The Internet will disappear with so many IP addresses, so many devices, sensors, wearables, interactive devices, that you won’t even sense it. It will be part of your presence all the time. Imagine you walk into a room, and the room is dynamic. And with your permission and all of that, you are interacting with the things going on in the room ~ Eric Schmidt, Chairman @ Google
Internet of things (IoT) in short is the digitization of the physical world.
IoT enables a world of interconnectivity. The interconnectivity of not just smart devices, but one that involves connections and interplay between the various entities involved in the ecosystem, viz., customers, partners, suppliers.
It is here that IoT opportune customer/user management and personalization through data analytics.
Examples in consumer market include smart TVs, fitness bands, online shopping, smart thermostats, etc & in the B2B space impact field service industry, real-time production dynamics, identify and access management, track buyer journey, product usage, etc.
The explosion of IoT – Predictions & Interesting Stats:
Forbes’s article [1] quotes the below predictions & stats –
IoT hardware will be the most significant technology category in 2018 with $239B going largely toward modules and sensors along with some spending on infrastructure and security. Services will be the second largest technology category, followed by software and connectivity.
Wow! Does this not sound interesting? And get us to the point of Service Management enabling the world of IoT?
IoT Entering the World of Xaas – IoTaaS/Taas (IoT-as-a-Service)
As with other XaaS offerings that have evolved, say, SaaS, PaaS, IaaS, to Communication-as-a-Service, Data-as-a-Service, Compliance-as-a-Service and now to the latest Machine Learning-as-a-Service (MLaaS) Artificial Intelligence-as-a-Service (AIaaS) & IoT-as-a-Service.
Gartner Says Digital Transformation and IoT Will Drive Investment in IT Operations Management Tools Through 2020 [3]. Gartner believes many enterprises will turn to managed ITOM or ITOM as a service, (ITOMaaS).
McKinsey in its report [2] talks about Platform for IoT containing both, software and hardware, which may include an operating environment, storage, computing power, security, development tools, and many other standard functions. Like an operating system for a laptop, a platform does a lot of things in the background that makes life easier and less expensive for developers, managers, and users.
Similarly, on Identity and Access Management (IAM), IAM will become an integral part of IoT solutions to enable secure and trusted IoT. Automated system Monitoring & Self-help amongst others.
McKinsey in its article further refers to the aspect of 40% of $11.1 trillion economic impact of IoT as requiring interoperable systems, thereby offering opportunities for hardware, software and service providers [4].
IoT for Customer Service Management
With anything and everything connected to the internet in the IoT model; process and technology support is needed. This calls for Service Management. Additionally, IoT provides opportunity for organizations for a mindset shift from more-of process and technology aspects only to a more delicate customer-centric focus in the digitization of physical world.
Improving customer experiences (70%) and safety (56%) [1] are the two areas enterprises are using data generated from IoT solutions most often today.
Learning and keeping-up-to-date on latest in IoT, mobile tools availability, advancements in technology, evolution of new process models, etc. are much needed for harnessing Service Management to the world of IoT.
Service Management Tools Meet IoT
In Feb 2017, Service management leader ServiceNow [6] announced a strategic investment in MapAnything, a location services company. MapAnything provides a suite of location-aware apps and platform services. With MapAnything, a ServiceNow user can set business rules, like ‘when a technician arrives at a location, change the status of a work order.’
This is so very cool, isn’t it?
Here are some great examples/Use Cases how ServiceNow can be used to act upon IoT information [7]:
| Server Monitoring Monitor application servers and alert if there is an outage. This already exists in Event Management. |
Water Flow Measurement of water pressure in water transportation systems could generate requests in Facilities Service Management |
| Electromagnetic Field Levels A cell tower not functioning properly as detected by energy sensor measurements. Dispatch an agent with Field Service Management. |
Vehicle Diagnosis Information collection from CanBus to send real time alarms to emergencies or provide advice to drivers. If the issue can’t be solved without human intervention, create a preemptive case in Customer Service Management and fix the issue without a phone call. |
| Nuclear Power Plant Measurements Distributed measurement of radiation levels in nuclear power plants to generate leakage alerts. Facilities Service Management module could be used for this purpose. |
Thermostat Control Products like Google Nest to control temperatures at home can be configured to connect to Facilities Service Management automatically for technician dispatch. |
| NFC Payment Payment processing based on location or activity duration for public transport, gyms, theme parks, etc. If Payments are not working correctly, have ServiceNow automatically open a case with Finance Service Management. |
House Arrest Offenders restricted to house arrest and if sensor detects an issue, automatically open a request in Legal Service Management |
| IT Security Hackers trying malicious code to enter website or devices, enable business security in an instant with Security Operations. |
Athlete Care Vital signs monitoring in high performance centers and sporting fields. Build of custom applications to capture issues and suggest training schedules. |
| Machine to Machine Machine auto-diagnosis and assets control. Service Watch Insight can make CMDB self-aware. |
Employee Onboarding and Offboarding Detect when users login/logoff to devices and act accordingly with HR Service Management |
| Lighting and Accident Avoidance Intelligent and weather adaptive lighting in lights. Switching on and off devices remotely to avoid accidents and save energy. Orchestration can activate, modify, and deactivate settings as needed. |
Entertainment Purchases Use IoT data on movie, game, and other digital entertainment purchases to analyze consumer buying habits and influence future decisions with Marketing Service Management. |
| Door Access Control Access control to restricted areas and detection of people in non-authorized areas. Use the ServiceNow Platform to control access as needed and only at the time of a change. |
Fleet Tracking Monitor and control routes followed for delicate goods like medical drugs, jewels or dangerous merchandises through Field Service Management to track and automatically flag for potential issues. |
| Asset Location Asset location by using active (ZigBee) and passive tags (RFID/NFC). Search of individual items in big surfaces like warehouses, harbors, or equipment yards through Asset Management. This greatly helps in inventory collection and no longer relies solely on handheld data scanning. |
Future of IoT and Service Management for IoT
IoT involving digitization of physical world, the future of IoT and Service Management for IoT looks exciting for the next wave in industry.
McKinsey Global Institute estimates IoT could have an annual economic impact of $3.9T to $11.1T by 2025 [1]
Here are seven ways that Ujjwal Sood, product analyst, ManageEngine, has identified in which IoT will impact IT Service Management [5]
- Proactive Incident Identification and Prevention
- Impact on Agentless Network Scanning
- Shifting Focus on CI Relationships Through the CMDB
- Impact on Root Cause Analysis
- Impact on Change Management
- Centralize Purchases and Converge SAM and HAM
- Beyond Incident Management
Contact us today to know more about how YASH can help you tackle the challenges that arise during a digital transformation.
Lakshmi Nanduri – Program manger @YASH Technologies
Lakshmi Nanduri
References:
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/louiscolumbus/2017/12/10/2017-roundup-of-internet-of-things-forecasts/#2afba6cc1480
- https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/digital-mckinsey/our-insights/making-sense-of-internet-of-things-platforms
- https://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/3771363
- McKinsey – The-Internet of Things will impact beyond the hype
- https://www.itbusinessedge.com/slideshows/7-ways-the-internet-of-things-will-impact-itsm-06.html
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonbloomberg/2017/02/02/servicenow-invests-in-mapanything-in-platform-ecosystem-play/#4467aeed7bad
- http://www.servicenowelite.com/blog/2016/10/12/iot
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