The Internet of Things is the newest technological innovation disrupting the way the economy runs. The Industrial Revolution 4.0 as its being called will revolutionize the way the industrial production will be done. It all starts with real-time monitoring of the production process. Real-time monitoring leads to real-time intervention. IoT will empower organizations to reduce reactive decision making and to be more proactive. A combination of real-time monitoring, proactive decision making and automation is required to reap all the benefits of the next industrial revolution.
The application of IoT in India can resolve some of the unique challenges in the Indian economy. The complex nature of the Indian economy and social system has resulted in Indian organizations being notoriously opaque. The flow of information from the lower levels of the organizations to the top is riddled with hurdles. The result is the senior management has to deal with incomplete and distorted information to make their decisions. Many of the inefficiencies in our economy can be reduced if management had better information to guide their organizations.
IoT allows management at all levels to have a real-time view of the organization. This increased transparency will be the first major benefit for Indian organizations. The added clarity will allow managers to streamline operations and start trimming the wastage that is taken as the cost of doing business at present. This is just the first step in the transformation in the way organizations can leverage IoT. The real benefits of will be achieved through a combination of Business Process Reengineering combined with the use of technology to track and automate the processes in an organization. Real-time information will automate large parts of the economy and reduce the dependence on manual processes.
A special aspect of the Indian economy is its dependence on small to medium enterprises. These organizations have not been able to get the benefits of efficiency of scale that the larger organizations enjoy. IoT’s real-time monitoring and proactive decision making will allow SMEs to reach the efficiencies that only large organizations have been able to benefit from. One more benefit that IoT will have for SMEs is the ability to seamlessly communicate and direct with vendors and clients. At present there is a lot of friction in the Indian economy, resulting in time and energy being wasted in coordinating activities.
The IoT revolution is just beginning around the globe. A little bit closer to home, India is primed to be one of the bigger beneficiaries of the Industrial Revolution 4.0. The problems of the past that have held back Indian industries can be finally tackled with new technology. IoT will bring transparency to the Indian economy and help it come on par with global standards.