering you to predict trends or simulate cases.

Enterprise IoT Challenges & Solutions

To know how to accelerate transformation, we must comprehend what slows down this process. Let’s know the major digital problems and solutions to overwhelming them.

1. Inventions Can Cause Disruptions:

Adding innovations brings a change in working models. This is true for highly structured sectors like mining, rail, and construction. Thus, they should regard digital solutions with structure in mind. The best benefit is that IoT technologies are flexible and can incrementally.

Now, we are familiar with successful cases of how some traditionally unsuccessful industries in digital have soared there in recent years. For example, in 2015, healthcare was one of the least digitized industries. But the story changed within three years, and in 2018, it became one of the top digital business strategy adopters, along with the financial and service sectors. Telemedicine, smart pharmacy, wearables, and smart hospitals have become part of the world; this shows that the healthcare sector is successfully managing the enterprise IoT adoption and will keep embracing it.

2. Lack of Safety:

If an enterprise IoT integration is technically challenging, the organization should spend more time on marketing research. The statistics are open, and enterprise IoT providers are updating their technical tools to outstretch the potential implementation area. In mining operations, which are usually held in vast and remote areas and have less connectivity, the best and most convenient solution is implementing mesh nets to ensure a reliable IoT ecosystem. As a result, one can monitor the entire area and get to know the health status of the machines.

3. Resistance:

Line workers are less resistant to innovation. Top management is typically the most resistant as they are responsible for the business. It is the only right decision to approach innovations efficiently by calculating all pros and cons. 

Therefore, higher-level leaders should get precise reports on how particular Enterprise IoT solutions will impact the business processes and revenue of the company. While making an execution strategy, it is essential to calculate all the situations, risks, and ROI and intercommunicate accurate statistics. Thus, there is a high possibility that a technology important for a specific enterprise will be backed.

IoT Ecosystem for Business Goals

Taking the IoT ecosystem not as an end goal but as an effective instrument to achieve business goals using digital transformation is more beneficial. Organizations’ main objectives are improving operational efficiency, meeting customer expectations, and enhancing new product quality. By enforcing enterprise IoT solutions, it is easy to get real-time insights. Enterprise IoT solution is compatible with initial and advanced digitalization as they can analyze large volume of data.

How will IoT Build a Bright World with Connected Devices

How will IoT Build a Bright World with Connected Devices?

Internet of Things is now no new word for the tech world. Studies show that the number of connected devices will reach more than 75 billion by 2025, implying that there will be possibly nine connected devices for every human on earth.

The pace at which IoT technology is striking every area of our lives is impressive, but how it has transformed our day-to-day work is beyond imagination.

But what is IoT?

In simple words, it is the practice of connecting different physical assets through the internet, providing control and measurement access from the remote area while saving users money and time. Today one can set the temperature of the air conditioner while on the way home, brew coffee and efficiently manage the use of lights in the home. Products like Amazon’s Alexa and Apple’s Siri can interact and provide information as required.

Let us know how various industries are embracing the presence of the Internet of Things and the impact of this latest technology.

IoT in the manufacturing sector:

The impact of Industrial IoT technology is already visible in the output of the manufacturing industry, especially in measuring energy and asset efficiency throughout the production line.

IoT technology has provided an effective way to connect and modernize legacy assets. Using connective sensors, businesses can accumulate critical production data and use cloud software to turn this data into useful insights to know about the efficiency of their manufacturing process. But what kind of assets? It can be anything used within the manufacturing process, from its HVAC or CNC machines to products like refrigerators or lighting rings, etc.

IoT can assist by providing a clearer picture of the working of assets individually and collectively, chartering better ways for monitoring, automation, and predictive maintenance. For instance, Industrial IoT in action has enabled us to gain insight into energy consumption and the health condition of the asset. This technology even allows us to schedule maintenance by informing us about the future condition of the asset.

Employing and integrating IoT in the existing process reduces costly downtime, improves assets, and reduces energy costs.

IoT in the retail sector:

Retail sectors are already using IoT in different innovative ways. One of the key areas is tracking energy consumption not at one store but all the stores present in the entire region or at the national level.

The IoT system can also be used to know which stores are using high energy in lighting or heating; in-store sensors allow us to track energy usage at a more granular level.

Other than this, IoT is also used to optimize store experiences. It is now possible to know the interest area of the shoppers, where they are spending most of the time. This helps retailers improve their stores’ layout to reduce congestion, increase stay time and boost sales. We can say that IoT technology and its different uses are building the ‘high streets of the future.

IoT in the construction sector:

Internet of Things is also contributing to making the construction sector smarter. Smart buildings are one of the most loved concepts possible by IoT. Using IoT and integrated sensors to know the air quality of the site or the surrounding area, such as parks and schools, is one of the key usages.

IoT in construction areas allows construction managers to accurately assess the real-time effect of their work on air quality. IoT in construction also ensures the safety of construction workers and nearby people.

IoT in the agriculture Sector:

The increasing population shows that we will need more food production in the coming year. UN has also estimated that we will need to produce 70% more food to meet the global demand by 2050. Internet of Things will help this sector overcome the looming food shortage challenge by reducing food wastage and increasing yield.

Supervising and tracking workers, machine efficiency, crop and livestock health, and predicting weather are some of the ways through which IoT promises to boost productivity with minimum wastage. Employment of agriculture drones and smart agriculture sensors are already helping agriculture workers by providing real-time production data. Besides this, sensors to track important atmospheric aspects like light, humidity, temperature, air quality, and soil aspects like soil moisture, nutrition, etc., contribute to better yield. This has automated the tasks which involved manual and human interference. Thus, saving labor costs and time as well.

Another way through which IoT is helping agriculture farmers is by providing predictive analytics through better quality data. Using data, farmers can estimate the yield and make better storage plans to keep the produce after harvesting.

IoT in smart cities:

Well, IoT in urban areas has been very influential. People are enjoying the leverages provided by IoT like smart houses, smart street lights, or smart bottles. IoT has occupied an important place in the planning and management of cities. Many countries are using IoT for waste management, traffic control, and public transport systems.

Using IoT, it is now possible to know the number of people in transit at a particular time and opt for a better route to avoid congestion. In cities where flooding is a serious concern, IoT can be used to track the real-time water level in the river. The flood defense system starts when the water level increases and helps mitigate the risk.

We’re on the way to a smart connected world:

IoT has successfully infiltered in major sectors contributing to the economy’s growth. Today, if we look around, we’ll observe that everything is getting smart and automated. All thanks go to IoT for making life more hassle-free and productive. However, some areas are still untouched by the magic of IoT, but it is predicted that it will be covered soon in the coming years. It is estimated that global expenditure on IoT will be around $1,100 billion (€1060.02 billion) in 2023, almost double 2018 $646 billion (€622.52 billion).

This shows that IoT will continue to reform the industries making them more profit-oriented without compromising quality. Hence, we can conclude that high-quality data can help make anything prompt, cheap, and more efficient with less waste.

How will IoT Make Building Smart and Greener

How will IoT Make Building Smart and Greener?

Smart building technology is becoming a new fashion, fuelled by a global need for better sustainability, reduced waste, and optimal use of resources.

Smart buildings are accessorized with technological advancements of the latest technology, i.e., the Internet of Things, to manage resources, assets, and services effectively, boosting building operations, energy consumption and resource management, and overall resident experience.

Today, buildings are responsible for around 38 percent of global CO2 emissions and 40 percent of U.S. energy consumption; therefore, remodeling buildings’ energy consumption and sustainability are vital to meeting global climate goals.

To adapt this remodeling has already been made clear by U.S. President Biden’s administration, who informed the Buildings Performance Standards Coalition in January. It will be a first-of-its-kind partnership between 33 states and local governments working hard to deliver cleaner, healthier, and more energy-efficient buildings.

The process of optimizing energy consumption in the building sector is a gigantic undertaking; it can begin at the smallest level, i.e., from the tiny chips that power the IoT.

Smart buildings integrate IoT technology into many areas- from digitizing people’s flow and space usage to reconstructing water supply networks. One of the biggest prospects for smart buildings is revolutionizing energy consumption, beginning with smart energy distribution systems and smart HVAC equipment.

Smart Energy Distribution Systems:

Traditional energy distribution systems are positioned in a unidirectional fashion in which energy is expected to flow from generators into loads. 

Usually, power plants generate energy and collect it in the urban centers of these systems.

The introduction and utilization of renewable energy sources like solar and wind have changed the picture of the energy distribution as the energy distribution system has to permit omnidirectional energy flow. A building that consumed energy could now integrate rooftop solar panels to produce and return excess energy into the grid.

Smart energy allocation systems authorize this omnidirectional energy flow and facilitate the integration of renewable distributed energies to collect energy back into the power grid. This whole system reduces energy consumption by enhancing the system’s efficiency and even uncloses a distributed energy generation model. Buildings are becoming energy producers and giving up their earlier character that is consuming energy, ultimately shifting towards green energy.

Advanced sensors and wireless IoT technologies are laying the foundation for smart energy grid transformation, where smart buildings play a pivotal role in fostering a greener, more connected power grid to shape a more sustainable future.

Smart HVAC Systems:

Smart HVAC systems are exciting evolution in smart buildings, which provides energy efficiency, air quality, and resident comfort. With the hit of the COVID-19 pandemic, vendors are looking at a shortened HVAC upgrade cycle. Dealers and distributors are integrating their HVAC systems with new and smart technologies. Today, when everything is shaping into a smart version, building residents are now expecting granular control of HVAC settings in each room and area of their building. In this situation, IoT is a savior as it adds a new level to the comfort experience inside the buildings.

Motorized vents and dampers integrated with wireless connectivity to phones and tablets allow residents to set the temperature and the CO2, humidity, and air quality. Building managers can also benefit from IoT connectivity to know the room occupancy, reduce energy usage, and optimize energy use throughout the premises.

Monitoring Building Health:

Monitoring building health is another important aspect of smart building growth areas. More environmental sensors are being added to buildings beyond traditional temperature and humidity. These sensors control smart dampers for better airflow and outdoor air exchange, manage connected equipment for predictive maintenance to avoid equipment failure, flow meters for real-time leak detection, gas sensors to detect air particles, and many other things.

We are already familiar with connected fire and smoke detection sensors, but with the addition of the latest technology, we can witness more wireless connectivity with long-range wireless and Bluetooth to develop an installer interface.

All three major applications, i.e., energy management, fire safety, and building health monitoring add more connectivity and digital capability.

The Importance of Reliability and Cybersecurity:

Well, aside from the great benefits offered by smart building, there are some challenges faced by smart building to be dealt with with skilled engineering.

The first challenge is technological: wireless networks of such complex systems should be reliable and stable. Though wireless mesh network technology is highly adept, vendors and manufacturers are required to ensure the reliability of their products to estimate the true potential of wireless networks in building environments.

Integrating wireless networks makes buildings vulnerable to cyber attacks. Silicon vendors and product manufacturers have stepped up their cybersecurity game to combat such threats. Uncompromised efforts and constant focus on security while developing and distributing smart solutions will be highly helpful in transforming the building sector.

A Smarter, Greener Future:

The best part about smart buildings is that they are not limited to just brand new structures; these buildings can be retrofitted with smart technology as well. Implementing wireless connectivity in existing systems allows for smooth adoption and speeds up the adoption of wireless communications in buildings.

The initiation of both public and private sectors to improve energy use in the building sector signifies that the coming years will be the era of smart building adoption. Today, when it has become important to reduce CO2 emissions in all sectors and maximize energy efficiency and consumption, the employment of the latest technology and the use of IoT in buildings can charter the way to sustainability and improve the quality of life for individuals and group level.

Why Private cloud is the first choice of Businesses when it comes to IoT

Why Private Cloud is the First Choice of Businesses When it Comes to IoT?

Today, terms like smart refrigerator or smart town or home security system and many other words are familiar with everyone. Not just this, people even know that how these devices fit into the Internet of Things (IoT). Besides changing the lives of individuals, IoT has become a boon for businesses as it helps in making it more effective and efficient. Through automated sensors attached to packages or vehicles to inform the organization about the supply chain status, devices to monitor and track business development processes, or create more customer engagement, IoT provides every possible solution to help businesses grow and succeed. 

Another business-outlook changing tool that is helpful for devices within the IoT is the cloud. It is an interconnected network of servers that store data for individuals and businesses alike. Individuals opt cloud for storing files on iCloud instead of saving on phone or computer, while companies use the cloud for business processes, mainly to store data from IoT systems.

Do you know the Difference Between a Private and Public Cloud?

Well, it’s not mandatory to have a cloud for IoT systems because the operations of IoT systems can even take place locally rather than on the cloud through a connection to the internet. Yet, using the cloud for IoT systems within your business might help in reducing costs and scale that often accompany cloud use.

Organizations can opt for either a private cloud, a public cloud, or a hybrid cloud for cloud use. It is necessary to know the pros and cons of all three cloud services. One of the most popular types of cloud service, especially for individual use, is the public cloud. In this, a third-party service provider owns this cloud but will not be responsible for any maintenance or infrastructure. Google Drive, Amazon Web Services, and iCloud are some examples of public clouds. 

In a private cloud, the stored data and information are only available and can be accessed by the organization for which it was developed. This implies that Private Clouds offer more control over their data to the organization. Private clouds are the first preference of organizations like financial institutions or government institutions because they deal with sensitive information.

The third option is the hybrid cloud. These are a blend of private and public clouds. This combination empowers organizations to customize which cloud type to use for better results.

Benefits offered by Private Cloud for businesses:

There are many reasons for which a company may opt to work with a private cloud:

Protects Company Data:

Companies that have adopted IoT systems and devices experience immense data flow. This data helps churn valuable insights that can help the business to improve and grow. It is now apparent why organizations are concerned with data security. Private clouds have dedicated service providers that enable organizations to control data firmly. In this, the organization is responsible for installing and maintaining the cloud infrastructure so they can manage their valuable data in a better way.

Improves Productivity and Efficiency:

One of the main reasons for opting for private cloud over others is its features that promise efficiency and productivity in a business. An organization can prosper when they are concerned more about improving productivity among their employees.

Choosing a private cloud can improve a company’s efficiency by:

  • Facilitating a business’s data usage and storage
  • Enabling communication among co-workers more comfortable and faster
  • Providing more flexibility and customization that allows systems to comply with special regulations or standards within the company or industry
  • Offering employees better file-sharing capabilities

Additional Benefits:

There are several other benefits organizations may enjoy with private cloud usage, such as:

  • The Expenditure. While it may seem as if a public cloud may be the more affordable option in many cases; however as per a report shared in 2019 concluded from 451 Research reveals that private cloud computing, mainly if it runs on a reliable single-tenant VMware are found to be less costly for some businesses.
  • More Efficient Decision:  A company is dependent on data and wishes to store data that can help in making significant business decisions on a more local level instead of sending data to a centralized location for processing purposes and proper analysis.
  • Less Latency:  On-premises management of systems and devices can promise faster data connectivity between servers and devices, lowering latency and permitting businesses to operate promptly.
  • Proper Integration With Existing IoT Systems:  An organization can easily integrate IoT systems with new systems more efficiently if they can physically access their data management system.

Conclusion:

In this fast-changing world, it has become mandatory to reevaluate the decisions made for the business benefit. Cloud computing is proliferating, so it has become obligatory to consider the future of cloud services for media, individuals, and businesses.

While considering cloud services for your business, be sure about the requirements of your business and opt for the most fitting cloud. Are you looking for cloud migration? Contact us to get the most reliable and result-focused services.

Generating Continuous Value for IoT Using Ecosystem Approach

Generating Continuous Value for IoT Using Ecosystem Approach?

The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted almost all sectors. Still, on the other hand, it opened a plethora of opportunities to improve the existing business culture by showing us the path of Digital Transformation. Today, the industry stands on the doorsteps of its much-awaited renewal. It is evident that manufacturing leaders have to adopt digital transformation but have to accelerate innovation while managing crucial processes like enhancing capacity without compromising product quality.

Thus, digital transformation is the new focus in the manufacturing industry, and no doubt, effective collaboration will be the best way to keep both things smooth and productive at the same time. However, this will not be easy as workforces have gone and are still mostly remote.

Pandemic Impact:

As the virus blanketed the globe, it became pretty clear that there would be a fight for survival among industries. There would be winners and losers. Before the pandemic situation, the manufacturing sector had been slow in adopting the digital transformation and lacked a data-centric mindset that has already transformed other industries. Even those who embraced multimillion-dollar Industry 4.0 or IoT initiatives were not receiving any excellent results to showcase their efforts. Unfortunately, when the pandemic knocked the globe, resources to support implementations went at the edge.

Not just they lost the data they needed to adapt at the moment but also potential value..

Digital Transformation:

Today the most asked question is why invest in digital transformation at the corporate level when there is no usable data from the factory floor? 

Well, Smart manufacturing does not demand to have an entire organization devoted to its success. In manufacturing, it can begin with capturing insights from the very initial operation- the machine assets that make products and people handling the machine. The assets are one of the most significant capital investments for any manufacturing industry, and it produces thousands of data points every second. Still, these valuable data are not captured and analyzed to improve the efficacy leading to no improvement or growth. Today’s factories are based on manual processes that result in massive inefficiencies and disturbs every part of the organization.

Insights along with correct action-driven from this data can lay the foundation for manufacturers to grow their business and stand above the competitors. Even the chances of errors and inefficiency are negligible.

Machine Data Infrastructure:

As we already know, there were many manufacturers, organizations, consultants and system integrators who attempted to rebuild the machine data infrastructure from scratch and produced varying degrees of achievement as a part of large IoT initiatives.

Even while leveraging a horizontal IIoT platform, the whole setup requires months or years. Once it is completed, the mechanism for capturing and contextualizing machine data has to build, and it needs regular maintenance. Not only are the expenses of sustaining these solutions limit, but the missing opportunity and value affiliated with misallocating resources to produce something that already exists causes a competitive disadvantage for the manufacturer.

Accurate real-time data automatically collected and transformed from machine assets produce a solid base for driving bottom-line value. When joined with visibility and actionability via alerts, analytics and automation triggered by the data, one can observe a 15-20% improvement in utilization performance in months.

Once this is over, the value achievement can be fast and multi-directional by integrating the data into other siloed data on enterprise factory and industry systems, i.e. from product designing to production, product quality, maintenance and logistics to run endless automation and accomplishment of exceptional value.

This enables an ecosystem of manufacturers and partners to speed up value attainment and reduce the risk of initiative failure by optimally adjusting the entities having individual skills, in particular IIoT initiatives.

IIoT Ecosystem:

IIoT Ecosystem includes manufacturers, machine builders, machine builder distributors, technology and solution providers, service providers, software providers, system integrators and consultants. Each has its unique skill, expertise, or intellectual property that can be used to drive a successful IIoT initiative. When the resources mentioned above are disarranged or sub-optimized, IIoT initiatives fail to deliver on the insured value proposition or fail entirely.

So, the question is, where should the manufacturer focus? Analytics, including both Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence algorithms, can be developed and applied at the edge as well as in the cloud using analytics technologies. The correct alignment of skills and technologies produces the optimal formula for the manufacturer’s speedy and regular value generation.

Successful IIoT initiatives need selecting the right technologies and perfect alignment of the different entities in the IIoT Ecosystem that participate in the industry. In the IIoT Ecosystem, the alignment should be done based on each participant’s unique technology, IP and domain expertise to extract maximum benefit and reduce risk.

The emphasis should be on quick data transformation, excellent application, integration and automation into other best factory systems.

Pivot, Respond, Adapt:

As I already shared that many manufacturers suffered a lot during the pandemic times, and no doubt much of that suffering was out of their hands. But who were the ones who surpassed all the challenges and succeeded? Who were winners when the whole world was encountering losses at different levels? Well, the organizations that can pivot, respond and adapt at the tough times. It wasn’t easy, but they were prepared with the data, the tools and the mindset to win.

For manufacturers who had to spend a lot on difficult-to-implement should pump the breaks in favour of vertical solutions that can benefit immediately.

It’s time to switch to the new world of digital transformation. Are you ready for it?

How is IoT Transforming the Retail Business?

How is IoT (Internet Of Things) Transforming the Retail Business?

Today, almost all industries are utilizing the benefits offered by the Internet of Things. One of the biggest markets affecting the industry, i.e. retail industry, is also encountering an exciting transformation with innovative IoT applications.

Retailers and marketers are enjoying unlimited opportunities with IoT applications to collect and produce more intense insights into customer response and purchasing patterns.

IoT applications aids retailers in increasing productivity, sales and enhances the overall customer experience. Such benefits have improved the image of IoT and made it a centre of attraction among retailers across the globe.

Marketers and businesses expect the revenue of IoT in retail to stretch around 35.5 billion USD by the end of 2025. Today retailers can use IoT technology in their business in different ways to get the most optimal result.

How IoT helps retailers in improving business?

Nowadays, retailers are adopting IoT to enhance customer experience, reduce costs, drive growth and enhance overall performance. Let’s see how IoT supports retailers in improving business.

Smart Shelves:

In a retail business, it has been observed that a considerable amount of time and energy is spent in keeping track of items, i.e. to confirm the availability of a product and know the condition of the product. Using smart shelves is a better solution to end the hassle. IoT technology in retail helps automate monitoring products and reduces the possibility of any possible vandalism.

Retailers attach sensors and RFID tags on the shelves to monitor the products and gather the data. The readers have to scan products on both display shelves and stock shelves.

IoT enabled smart shelve informs the retailer about when items are incorrectly placed on the shelf or running low. It helps to control the management of inventory in a precise and cost-effective way. The RFID tags are attached to a reader that gives the smart shelves the capability to identify in-store thefts. Hence, it cuts off the extra expenditure spend on security personnel.

Automated Checkouts:

Most of the time, store’s checkout counters are the busiest place holding lines of customers for their turn to pay the bills. IoT technology has solutions for this issue as well. It resolves the issue effectively by establishing a system that can read tags on each item when customers leave the store.

The checkout system matches the items with RFID tags and automatically deduct the cost from the customer’s mobile payment application. The automated checkout system improves the customer experience and increases the probability of their revisit to the store for next shopping.

Personalized Discounts:

Loyal customers expect some privileges like personal discounts or rewards for their loyalty. One of the best ways to meet their expectation is setting up sensors that send loyalty discounts to loyal customers when they reach the specific products with their smartphones.

Another way is to adopt IoT to monitor those items that the customer has been searching online and send a personalized discount when the item is available in-store. Through engaging offers Internet of Things can surprise the customers and sustain their loyalty.

Thus adding IoT into a daily business needs foresightedness and creativity. The innovative and smart approach attracts more valuable and long-term customers.

In-Store Layout Optimization:

By Implementing analytics on the data collected using infrared sensors, the store’s layout can be optimized by placing the products at their appropriate place. Also, placing the popular products at the front and least liked at the back can offer a comfortable way to customers to reach the desired item.

Suppose a customer is searching for a popular Smart TV in-store, but it is placed behind an old DVD player’s stock; thus, it is blocking the way to the TV. This inconvenience might result in losing a potential customer. Therefore, in-store layout optimization plays a vital role in a retail business.

The use of IoT applications helps a customer find and locate their desired products in-store, help find the best route to reach their selected items, and check the details of the product provided by the smart shelves.

Optimized Supply Chain Management:

The RFID tags and GPS sensors attached to each product provides precise data about the products’ condition like temperature, humidity, time spent in transportation, and other product-related factors. When the collected data is processed and analyzed to gain insights, it can improve transport and the overall supply chain. In addition, IoT sensors alert the person in charge in case of any emergency and enable them to take necessary actions immediately to avoid substantial loss.

Conclusion:

Internet of Things is transforming the outlook of the retail industry by implementing smart solutions. The adoption of IoT solutions in the retail business can help in improving customer experience, reduce operational costs, improves inventory management and high-quality services.

By extracting valuable insights through IoT and Data analytics, retailers can manage and schedule their operations, including inventory management, supply chain, boost marketing conversions, and ROIs. Thus these features will attract retailers to adopt IoT into their businesses in the upcoming year to enhance their benefits.