Internet of Things is gaining space in people’s lives. More and more objects of daily use are connected to the Internet: Your thermostat, alarms, fridges, child and pet care devices, cars… the list goes on.

Also, IoT influences the ways companies do business. The need to optimize processes, improve communication, stand out from the competition, and even rethink business models have made companies consider technology as the main resource to achieve those goals.

According to a McKinsey survey, IoT has an economic potential calculated in $4 to $11 trillion dollars a year by 2025. “Business-to-business applications will probably capture more value — nearly 70 percent of it.”

So if you’re is still not using the power of IoT, what are you waiting for? Here are some opportunities IoT offers to your company:

Productivity increase

One of the most important business trends nowadays is automation. From solopreneurs to multinational corporations, businesses are taking advantage of this to save the only resource that cannot be recovered: time. The quote “time is money” is well-known, and now is more relevant than ever. So if you help your employees to save time in tasks that can be automated, this will not only increase productivity, but also motivation.

For example, Commercient’s IoT Pulse allows you to sync over 815 apps (and counting!), from CRMs to ERPs to email marketing, so if a customer places an order he can receive a confirmation email instantly, and an invoice is generated in the system; all this without having to wait for a staff member to come to the desk, turn on the computer, and check the orders. Businesses value time, and so do the customers. With more automated tasks, the attention customers receive is faster and more personalized, which helps to retain those customers and encourage them to recommend your company to their network.

Information about customer’s habits and behavior

This is especially valuable for B2C companies (like retail stores or online shops), IoT offers information about the customers that wasn’t available before: Routines, preferences, shopper and consumer patterns, and more. Even if your company is B2B, serving other businesses, the inclusion of IoT in your working processes allows you to know your customers more and anticipate to their needs, providing products and services that respond to their particular situations. This is marketing automation.

In other words, with IoT, data compilation and analysis is crucial. Analytics not only allow you to know more about how customers use and interact with technology, but also boost the creation of new business models. That’s exactly what the report “Top 10 IoT Technologies for 2017 and 2018” by Gartner found.

“The IoT demands an extensive range of new technologies and skills that many organizations have yet to master,” said Nick Jones, vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner.

Gartner also mentions the need of new analytic tools and algorithms as data volume increases.

Process optimization

According to the McKinsey report mentioned earlier, one of the industries that can get the most out of IoT is manufacturing. Processes like operation management, supply chain optimization, equipment maintenance will be done more efficiently and with less complications using this type of technology.

That’s not all: IoT is a great resource to integrate your ERP and CRM to the Internet. If you integrate ERP and CRM, it will be easier and faster to send quotes, manage inventory, control paid and unpaid invoices, among other key business management operations. That way, your staff can focus on what matters the most to grow your business: Acquiring more customers and keeping the current customers happy.

These are just some reasons on how your business can thrive in this highly competitive world thanks to IoT. Companies specializing in Big Data, analytics, and security will also see opportunities for growth in a world more open to the Internet of Things.

With all the opportunities that arise, a “tech” world brings new challenges. That’s why it is so important to solve these challenges focusing on integration. And there’s where Commercient comes in: We integrate your data and make it accessible to your staff, even from mobile devices, and making sure it’s safely stored in the cloud.

If you want to know more about our integrations, contact us today.

From Commercient website