Owning a business in the 21st century is about more than just selling a great product or service — to keep up with competitive advances in technology, every industry is adapting to IoT innovations and operations. With 44% of U.S. companies deploying full-scale IoT operations, business infrastructures are using digital services and data management to streamline processes, provide better services, and keep up with the demands of the modern commerce system. 

To be competitive and successfully implement IoT, your organization must create and act on an IoT business strategy that is designed for your field, customers, and available resources. What are the goals of your company, and how can IoT implementation make those goals possible or more efficient? What kind of data is most valuable to your business and how can you better collect and act on that kind of data? How are your competitors using IoT—and how do you outperform them? How can you make your processes faster, more secure, and suited for modern communication and commercialism using the latest IoT solutions?

The answers to these questions are all a part of your overall IoT business strategy and will help you more confidently navigate your innovative company as an industry leader and business partner. Here are the basics to establishing an IoT strategy for your company in a digitally-driven industry.

How IoT integrates with business strategy 

How do you know if your business can really benefit from IoT? The truth is, the leaders in your industry are already pushing the boundaries and pioneering IoT implementations to improve the activity in their field. There are several types of new technology that are impacting industries, like artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, big data processing, and more. The exciting part is, along with offering benefits as a standalone innovation, IoT strategies can support and be enhanced by these kinds of technological advancements, too. Here are some industries where IoT continues to reshape day-to-day and long-term operations:

Healthcare

Especially after undergoing a worldwide pandemic, the healthcare industry is favoring telehealth, remote monitoring, wireless wearables, equipment tracking, and other IoT-supported services. Patients can more closely monitor their health and collect data using IoT devices, and health professionals can more accurately assist and diagnose their patients with incredible data at their fingertips.

Insurance

Insurance processes and claims can be tedious and often frustrating for both the insurance company and their consumers, especially with the volume of information that is constantly requested, shared, and evaluated. With IoT devices and capabilities, insurance teams can stay continuously connected from start to finish: actively updating information, securely sharing sensitive data, and accessing critical information while out of the office and on the field.

Construction

In the construction industry, projects are ongoing and demand a lot of collaboration between different teams. Ensuring that a construction project is completed on schedule and within budget is stressful, but with access to important data and better communication using a fleet of devices, every person involved in the project is on the same page. Plus, cutting-edge construction equipment uses IoT technology to operate, so you can provide not only better project management, but better site monitoring, machine control, site safety, and even wearables for each member of the team.

These examples are just the tip of the iceberg—there are endless applications of IoT in different industries. It all depends on how your business wants to use devices and data to improve your business model.

Impacts IoT can have on business strategy

IoT allows a network of devices to seamlessly connect and communicate with each other over the internet so that your business can stay up-to-date and collect data for all of your operations. The ideal IoT business model will provide the following benefits when done well.

Enhanced efficiency with faster access to data

For so many businesses, money and time management all come down to how efficient your teams and technology can be. With increased speed and access to information at practically any time, your workflows and systems will be optimized for the modern world. Constant access to instant data allows insurers, for example, to make more accurate and customized risk assessments, which can entirely transform the insurance business model. This level of comprehensive information helps businesses provide better services and modernize their own processes.

Improved decision-making and visibility

With new and near real-time data streaming to and from devices, you can anticipate problems more quickly and accurately. You can use the data your devices collect to perform near real-time analyses of your processes and operations, and IoT can help a business stay on budget with these analyses and tracking capabilities. Say, for example, that a construction project is on a tight budget and schedule. Instead of hoping their equipment or materials are delivered on time and then responding to mismanaged operations, IoT connectivity allows leadership to proactively track available resources, maximize the value of those resources, and reduce the idle time of the crew from start to finish.

Better serve your internal and external communities

IoT makes monitoring machines, systems, and people much easier, which means you can increase the safety of employees and offer more convenient or streamlined services to your customers. Take a trucking company as an example; IoT makes it possible to reroute a vehicle so that a truck gets to its destination as quickly and safely as possible by estimating the shortest route. This protects and improves the experience of the driver and helps a customer get their deliveries on time or early. Access to the supply chain like this can significantly improve asset management and make companies far more efficient with their time and budget.

How SIMON IoT Helps

Whether you’re overhauling your fleet of devices or updating your current IoT strategies, SIMON IoT can help you transform your business into the tech-savvy competitor you want it to be. Here’s how:

A wireless failover solution

The reality is, commerce is happening online 24/7, meaning you need seamless connectivity at all times just to keep up with the rest of the world. Plus, if you have devices that monitor machinery or other technology, like in a hospital, a consistent network connection can be a matter of life and death.

Wireless internet failover is a system that automatically switches all connected devices to a backup internet connection should the main internet connection fail. SIMON IoT offers the best wireless failover solutions that prevent unplanned downtime, poor productivity, and financial loss due to a lack of business or a loss of time.

Reliable wireless connectivity

On the other hand, when you are connected and operating on your primary network or connectivity solution, you want that connection to be steady and dependable. Hiccups in your connectivity can delay important information from being securely transmitted, interrupt overall communications, and prevent important data that needs to be received in near real-time. The right wireless connectivity plan, like SIMON IoT’s solutions, is going to keep you connected globally with no disruptions.

Ready for constant, limitless connectivity for your IoT business strategy? See SIMON IoT’s pricing and discover just how affordable and effective the best network solutions can be.