Great agility, more productivity and an engaged workforce are among the many business benefits brought about by the Internet of things (IOT), says Agnat Max Makgoale, CEO of Vula Telematix.
Makgoale points out the advantages of enhanced connectivity is changing the business environment by creating an amplified view of the business, facilitating smarter decision-making, and in enabling business to respond to challenges in a proactive manner.
"IOT facilitates smarter decision-making within organisations. With more information available than ever before, managers are now able to make better decisions. In a sense, IOT grants the mythical 20/20 vision that we all wish we had before making a call that will affect business: it removes the guesswork and blind spots, so that any choices made are based on concrete facts," he explains.
IOT, he continues, also creates an amplified view of the business through making it possible for people in a business to 'see' things they previously couldn't, making for a finely detailed view of every department and all operations.
"This is made possible by the implementation of sensors which allow devices throughout the office building to share information. One advantage of this 'super connectivity' is vastly improved measurability, allowing employees to measure room temperature, employee performance, and other important information which plays a crucial role in decision-making.
"As a manager, the additional information you have through IOT, can enable you to manage your workforce more efficiently and deploy your human resources optimally," Makgoale points out.
Cathy Smith, MD for Cisco Southern Africa, says SA faces a few fundamental challenges that need to be overcome before businesses can fully embrace digitalisation.
"Traditional methods of rolling out ICTs that have worked in other, more developed economies are not necessarily suited to South African needs. We need a new approach that prioritises collaboration to open the country up to digital inclusion and opportunity. The Internet of things should be part of every business discussion as digital transformation can drive operational efficiency, increase employee productivity, garner greater customer loyalty and create new revenue streams. To fully digitalise takes imagination, investment and expertise."
Nidal Abou-Ltaif, Avaya's president for EMEA and Asia-Pacific, says that with organisations globally facing challenges to evolve digitally and move agilely in today's competitive markets, CEOs are increasingly putting digital transformation and customer engagement at the top of their corporate agendas.
"Digital transformation projects need to engage the workforce, customers and partners to succeed, they will fail if they aren't embraced at all levels of the organisation."
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