INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Cloud
Internet of Things
disrupting the cloud
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this scarce resource, but also managing the
commercial concerns of revenue leakage.
The use of smart home services, which are
now more geared to provide insights on
power consumption and general usage, aims
to alleviate costs and manage household
spend through intuitive scheduling aspects,
which learn and automate functions.
I
t is no longer enough to simply offer a
cloud solution as emerging technologies
start to not only dominate but provide
much needed competitive advantage to
business. Jeremy Potgieter, SADC Regional
Head, Eseye, says that the growth of the
Internet of Things (IoT) alongside the
prevalence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and
Analytics, are disrupting business models and
spurring innovation within the digital sphere.
“Based on the current cellular IoT trajectory,
the possibilities are endless,” said Potgieter.
“Notwithstanding the highly contested
discussion surrounding singularity, the
inclusion of AI and Analytics to existing
cloud offerings are resulting in new and
exciting solutions.”
Potgieter added that Digital Transformation
has forever altered the business landscape
and leveraging new technologies is fast
becoming a necessity.
“It is no longer about simply evolving, it’s
about pure survival now,” he said.
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“If businesses want to remain relevant and
competitive, Digital Transformation has to
be top of the ‘to do’ list.”
According to Potgieter, re-engineering
processes and making better use of
technologies such as IoT, AI and Analytics
has started to increase.
“Companies are choosing to not patchwork
existing processes, opting to rather overhaul
the system. This has also been done within
the context of an overriding cloud strategy
and is no longer in isolation, which is a
positive and necessary change.”
At an industrial level, Potgieter says that
clients are saving on maintenance and
productivity by using information gathered
via normal processes and tasks performed by
assets and employees. In the sports industry,
a smart cricket bat sensor analyses the back
life, velocity and follow through of a swing,
recording the data and sending it to the
user. In agriculture and wildlife, drones are
becoming a major asset in managing crop
yield and fire management.
More opportunities and insights will come
from providers and developers.
“This will all be made possible by identifying
synergistic services, which run in conjunction
or in parallel to the intended service
offering,” said Potgieter.
“Making true ecosystem value proposition
a reality.” n
The combination of AI and IoT is
also becoming more pervasive across
vertical sectors.
Of particular interest is the growth within
water and energy management. Potgieter
says that IoT innovation is often motivated
or driven by actual problems. eWATERpay, he
says, is a good example of how combining
the monetisation and disbursement of water
is solving not only the problem of usage of
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