Big players have already made inroads into incorporating IoT data into their information systems. IoT technology has been integrated into Rolls-Royce's service solutions to enhance aircraft efficiency, drive up aircraft availability and lower engine maintenance costs. Coca-Cola uses data from connected vending machines to gain valuable understanding about where and when to advertise.

By leveraging simpler and lower-cost IoT options, smaller businesses can take advantage of IoT benefits once thought only affordable for larger companies.

The results are impressive. A recent Boston Consulting Group study revealed that SMBs adopting IoT increased annual revenue 15% faster than those without IoT solutions.

Using sensors

By incorporating information from product sensors in their CRM systems, companies can better track the customer journey during all stages of the product life cycle. Many new companies have created IoT solutions that are affordable for smaller businesses.

Take for example, Valarm, which uses sensors to help track fleet vehicles, trucks, trailers and golf carts. By using old smartphones as sensors, it is able to cut the cost to one tenth of the normal price, making the technology available to SMBs.

Vehicle IoT systems can be used to notify fleet managers when employees or suppliers are driving dangerously or to send an offer to a vehicle owner to bring a car in for service when fluid levels reach a specified level, colour or temperature.

RainMachine, inexpensively combines sensors, smartphones, and up-to-the-minute localised weather data to program and automatically adjust sprinkler schedules according to the type of plants/trees being grown at each customer site.

There are possibilities for retail applications as well. As shoppers move through a store, in-store beacons can be employed to check their location, purchase history and loyalty status, triggering discount offers for relevant merchandise on the spot

In the construction industry, modular homes manufacturers can use IoT data from each component to streamline production and assembly and provide real-time reports of product delivery times to home-owners.

Integration challenges

IoT is a game-changer in the sense of enabling new business value.

To achieve their full potential IoT systems shouldn't stand alone. For example, integration with customer relationship management (CRM) solutions will enable IoT businesses to take customer service to the next level by enabling enterprises to better understand their customers and offer proactive support.

IoT also creates systems integration challenges. With multiple platforms, numerous protocols and large numbers of APIs, systems integration can be a huge task. Middleware, in the form of a system integration platform for managing data and business processes, can provide a valuable common interface between the different systems.

A code-free platform with pre-built adapters to leading IT systems and the ability to connect to everything else, can speed up the process of creating IoT applications, ensure easy adaptation and cost-effective maintenance.

As we enter the era of Internet of Things (IoT), organisations that leverage IoT to gain insights into each step of the customer journey can gain a competitive advantage, and having tools to simplify and speed up the process can make this capability available to any size business and not just the giants.

* By Lindsay Britz, Marketing Manager, Magic Software South Africa