Today, we’ll discuss why the Internet of Things (IoT) is becoming essential in our daily lives.

The diagram simplifies this concept by focusing on assets, how we connect them, and why sensing the environment is so important. Let’s break it down step by step.

1. What Are Assets?

Let’s start with a question: What do you consider as assets?
We value and want to monitor, track, or protect assets. These could include:

Goods:

• We would like to know their location (e.g., where is my delivery?)
• Or their quality (e.g., is the food shipment fresh?)

Health:

• Monitoring our condition and ensuring safety are critical.
• Example: A health wearable that tracks your heart rate and connects to a mobile app.

Transport:

• Vehicles and public transportation must be tracked for location, routes, and utilisation.
• Example: A bus fleet monitored for efficient route planning.

House Security:

• Ensuring homes are safe by monitoring for intrusions or emergencies.
• Example: A motion sensor that alerts you if there’s unusual activity.

2. The Core Need: Connecting Assets and Sensing the Environment

Why do we need IoT for these assets?
The key lies in sensing and connecting the environment around these assets.

• In the past, we relied on manual monitoring and human input.
• Today, we use sensors and applications to gather real-time data and automate processes.

3. How IoT Works

Sensors: Devices attached to assets to sense environmental factors like temperature or humidity.

• Example: A sensor measuring the humidity in a storage facility for sensitive goods.

Communication: Sensors send this data to an IoT platform for processing and action.

• Example: A sensor alerts the homeowner if the temperature inside the house drops below a certain threshold.

4. Examples of Other Assets

IoT can be applied to monitor a wide variety of assets, such as:

• Machines: For predictive maintenance in factories.
• Plants: To ensure optimal growth conditions in agriculture.
• Water and Rivers: These are used to monitor pollution or water levels.
• Environment: For tracking air quality and weather changes.
• Buildings and Tunnels: For structural safety and efficiency.

5. Why IoT Is Essential

IoT provides us with the ability to:

• Monitor assets in real time without human intervention.
• Ensure safety and quality by automating alerts and responses.
• Improve efficiency by making data-driven decisions.

Final Thoughts

The most straightforward reason we need IoT is to connect our assets and sense the environment effectively.

By doing so, we make life easier and ensure safety, efficiency, and better decision-making.

Let’s discuss: What assets in your life or work could benefit from IoT? How would you use sensors to improve them? Share your thoughts!

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Today, we’ll explore how the Internet of Things (IoT) transforms the 7 M’s of business — key elements that drive an organisation’s operations and strategy.

These 7 M’s are Manpower, Material, Method, Machine, Market, Money, and Management. Let’s break down each one and see how IoT impacts them.

1. Manpower

IoT helps businesses optimise human resources by reducing costs, improving safety, and increasing productivity.

Impact of IoT:

• Cost Reduction: Automating repetitive tasks reduces the need for manual labour.
• Worker Safety: IoT devices, such as wearables, can monitor health and alert workers to potential hazards.
• Productivity: By enabling remote work and real-time communication, IoT allows employees to focus on high-value tasks.

Example: A construction company using wearables to monitor worker fatigue and ensure safety.

2. Material

IoT ensures better management of materials, improving supply chain efficiency and reducing waste.

Impact of IoT:

• Just-In-Time Delivery: Sensors track inventory levels and automatically reorder materials when needed.
• Asset Condition Monitoring: IoT devices monitor the condition of materials, ensuring quality and preventing spoilage.

Example: A warehouse using IoT sensors to track stock levels and ensure optimal storage conditions.

3. Method

IoT makes business processes more agile and efficient by simplifying methods.

Impact of IoT:

• Reduce Red Tape: Automating workflows eliminates unnecessary administrative steps.
• Agility: IoT enables businesses to respond quickly to changing conditions.
• Efficiency: Processes become faster and more streamlined with IoT integration.

Example: A manufacturing plant automating quality checks with IoT sensors to speed up production.

4. Machine

IoT maximises the performance of machines, ensuring reliability and reducing downtime.

Impact of IoT:

• Uptime: Predictive maintenance ensures machines are operational when needed.
• Predictive Maintenance: IoT sensors detect issues before they become critical, preventing failures.
• Error Reduction: Machines can self-correct or alert operators when errors occur.

Example: A factory using IoT-enabled machinery to monitor performance and schedule maintenance.

5. Market

IoT helps businesses expand into new markets and improve their customer reach.

Impact of IoT:

• New Market Segments: IoT enables innovative products and services, opening new revenue streams.
• Global Reach: Businesses can monitor and manage operations worldwide through IoT platforms.

Example: An IoT-enabled home security company entering international markets with smart security systems.

6. Money

IoT creates new revenue opportunities and reduces costs.

Impact of IoT:

• New Revenue Streams: IoT drives innovation, leading to new services and products.
• Cost Savings: Automating processes and improving efficiency reduces expenses.

Example: A logistics company saving fuel costs by using IoT to optimise delivery routes.

7. Management

IoT improves decision-making through data-driven insights.

• Impact of IoT:
• Data-Driven Decisions: Real-time data helps managers make informed choices.
• Transparency: IoT provides visibility into all areas of the business.
• Better Decision-Making: Analytics from IoT systems offer actionable insights.

Example: A retail chain using IoT to monitor sales trends and optimise inventory.

Key Takeaways

IoT has a transformative impact on the 7 M’s of business:

1. Manpower: Reduces costs and improves safety.
2. Material: Ensures quality and efficiency.
3. Method: Simplifies workflows and increases agility.
4. Machine: Enhances reliability and performance.
5. Market: Expands opportunities globally.
6. Money: Generates new revenue and reduces costs.
7. Management: Improves decisions with real-time insights.

Discussion Question: Which of the 7 M’s most benefits from IoT in your industry? Let’s share ideas and examples!

{You can download the FREE eBook IoT Notes by Mazlan Abbas]

Today, we’ll discuss types of analytics and their importance in turning raw data into actionable insights.

This diagram shows four types of analytics, ranked by their difficulty level and the value they provide. Let’s go through them step by step.

1. Descriptive Analytics: What Happened?

At the base of the analytics hierarchy is descriptive analytics. This is the simplest form of analytics and helps us understand what happened by interpreting historical data.

• Purpose: To summarise past events and identify patterns.
• Example: A smart thermostat that shows last week’s energy usage patterns.
• Methods: Charts, graphs, and dashboards that clearly show past performance.

This type of analytics is great for reviewing the past, but it doesn’t tell us why something happened or what will happen next.

2. Diagnostic Analytics: Why Did It Happen?

Moving up, we have diagnostic analytics, which looks at why something happened. It’s more complex than descriptive analytics because it requires diving deeper into the data.

• Purpose: To discover relationships and identify the causes behind past events.
• Example: Analysing why a specific day’s energy usage was higher than average by correlating data with external factors like weather.
• Methods: Data discovery, drill-down techniques, and correlation analysis.

This stage helps us make sense of the past by understanding the root causes of trends and anomalies.

3. Predictive Analytics: What Will Happen?

Next is predictive analytics, which focuses on forecasting future outcomes. This is where analytics becomes proactive rather than reactive.

• Purpose: To predict what might happen based on current and historical data.
• Example: A smart thermostat forecasting energy usage for the upcoming week based on weather patterns and past behaviour.
• Methods: Statistical modelling and simulations.

By identifying trends and patterns, predictive analytics helps us make informed predictions.

4. Prescriptive Analytics: How Can We Make It Happen?

At the top is prescriptive analytics, the most advanced type. This involves predicting outcomes and recommending actions to achieve desired results.

• Purpose: To decide the best course of action based on predictions.
• Example: A smart thermostat automatically adjusting settings to save energy while maintaining comfort.
• Methods: Machine learning and AI to analyse probabilities and make decisions.

Prescriptive analytics provides the highest value by enabling automated and data-driven decisions.

IoT and Analytics

This diagram also highlights how analytics works in an IoT platform:

1. Sensors: Collect data from various sources like temperature, humidity, or movement.
2. IoT Platform: Acts as a central hub to process and store the data.
3. Analytics Engine: Applies these four types of analytics to generate insights and drive decisions.

Final Thoughts

Each type of analytics builds on the previous one, moving from simple data interpretation to actionable decisions. The value increases as we move up the hierarchy, as does the complexity.

Question to consider: Which type of analytics is most valuable in your industry, and how can you implement it effectively? Let’s discuss it!

[Note: Download IoT Notes by Mazlan Abbas ]