There are over 30 billion IoT connected devices globally. Every second, 127 new IoT devices are connected to the internet, thus making it one of the fastest adoptions of technology in human history.

The Internet of Things or IoT is defined as a network of physical objects or things that contain sensors or software that are able to connect and exchange data with other devices or systems over the internet. These devices range from simple home automation sensors to industrial machinery monitoring sensors that send data over the cloud that help businesses improve their business efficiency.

Reasons to Invest in IoT

There are various reasons why a business should invest in IoT. The main reasons why businesses globally are investing in IoT:

Improving Efficiency

Connected IoT devices in the manufacturing sector and aggregating the data received from these devices enables manufacturers to reduce business overhead, save resources, increase in profits and improve overall business efficiencies. A recent survey carried out by The American Society for Quality (ASQ) found out the businesses that implemented IoT in their production for process digitization got:

• 82% increased efficiency
• 49% fewer product defects
• 45% increase customer satisfaction

Risk Reduction

IoT sensors can be installed with most industrial or commercial equipment that can generate warning about the possible malfunction; thus making it possible for the businesses to take necessary maintenance actions before the failure of equipment. This can help prolong the life of equipment thus increasing the profit of investment in equipment.

Product-as-a-Service Model

Product as a Service (PaaS) is relatively a new business model that  allows customers to purchase a desired result rather than the equipment from a manufacturer that delivers the results. In simple terms, the manufacturer continues to own and maintain the product and the customer simply leases it for a certain period of time.

For example, many printer manufacturers are offering to provide their printers to businesses and rather  than selling them the printer, they charge businesses per number of pages being printed. The connected sensors in the printer can inform the manufacturer if anything goes wrong with the printer or when the ink supplies are going to run out and they need to send new ink supplies.

These are just some of the benefits that most businesses can gain by implementing IoT. However, IoT can also be mixed with AI, VR, robotics or blockchain to gain new competitive advantages, creating new business models and produce higher quality products and services.