Methodology

We use the word "incremental" - it's how we approach IoT initiatives with our clients.  Your first big payoff from IoT will come from streamlining existing processes, especially when they involve large labor or time components. The end process is usually a human-technology hybrid, and sometimes full automation.

We've identified the pattern that most successful projects take: the critical steps.

Stabilize

Our initial efforts focus on stability. We gather the information you need to make decisions in your existing processes, then offload the execution of the decision to your technological infrastructure.

We start with discrete, data-driven applications like automated fleet tracking, or alarm management. These are time and labor intensive tasks that lend themselves to automation. Both of them have a clear set of rules and rely on a easily collectible data. There are tasks just like these in every business!

The key to this step is keeping your business logic unchanged. By converting manual processes directly we drastically simplify your adoption of new technology and gain tremendous efficiencies, without risking end-to-end failures of the process.

At its core, IoT is about data, which makes this step the most important. If you were to stop here, you've already given your operational efficiency a big boost. But there's more!

Integrate

Integration links together your reconfigured tasks to automate operations even further. 

For example, fleet tracking might integrate with your customer communications to provide technician arrival notices. An inbound text message could trigger an item shipment. Your security system might integrate with your shift scheduling.

In this step, the focus is on building complete systems. Your data-driven processes are ready to move to real time execution, independent of human interaction. That means your advances in IoT are building value for your company and your customers without any additional labor!

These efforts are ongoing. While it's best to start with predefined goals, this work can and should continue as you develop your business around new opportunities.

Develop

This is where artificial intelligence enters the picture.

Powered by your company's data collection, AI can generate insights on your business in real time.  Machine learning algorithms can even make autonomous decisions where a human would come up short.

For example, a special AI might predict equipment servicing requirements before a breakdown costs you a day of productivity. You might be able to intelligently hire temporary workers based on highly accurate predicted demand. Loss prevention could benefit from analyzing job waste against geography and employee schedules.

This step represents the holy grail of IoT, and it can take 12-18 months to reach.