Nowadays, with growing concern for the environment, many businesses want to create a greener working environment. The internet of things (IoT) technology has all the potential for creating a more sustainable workplace, as it connects multiple parts of the system and operates with an analytical approach.
IoT gives the possibility to connect devices within a company’s networks so they can interact with each other, provide the necessary information, and optimise processes. IoT can be the system of a wide range of devices and tools, connecting anything from coffee machines to the dashboard of a company car.
However, as this technology expands and more devices become interconnected, this can noticeably increase energy usage. That is why it is needed to ensure that the electricity consumption of IoT systems is covered by renewable and low-carbon energy sources such as solar panels.
Despite that, there are good reasons for adopting smart office technologies. With the help of IoT, offices can increase productivity, employees can focus on more important tasks, and the work environment can be safer and more comfortable for them.
Here are the different ways businesses can benefit from IoT in their daily operations.
Reduce Consumption.
Commercial buildings like offices can use IoT to reduce their resource consumption and maintenance costs, as well as increase their operational efficiency and customer satisfaction. Interconnected devices can give the possibility to control almost everything in the office starting from lighting to heating and water supply.
Picture the following scenario: many offices employ a large workforce and in order to fulfil the drinking water consumption, a number of water dispensers are placed throughout the building. With the advantage of technologies like IoT, there is no need for constant checking of bottles as the management of water dispensers becomes smart and easy with the system alerting the maintenance personnel when needed.
The system monitors the water dispensers with sensors and compares it with the water level of other machines. Then it informs the administrator directly about the level left in the dispenser who can instantly replace it.
From that output, administration will now know how fast the water level is likely to change from one percentage to another and how soon the water in the bottle will be fully empty. This will allow to predict future consumption and manage the delivery of water bottles in a more efficient way with reduced HR costs.
Improve Operational Efficiency.
Open and integrated systems are creating new opportunities for businesses to use their data, allowing working smarter — not harder. Through the use of IoT solutions, businesses can analyse which areas have no success, specific trends that the company may benefit from, or ways to decrease costs.
Instead of collecting information from different departments, with the help of IoT, management can instantly obtain up-to-date information about what is going within the company. In other words, IoT enables centralising database according to business needs, which later allow identifying operational problems in order to react in the shortest possible time.
Detect Future Problems.
Connected devices and sensors can help predict future failures and effectively use the company’s resources towards maintenance, or even react to emergencies without human assistance.
For instance, businesses can spot any asset in the office starting having problems and immediately repair it avoiding downtime. If there is a power failure, IoT can also automatically back up power to keep any important assets in the office running.
Enhance Customer Experience.
With the help of IoT, businesses are able to collect an enormous amount of data. This data can help optimise products and improve the overall value provided to the customer.
Additionally, by using IoT, companies can track the performance of their products more closely. Based on this information, businesses can easily find potential issues in any part of the supply chain and thus build better product flows. Moreover, the technology could be used to alert customers when maintenance may be required.
This can help optimise the operations around the product which, in return, would be beneficial both to customers and to the company, as it improves product performance and utility as well as strengthens and facilitates closer relationships with customers.
Create Competitive Advantage.
Information is becoming a crucial way for companies to outperform their competitors. Integration of IoT systems within business processes give managers the right tools to make rethinking and effectively improving a strategy possible.
The right usage of big data can give significant value to the company. With proper analysis of the available information, companies are able to narrow down the customer segment and, therefore, create products or services more targeted towards the end user. In addition to this, IoT can improve decision making, minimising the risk by detecting hidden threats and opportunities in the market.
The right usage of such big amounts of data — also for benchmarking purposes — gives the possibility for a business to be ahead of the competition by acting more quickly and making more informed profit-conscious decisions. Without the proper use of the available information, companies are much more likely to experience failure.
