Phones aren’t the only “things” that are connected to the internet. There is a revolution under way connecting things—from weather sensors to vehicles to MRI machines—to the internet. The Internet of Things (IoT) refers to collecting and analyzing the data from these things to identify patterns, track trends and even predict behaviors.
A new frontier
Through the IoT, businesses use their data, often combined with public data, to better understand their products, customers and markets. The challenge for each business is to understand what data is available and how it can apply to your operations.
Understand your business
Every business will be able to capitalize on the IoT in different ways. Cloud-based ERP allows you to connect to data sources (from vendors or public sources) that can help you understand your markets and how they interact with your products and services. For example:
- A retailer can match revenue and weather data to predict sales on a rainy day.
- A truck dealer can schedule maintenance based on historic engine performance of a specific model across the entire fleet.
- A hospital can reduce MRI downtime with preventive maintenance based on cumulative machine data.
Cloud-based ERP provides the foundation plus the flexibility for you to take advantage of the new frontiers that the internet opens for every industry.
What other trends will impact your business?
Download the white paper “7 Game changing trends: Why it’s time to move to online accounting software” to find out more.
By ERP Cloud Software Blog Editors, www.erpsoftwareblog.com/cloud
