There are a few items that a company may add without changing how they do business to any degree. It may be switching their courier, upgrading some lights or changing the coffee brand in the cafeteria (on second thought, maybe not the last one, this may cause riots).
However, few things can have positive impacts on an organization as a well-thought-out IoT solution. For it to be as effective as possible, companies need to know what they are getting into. By answering these questions, you can better understand what is involved and what the benefits may be.
Are we open to change?
Moving towards IoT does impact your business routines, and many do not factor this into their decisions. When you stop recording information manually on a clipboard and have it automatically uploaded, some may feel unwanted. It may throw off the daily routine that you have had for years. Companies need to know the different ways they can be impacted and plan accordingly.
How much time can we dedicate to the rollout?
Like any other change, your company needs to commit to it before, during and after your rollout for your IoT solution for it to be successful. Before any rollout, it makes sense to consult with your team to see where the deficiencies are and how the solution may change their day-to-day routine. During your rollout, you need to focus on getting things out smoothly and efficiently.
Finally, after deployment, you need to revisit the solution to see if you have accomplished your goals.
If all of this is not feasible for your company, using a turn-key service may make more sense. While it may cost more, it will give you the benefits of an IoT solution while allowing your team to focus entirely on their day-to-day work.
How “rugged” of a solution do we need?
When you deploy things inside your office, there are many things you do not have to worry about. Your AC plug from the wall provides reasonably steady and consistent power, devices do not have to worry about heat/cold/moisture, and there isn’t the same vibration level you might see in a vehicle. Because of this, you don’t need to worry about using a rugged device to meet your needs.
However, this may not be the case for an IoT device. Is there heat/cooling all of the time at that site? If it is used on a vehicle, vibration and changing power levels may be an issue.
On top of this, you may need to factor in if the device can run on battery power in a power outage event. Taking a bit of time to go through this will save you many headaches down the road.
Who needs access to the great information that this solution will generate?
Imagine your company rents printing/photocopier machines. When you add IoT to the mix, you now have so much more information in real-time than ever before. You know how many hours devices are running for if any are having potential issues, what features are used the most, and you can perform over-the-air software updates, just to name a few.
When you factor these things in, just about areas of your organization may benefit from this data. Finance will be able to determine capital costs better, Operations will be able to maintain a better uptime level, and Sales may create more lucrative billing models for customers. You must plan your solution to know how to disperse the data before deployment best.
Why are you doing this?
This sounds obvious, but it does play into your decisions quite well. Is it because you are falling behind a competitor with better offerings?
Are you looking to have more of a “modern” image?
Are you hoping to reduce costs?
Or all of the above?
When you know why you are doing this, it can help you plan on what your solutions need to deliver now and ensure that the solution can grow to meet your needs in the future with minimal upgrades.