In a connected world, the real innovation would happen on how the data from one connected system would be used by other connected systems and come up with new business models that we haven’t thought of so far.
For example, let’s assume the elevator manufacturing company relies on a third-party vendor for their logistics and shipment of machinery and spare parts. Getting real-time visibility into the moving parts across the globe along with the external factors could help plan the contingency better. For instance, if it takes X amount of additional time to get spare parts from Y location as compared to Z location, but due to real-time weather insight integrated system, reporting extreme weather conditions at Y location for next three days, it’s better to order spare parts from Z location to reach on time. The distance from Z location can be further optimized based on real-time notifications from traffic systems that can provide an alternate route to the manufacturing plant. Here insights from the logistics aggregation company are offered as the value added services to manufacturing systems.
Take another example of passengers waiting for an elevator, what is the best way to keep the passengers engaged and satisfied and not grumble about the delay. A customer after checking-in to the smart connected hotel and waiting for the elevator for few minutes and later having too many stops to reach at his 90th floor, in one way can be engaged by providing complimentary vouchers for the delay on his Smartphone (through beacons and hotel smart apps on mobile) or through his hotel room card (which is digitized and provide various information) or a call as soon as he reaches his room. In that way, the customer would get the sense of being instantly connected and feel that the hotel acknowledged the delay and cared about it.
Take another example of how data from the connected car solution can be used to derive real values like, traffic management, public safety, fleet management, after sales service and industries like insurance that would tap into the data and devise ‘pay per use’ model based on actual usage of the car and based on driving/behaviour pattern of the driver. The insurance underwriting process would be changed to take into account these various connected parameters to quote the insurance premium. Insurance companies might also provide various value added services like tying up with service vendors for after sales services or providing just in time insurance for a second person driving the car. Privacy and security can pose a challenge, but they can be effectively handled through service level agreements between car broker/owner and insurance companies.
The current generation does not hesitate to share information on social media. Sometimes sharing information can be tricky but often times you would want to do that to improve your experience with the connected world as every smart business then will be able to provide personalized service based on your personal preference or characteristic. It will bring out positive outcomes and benefit at large and will be appreciated by the same people thereby creating a framework of connected people and business.
In the next article, we will talk about a couple of use cases. We call this as start-up use cases, where start-ups and small organizations are tapping into IoT to create new innovative products from scratch. We would cover two such use cases – connected car and connected home in next section