The Internet of Things is not the answer. Have I got your attention now? 

That’s right. The Internet of Things is not the answer - but it is an essential part of the solution.

IoT is an ideal way for us to gather and share data from many sources. On its own that data is of very limited value and it would be hard to come to any meaningful conclusions from it in isolation. However enrich it with data from other sources and add AI to it and suddenly a whole new world of insights is at your fingertips.  

At CEBIT 18 IBM’s General Manager of Watson IOT, Kareem Yusuf, stated that “We’re now able to connect the 'connectedness' of things to data and drive true business transformation.” Kareem spoke about three AI breakthroughs that will transform IoT and about how the real value of “connected everything” is what we can learn from all the connected objects.

I’ve found myself coming back to Kareem’s statement many times over the past week. Each time I become more convinced that it’s through the combination of rich data and AI that organisations will create new information, new insights that will drive better decisions and actions. In this respect IoT is the enabler of transformation. 

I am fortunate enough to meet clients from all over the world and I’m still amazed to hear companies questioning why they need IoT. I usually respond by asking them what deeper insights could do for their business. A recent McKinsey report suggested the potential value that could be unlocked with IoT applications in factory settings could be as much as $3.7 trillion in 2025!

Take elevator company Kone as an example. They can now better predict and take action before repairs are needed. How? By remotely monitoring their equipment via sensors that measure an array of variables, like temperature, stopping accuracy and door operations. AI crunches those millions of collected data points to find symptoms that might indicate a impending problem. This information is sent to maintenance technicians, along with suggestions for which parts to check or adjustments to make.  

So how can companies prepare for IoT and AI? For a start simply digitizing existing processes is not transforming your business. It needs to be combined with a new culture, a new behavior and probably a new organizational set-up.  

Businesses will need to adapt their DNA to become truly data-driven learning organizations. They will need to adapt to a scenario of continuous data ingestion and AI-centric business models. Leading companies today are changing their value proposition and belief systems. Kone is changing from elevators to people flow, Volkswagen is changing from drivers to users and in-car experiences.  

Whatever challenge to which you apply IoT, you should make sure it can be scaled. We’ve heard many times about the need to “think like a start-up, scale like an enterprise”. This is very true. I also like the phrase “start with the end in mind, but the important thing is to start”.

Start the journey and do not be afraid to fail. Just make sure you learn and adapt quickly.

If you want to explore some of the topics covered in this article please look at this guide or these insights.