IoT devices are everywhere in our homes, but it’s their application in business that has the biggest potential to revolutionise the way we live.
In 2020, most Australian homes will have some level of home automation, with connected devices now more affordable than ever. From Smart lighting to security cameras, automatic blinds, sprinkler systems, robot vacuum cleaners and garage doors almost every product category is becoming digitally connected.
Basically everything is getting a chip in it and by adding the important pieces of connectivity and smartphone interface with the device, IoT at home is delivering new, fun capabilities to otherwise fairly boring appliances.
When it comes to the Internet of Things devices in business, enterprise and industry, the story is less about fun and convenience and more about efficiencies and optimisations, creating smarter businesses.
One of the biggest challenges with any industry is reducing the gap between the data you wish you had and the data you actually have. By measuring more parts of a business process, we can make better, more informed decisions.
What’s really important to understand is that IoT devices aren’t just dumb sensors, they’re smart, consuming and sending data in a bi-directional transfer, that often includes a back-end of Microsoft Azure. This data can help train Machine Learning models, the results of which can then be sent back to improve operations in the field.
Traditionally devices ran with instruction sets programmed to do a specific task, but we’re quickly finding that smart devices can adapt to changing environments. Take watering, fertilising and providing nutrients to crops as an example. Instead of simply using the calendar to map out the production schedules, detection of when and how much it rains in that particular part of the world, can help inform predictive models on when it’ll rain next, minimising the waste of one of our most precious resources.
A common configuration is to have IoT is helping farmers understand how to achieve the best crop yields. IoT in Manufacturing is helping reduce downtime thanks to predictive maintenance. Building managers are helping reduce power consumption thanks to IoT devices monitoring and controlling temperature sensors in smart building management systems.
Almost every industry is being transformed right now, into a lean, mean version of themselves. In such a competitive landscape, it’s important to be on the front end of this innovation and investing now in IoT is the best strategy to defend against smarter, more informed, more efficient competitors.
As one of the biggest players in the technology industry, you’d expect Microsoft to have a lot to offer in this space and they do.
As part of a worldwide effort to help business leverage IoT, Microsoft is holding an event called IoT in Action in Melbourne on March 5. This is part of a worldwide tour known as the IoT in Action Event Series 2020.
You can register now for free here.
If you are involved in any of the following, make sure you pitch your boss on attending the event.
- You have, or want to, implement connected devices in your business and need to learn how to best leverage the intelligent edge.
- You run an IoT business or practice and want to fast-track your IoT vision, transformation, and profitability by building innovative, repeatable solutions across a wide spectrum of industries.
- You create end-to-end IoT experiences and want the inside track on the entire IoT technology stack, from edge to cloud.
- You build IoT hardware solutions and want to better manage the connected device lifecycle.
- You’re ready to gain actionable IoT insights, build future business partnerships, and unlock the transformative potential of intelligent edge and intelligent cloud solutions.
At the event, Microsoft is bringing some of the biggest names in their Microsoft IoT and Azure teams.
All the details of the event are available at https://iotinactionevents.com
