How IoT and M2M Technologies are Reshaping the B2B Landscape in India

By: Vishal Barapatre, Group CTO and Co-Founder, In2IT Technologies

Internet of Things (IoT) is making deep inroads into the B2B space and a majority of enterprises in India have subsequently increased their IoT spending over past couple of years. The IoT market in India is expected to grow to $15 bn by 2020 from $5.6 bn this year. IoT is a next-generation technology which has gained huge traction in recent times due to its powerful nature to connect enterprises with their employees, clients, and customers in a seamless manner.

The highly innovative applications of B2B IoT are spanning across various diversified sectors of the Indian economy, including manufacturing, automotive, healthcare, energy, agriculture, transportation and logistics, supply chain management, retail, smart cities, BFSI, among many others. IoT and M2M (Machine to Machine) technologies have a lot to offer in the B2C segment that will help companies develop a customer-centric business model. However, B2B adoption of IoT technology is poised to take off more rapidly as B2B businesses are leveraging IoT to enhance the operational efficiency and in turn productivity, lower the CAPEX and OPEX, and to improve the decision-making process in order to ensure results-driven growth.

The development of M2M as a technology has transformed the way businesses monitor, manage and automate different and even critical business processes across multiple geographies. IoT makes it easier for marketers to locate, reach and engage prospective clients and customers by developing customized marketing strategies. Real-time analysis of IoT data allows predictive maintenance of assets that reduce the overall maintenance cost and increase the credibility among channel partners and customers. Moreover, it increases customer lifetime value by providing them quality products and services at the same time that subsequently result  in customer acquisition and retention.

IoT simply means that our surroundings can be interconnected anytime, anywhere with the help of smart sensors, smart grids or smart devices through any medium. It helps organizations encourage innovations at workplace to drive new business opportunities and additional revenue streams. IoT enables automated predictive analysis of real-time actionable information and historical data to optimize decision-making process in order to achieve competitive advantage. IoT will play a major role in manufacturing, supply chain and logistics industries by eliminating waste, reducing operational costs, improving safety of operations and quality of production. IoT applications will reduce the risk of human errors to a great extent by eliminating manual tasks with robotic process automation and other automation tools.

There are a lot of business opportunities for different companies to manufacture and offer customers smart devices and machines that can improve the quality of life of people. In India, the government’s ‘Smart Cities Mission’ is bringing a whole new opportunity for companies to manufacture and create various innovative use cases of IoT, and IT-enabled solutions to help build smart cities while dealing with cyber crime effectively. In addition, the government’s planned investment of about $1 bn for 100 smart cities, over the next five years, is expected to be a key enabler for IoT adoption across various different sectors.

With the adoption of IoT systems and M2M applications, Indian companies are accelerating the process of digitization while keeping pace with the rest of the world. While there is a tremendous scope for growth from these evolving technologies, companies need to take a close look at the opportunities and constraints in India to reshape the economy and build end-to-end IoT ecosystem.