From the Internet of Things to the Industry of Things

The Internet of Things in a nutshell: Toasters, refrigerators, and your running shoes have an online chat about how many calories you're allowed to consume today. How does this work? All these items evaluate data, compare the calories contained with those you've expended, and provide you with a basis for decision-making: Do you really want to eat that today?

In the business environment, this approach is called the Industry of Things. Instead of toasters and shoes, here sensors, robots, IT systems, and even buildings communicate with each other. As these "things" talk to each other, they generate data. This data is collected, analyzed, interpreted, and ultimately visualized. This process provides you with the basis to make important decisions. Hence, it's not surprising that four out of five companies use IoT in production. Key benefits include cost efficiency, productivity increase, and reduction in production costs.

The networking and digitization of "things" are happening everywhere at a rapid pace. Never before have so many data been collected and processed as today – and this development is just at its beginning. The increasing digitization of the physical business world poses a challenge. However, it simultaneously offers you the opportunity to view your business more strongly as an integrated value creation network.

From Theory to Practice: Learning to Walk!

The benefits of utilizing data from all devices involved in production within the company are obvious. However, the practical implementation of this often seems unattainable for most businesses. Decision-makers and users frequently perceive the technical, organizational, and monetary hurdles as too high.

The list of obstacles appears extensive: numerous heterogeneous interfaces, short-lived technology cycles, lack of knowledge, insufficient exposure to the subject, or a complex landscape of solutions.

The greatest difficulty lies in unclear expectations regarding the implementation of IoT. To overcome this obstacle, a clear strategy is necessary. Formulate the objectives of an IoT deployment in your company. This way, you can determine the actions and thus the costs or have them determined by external consultation.