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Developing an IoT strategy for your business

Developing an IoT strategy for your business

By: Jim Gitney   |     January 9, 2019

Most companies are struggling to identify the value of IoT (Internet of Things) and Blockchain in their business. That is partly due to the relationship between Strategy and IoT. While there is a need to have an IoT strategy, it needs to be a subset of the ultimate business strategy. IoT is an enabling technology that allows the business to rethink it strategy, how it goes to market and the product road (goods and services) that IoT enables.  As a result, both IoT and Blockchain are transformative technologies that require study and planning. According to a recent CapGemini  report most companies struggle because of security threats and privacy concerns, a lack of a solid business case, a lack of structured data and analytics capabilities and little uniform standards and protocols.

In a recent Gartner Webinar, an informal pole was done and the results indicated that businesses were evenly split in the categories of:

  1. Don’t have an IoT strategy
  2. Currently working on one
  3. Active implementation

The McKinsey Global Institute expects that the economic impact will likely reach $4T per year in 2025 and some estimates range as high at $11T. It is estimated that industrial IoT will realize over $1T in in annual savings to business and as a result indicate a great opportunity for a company to take advantage of IoT.  Companies who have successfully implemented a business wide IoT strategy have realized significant benefits in quality, cost, customer service, energy usage, environmental controls, reduced maintenance and asset management/utilization.

IoT provides companies with the ability to further utilize new technologies and drive transformation.  That transformation requires a holistic approach to creating an IoT strategy as shown below.

The diagram above demonstrates the complexity of implementing a companywide IoT strategy and why companies are struggling to create it. In a manufacturing company there will be three primary activities that are impacted by IoT. They are operations, supply chain and customer interaction. IoT has the ability to significantly improve internal performance and the customer experience. This complexity requires that a company think through the “possibilities” that IoT can offer their business model. Once a strategy is in place, the company’s IoT steering committee (highly recommended) is challenged with understanding the impacts on Information technology, business processes and design the appropriate organizations structure to support it.

While the above diagram identifies the what, it doesn’t deal with the how. Companies should follow a process for developing and implementing transformational strategies.  The following diagram shows the Group50 process for this implementation.

This process consists of education, workshop and pilot programs that will provide leadership with all of the requisite tools to envision the possibilities, develop a strategy, build a business case, create a roadmap and begin the implementation journey which may last several years. The first three steps require activities that leadership will be familiar with, but not understand how to apply them to developing an IoT strategy. At this point, companies will likely seek outside expertise to help them work through the first 4 steps.  Each of the steps becomes more detailed and involves additional internal and external stakeholders to help.

As part of our Blockchain and IoT practice, Group50 has created 5 workshops that are designed to accelerate the above process.

  1. Blockchain and IoT Economics and Governance Workshop: Understand the key levers, the framework for refining strategy, aligning stakeholders and its impact on governance
  2. Blockchain and IoT Immersion Workshop: Bring your leadership team up to the same level of understanding about Blockchain and IoT business applications
  3. Blockchain and IoT Strategy Workshop: Identify applications for Blockchain and IoT and understand how it would integrate it into your business strategy
  4. Building the Business Case for Blockchain and IoTDeveloping the understanding the implications in your business, to your customers, throughout your supply chain and to the bottom line
  5. Blockchain and IoT Implementation Roadmap Workshop: Creating the multi-year plan for how your are going to implement and integrate

While the development and implementation of an IoT strategy may seem daunting, the right processes and support resources will make the process efficient and yield better results.

To find out more about how you can create a plan to develop and implement an IoT strategy, , call Group50 at (909) 949-9083, drop us a line at Blockchain@group50.com or request more information here on how we can help you develop a Blockchain strategy in your business.

About Group50®

Group50 Consulting, founded in 2004, works with middle market companies to leverage their investments in people, process and technology to significantly improve the efficiency and cost performance of their supply chains. Already subject matter experts in global supply chain consulting, Group50 has added Scioebc™, a supply chain focused Blockchain solution powered by Thinaër, an IoT platform to its portfolio of goods and services. Group50 works with their clients in developing and implementing transformational strategies across their business. More information about the company can be found at www.Group50.com/blockchain.

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This entry was posted in Blockchain IoT, Business Transformation, Cost Takeout, Information Technology, Manufacturing and Distribution, Strategy 5.0, on January 9, 2019

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