Though a buzzword these days, how exactly do enterprises rationalise their investments in the Internet of Things (IoT)?
A new International Data Corporation (IDC) PlanScape – The IoT Foundation for Connected Products, Assets and Supply Chains in Manufacturing – offers practical guidance to help IT and business leaders, especially those in manufacturing, justify investments in the IoT and an IoT foundation for incremental improvements and transformation.
There’s little doubt that for manufacturers, the IoT was bringing the necessary capabilities for connected products, assets, and supply chains. Using these, they could leverage a combination of software, sensors, and IP-enabled connectivity to change products and processes.
IDC Manufacturing Insights Practice Director Kimberly Knickle said, “Developing a roadmap for IoT and an IoT foundation will ensure that the investments satisfy manufacturers IT and business expectations. IT organisations can and should play an important role in an efficient and agile rollout of IoT across the various use cases in manufacturing.”
The new IDC PlanScape offered a decision-making tool to help IT professionals plan the evolution of the IT operations architecture to virtualised networks. It helped to assure business value from technology by establishing a business case, identifying risk factors, and outlining critical success factors.
Experts were now coming around to the view that the IoT was an essential “innovation accelerator” for manufacturers. By implementing an IoT foundation, manufacturers had the opportunity to increase their real time visibility into their own operations as well as into their customers’ operations. From the analysis of that information, manufacturers were able to develop the insights they needed to change how they generate revenue and profit, whether through more data-driven execution or new products and services.
The new IDC PlanScape offered practical guidance to manufacturers on how to move forward with an IoT foundation, and answered the following questions:
- Why is IoT and an IoT foundation an important investment for manufacturers?
- What are the key elements of an IoT foundation?
- Who are the key stakeholders that should be involved in an IoT foundation and IoT initiatives?
- What are their roles and responsibilities for promoting successful IoT projects?
- How can IT and non-IT leaders help accelerate investment in IoT for business value throughout their organisations?
“We expect manufacturers to eventually weave the IoT into many of their products and processes. Today, manufacturers should invest in providing the business with access to the IoT technology elements they needed to drive experimentation and increasing adoption. Sharing tools and technologies across the business would allow the investments and best practices to be shared more easily across departments and requirements,” added Knickle.
According to IDC data, 56 percent of manufacturers in the United States were already researching or piloting IoT for business benefits such as lowering operational costs, improving customer service and support, acquiring new customers, and increasing business process efficiencies. IDC assertion was that manufacturers needed to move forward with pilots and simultaneously develop an IoT foundation and roadmap. To help manufacturers employ the best approach to IoT and the IoT foundation for their business, IDC offered the following guidance:
Identify Goals
Take Inventory
Set Priorities
Educate and Engage Key Stakeholders
Test Pilot
IDC Manufacturing Insights assisted manufacturing businesses and IT leaders, as well as the suppliers who served them, in making more effective technology decisions by providing accurate, timely, and insightful fact-based research and consulting services.
The IDC PlanScape reports helped to assure business values were recognised from technology by developing a technology initiative that was aligned with business goals, scoped to succeed, and properly resourced. By helping technology leaders make the case for a technology initiative, recognise unique resource requirements, and identify risk factors, IDC PlanScapes mitigated the greatest risks associated with technology initiatives.
There were immediate benefits to be achieved by investing today in the IoT but manufacturers should also recognize that the market was still evolving and changing. Manufacturers must consider IoT an investment that required frequent monitoring and modification. To do so, the new report offered manufacturers guidance on how to move forward with IoT successfully over the next 18 months.
Image Credit: IDC