With “massive remote monitoring” we mean a permanent IoT-based connection and a continuous, two-way data flow between the installed base and a central system.
This is something more than the “old” concept of remote control, implemented through a point-to-point connection with the machine, often through a VPN connection. Both solutions allow remote communication with the machine, but the IoT-based solution has some significant advantages:
The advantages of this approach are many:
The post-Covid-19 era will further increase the value of these advantages, making massive, IoT-based remote monitoring a must.
With “smart services” we mean a combination of physical and digital IoT-based services.
Digital services are enabled by an IoT-based connection with the installed base. This allows manufacturing companies to:
The benefits of smart services are both for the manufacturing company and the customer:
We can expect these two benefits to be even more valuable in the post-covid-19 era.
Equipment-as-a-service is first of all a change in the business model and not only a technical matter. However technology is fundamental. Massive, IoT-based connection with the installed base and smart services can be the digital ground on which to build an equipment-as-a-service offering.
In the post-Covid-19 era we can expect an increasing demand of equipment-as-a-service offering. The reason is that everyone, people and companies, will have to adapt to much more dynamic and fluctuating economic trends. We cannot expect the economy to grow continuously for the next 20 years, but we must prepare for new contractions. For this reason, as a consumer I will be less inclined to buy and own a car, but willing to pay for the distance traveled. In the same way, as a company I will be less inclined to invest in the purchase of a machine, but willing to pay for the result obtained by using it.