The omnichannel IoT revolution is arriving, ushering in proactive, predictive, and personalized experiences that will become the key to customer satisfaction. Ketan Karia, Director of the IoT Division, discusses the rapid growth of the Internet of Things (IoT) and how it is helping to solve numerous business challenges.
What Impact Will IoT Have on the Customer Journey Concept?
IoT is reshaping the meaning of omnichannel by introducing a new source of customer data. Deploying and collecting data from IoT sensors has become more affordable, allowing companies to track customer behavior more effectively. Take the example of an internet-connected car: IoT enables a customer experience that is proactive, predictive, and personalized.
- Proactive: Your car alerts you when a part needs replacement or repair and may even notify the service department to schedule an appointment.
- Predictive: Based on your driving habits, your car can predict when you’ll need to refuel or change your tires.
- Personalized: Insurers can use data on your driving behavior to tailor insurance rates and offer tips to improve your driving style.
Companies leveraging this new data source can create a truly differentiated customer experience. Those that don’t will soon fall behind the competition.
Can You Share Some Interesting IoT Use Cases That Ness Is Working On?
For companies operating fleets of vehicles, effective fleet management is key to maximizing return on investment. We help clients with online vehicle tracking, predicting arrival times, locating stolen vehicles, and even finding the nearest vehicle in emergencies.
Driver behavior plays an important role in fleet management, and some companies are keen to monitor and evaluate it to establish best practices. We offer services to help with this.
Our engineers also work on software for smart household meters (water, electricity). In the past, bills were often inaccurate, and consumers had no way to verify readings. Today, smart meters are helping consumers manage and optimize their resource consumption more effectively.
At Ness, we’re integral to developing smart metering apps that allow consumers to track their usage, such as identifying which devices consume the most electricity. This information is conveniently linked to mobile phones, giving users more control.
In Which Areas Are You Developing Your Knowledge and Technical Skills Related to IoT?
While we don’t manufacture hardware, we partner with IoT device companies to deliver complete IoT solutions to our clients. We’re also seeing increased investment from the chip manufacturing sector, which is crucial as more IoT devices require chips and firmware — an area where we can contribute.
We focus on enhancing our internal capabilities as well. We are training technicians and hiring specialists to help us grow in the IoT sector. Additionally, we plan to offer training on IoT communication protocols, which still need standardization in the industry.
The communication protocol space is broad and open. There are various methods for connecting devices to the internet, cloud, and databases. Our engineers must be familiar with these protocols to know which to use, how to encrypt them, and how to ensure their security.
How Is Today’s IoT Different from a Few Years Ago?
IoT is evolving rapidly for several reasons. Just like any technology, there are factors that accelerate or slow down progress. Stakeholders in the IoT industry are continuously investing in the development of cheaper, lower power consumption, and higher frequency sensors. A few decades ago, the adoption of sensors was limited by their high cost, power consumption, and size. However, industrial investment has led to a new generation of more efficient sensors.
These advancements in smart sensors and actuators provide companies with new streams of data to track assets, manage machines, and boost overall efficiency and productivity.
One of the key barriers to IoT adoption is the issue of security and privacy. For example, in a mass transit system, who owns the data about your journey — is it you, the transit company, or the company providing the technology? Without clear ownership, analyzing this data becomes difficult.
What Challenges Do Companies Face When Implementing IoT?
IoT requires quick thinking and fast action. Larger, established companies, especially in manufacturing, may struggle to adapt to this significant shift. They are accustomed to creating value from physical products, whereas the new paradigm focuses on creating value from the data generated by those products and their usage.
As with any emerging technology, there are instances where IoT is implemented for the sake of innovation without a clear, tangible benefit. For example, a washing machine with excessive flashing lights and sensors may not be practical. Over time, more meaningful use cases will emerge, offering genuine value.
Companies need to be well-prepared and proactive in identifying a solid business case for IoT adoption. Too often, companies face issues with choosing architectures that aren’t scalable or fail to update legacy business processes.
Employees may resist change if their needs aren’t understood or if the user experience isn’t right. Additionally, cybersecurity must be planned from the start to ensure the integrity and safety of the IoT systems.