With global investment in the Internet of Things (IoT) expected to reach $500bn by 2020, according to Accenture’s latest report, CBR looks at ways that companies can unlock revenue from IoT.
1. Hybrid business model
Companies can capture additional revenues by increasing production and creating new hybrid business models.
"Industrial companies have long supplemented their product revenues with services," said Paul Daugherty, chief technology officer, Accenture.
"But innovators, companies that understand that every business is a digital business, are using this technology to create product-service hybrids that provide new growth opportunities and pave the way for pioneering the next generation of industrial products."
A hybrid approach could also enable firms in industries, such as oil, mining and chemical firms, to improve decision-making and productivity, according to the report.
2. Transform the workforce
Another key way that companies can boost revenues is to transform their workforce to cultivate new skills around IoT.
"The Industrial IoT will open up new workforce needs as it simultaneously creates redundancy in others. It will digitise certain tasks and workflow, especially repetitive jobs that, up until now, have resisted automation," the report said.
The report pointed to data science, software development, hardware engineering, testing operations, marketing and sales as new skills required for IoT jobs.
Content from our partners
3. New technology
The report also said companies can innovate through the latest technologies.
For example, companies that introduce automation and ‘flexible’ production techniques to manufacturing can boost productivity by as much as 30%.
It also found that predictive maintenance technologies can save organisations up to 12% on scheduled repairs, can reduce overall maintenance costs by 30%, and can eliminate breakdowns by 70%.
"Manufacturers soon will be building intelligence into every machine they produce and the innovative applications that accompany these smart machines will be vehicles for driving new revenue streams out of product-service hybrids," the report said.
"To reap the full benefits of the Industrial Internet of Things, says Accenture’s report, companies must exploit sensor-driven computing, industrial analytics and intelligent machine applications and weave together enterprise and machine-generated data to create new monetization opportunities."
