The pivotal role of IoT in the "new normal" post-COVID

The pandemic that ravaged the world over the past year has disrupted all spheres of human activity and caused a massive shift in the way we live, interact and conduct business.

From Fortune 500 behemoths to fledgling startups, just a few years old, have faced the brunt of the obstructions to their regular business operations. Unsurprisingly, the IoT Ecosystem has flourished with significant increases in adoption and deployment with an increase of almost 13% in worth over the past year.

Forward-thinking enterprises have readdressed their strategy and have integrated IoT assets into their repertoire in preparation for the emerging economic and cultural landscape of the "new normal."

Join me as I elucidate the nine aspects of business in which IoT has played a pivotal role in getting economic structures of the post-pandemic world up and running.

9 Post-pandemic Aspects of business which IoT has influenced

1. Enterprise agility and perspective

IoT is no longer something that can be ignored, given the repercussions of the pandemic. The business status-quo of big advertising and physical touchpoints has now metamorphosed into IoT-based models that offer enterprises enhanced agility and multiple touchpoints to engage with customers and gather valuable data that can be deployed for streamlining business processes, service offerings, and products. Monetization policies have also evolved with the IoT enabled advent of Pay-per-use products, subscription-based services, as well as data collection and sharing models.

2. Enhanced Automation

The world has gone digital. From online concerts and classes to online shopping, which, according to Statista, is expected to rise to $740 Billion by 2023 in the US alone, most business engagements are now remote.

COVID-19 has urged companies to adopt AI-based technologies for reducing pressure and dependence on humans. Numerous companies have gone entirely remote, thanks to the incentive of social distancing. Enterprises are now focused on building a strong and personable online presence, which has become a prerequisite for business continuity and relevance.

3. Greater appreciation for skilled Human Resources

As mentioned earlier, IoT adoption has reduced pressure on existing Human Resources; however, it has not affected the need for human intervention and supervision. Every company that wishes to leverage the capabilities of IoT has now hired or is in the process of hiring highly-skilled professionals versed in disciplines of data analysis, engineering, administration, finance, and tech.

IoT has brought about increased digitization and Flexibility in all aspects of the business, from sales to administration and outreach.

4. Monitored Performance

Companies that have embraced IoT, have effectively evaded operational and administrative issues in the new normal. Most digitized businesses offer a centralized platform from where business and employee performance, can be accurately monitored. In addition to performance, IoT powered performance evaluation can track the progress of market strategies as well.

For e.g., An enterprise with online marketing initiatives can efficiently monitor traffic and conversion patterns with the many analytics tools available today. With the uninterrupted connectivity that an IoT system offers, businesses now possess evolved performance evaluators to keep them abreast of any development or deficiencies that may arise in their business processes.

5. Remote Collaboration

IoT offers previously unseen opportunities for constant collaboration between managers, teams, and clients, safeguarding the three's vital link. A vast majority of IT firms have deployed a remote workforce, which has proved efficient, if not more, than traditional, on-premise employees.

The manufacturing industry has also woken up to IoT capabilities and is rapidly implementing data-driven automated control systems.

With real-time data, fluid communication, and collaboration, IoT has played a significant role in updating supply chains and has helped manufacturers identify trends and risks so that crisis control and continued relevance endures in the sector.

6. Smart Manufacturing Environment

The Industrial Internet of Things or IoT has helped enterprises across sectors increase productivity and transparency across channels. The digital revolution that we know by Industry 4.0 has paved the way for an integrated, interconnected, and intuitive approach to manufacturing. Some implementations that IoT has facilitated are-

• Equipment remote-monitoring

• Vision-based control-systems

• Workforce tracking and monitoring

• Machine learning for enhanced automation

• Data-driven equipment and tool control

IoT has helped enterprises with a 360-degree view of their operational capabilities and deficiencies, demand and supply metrics, and mitigation of threats and risks. From remote-assistance, digital workplaces to IIoT enabled inventory management. Digitization (read IoT) has helped improve performance as well as strategy post-COVID

7. AR/VR For augmented Visualization

Finding significant implementation in the spheres of e-learning and Healthcare, AR/VR technologies are now prevalent even in production environments. From training to remote-maintenance, immersive AR/VR technologies have brought a revolutionary change to how we perceive reality.

Keeping in step with the new normal, which decrees social distancing and self-isolation, manufacturers are now deploying AR/VR tech to conduct business operations efficiently.

8. Telehealth/telemedicine

The new normal is witnessing an ever-increasing adoption of IoT tech in the healthcare sector. Healthcare professionals can now deliver assistance to patients remotely without requiring either the doctor or the patient to be present at the same location, or for that matter, even in the same country.

With the utilization of the latest IoT telecommunication technologies and wearable devices, doctors can now conduct health-checks, diagnose diseases, if any, and deliver better care for patients. IoT powered telehealth technologies cover a wide range of applications from learning to diagnosis; treatment to continued care and professional advice.

9. Business resilience and Flexibility

The new normal still holds elements of inevitable uncertainty. The world's economic ecosystem is yet in a phase of transition, and the changes that this flux brings are unavoidable. Here is where relying on IoT capabilities can help businesses build the required resilience and Flexibility to remain relevant.

Business IT rests heavily on connectivity and cybersecurity. IoT networks that connect people to devices and vice-versa are an excellent way of building a strong defense against malicious intent.

By leveraging the advanced analysis capabilities that IoT device data provides, enterprises can identify key points of efficiencies, availability, performance, and quality powered by real-time data, thus generating cost improvement opportunities.

In summation

COVID-19 has shaken things up in almost every business sector, driving a massive shift towards automation. The shift from being a traditional enterprise to a digitally empowered organization starts with IoT. Increased competitiveness, relevance, heightened efficiencies, rapid innovation, new business models, and rich customer experiences are only a part of the value proposition IoT brings to enterprises.

IoT enables enterprises to get closer to their end-user/customer both figuratively and literally and leverage this proximity to improve the way they create, market, and sell their products/services.