The Internet of Things (IoT)—the network of physical objects that sense, interact, or communicate with the external environment—is growing exponentially. As those data-emanating devices proliferate, so does the total amount of data your company may have to put through an analytics framework. A data access platform like Aureum will prove essential to keeping enterprises from being overwhelmed by this data explosion. Among many other data management functions, it enables predictive analytics and other sophisticated data tools.

The IoT is changing the way we design, manufacture, distribute and use products. Manufacturers are embedding sensors, actuators, and other “smart” components in all kinds of things—wearable devices, cars, appliances, equipment, building materials, medical devices, you name it—and organizations are harvesting valuable intelligence from the data they produce. According to John Hagel III of Deloitte, the IoT offers opportunities to enhance your customer relationships and your product lifecycles.

How can the IoT help my customers?

The IoT offers opportunities to add value to your products and services in ways that will change how you win and keep customers. In fact, says , IoT-enabled products can serve as sensors into your relationships with customers.

Consider, for example, how “connected cars” are revolutionizing the automotive industry, providing opportunities for value-added services for car owners.

Although automobile manufacturers have been embedding sensors, systems, and other technologies in their cars for years, the primary benefit was to alert just one person—the driver—via a dashboard light or message. By adding wireless connectivity and in-dash monitors, vehicles join the IoT. They can now exchange information with enterprise systems and other vehicles in real time, with little or no human intervention.

What are some of the implications? An IoT-enabled car could periodically notify a dealer service department about gas mileage, parts performance and tire pressure. The service department could automatically call the owner if it noticed a critical problem that needed to be addressed immediately, such as a failing part or severely low fluid levels. It could even provide directions to a local dealer if the car is traveling out of town. The service department could also remind the owner about upcoming maintenance cycles based on actual usage. The car manufacturer could push software fixes to on-board computer systems. It could even send urgent recall notifications to cars that match a recall profile. The auto insurance provider could offer premium discounts and fine-tune coverage based on actual usage.

The IoT offers analogous advantages across other industries—health care, consumer products, transportation or public safety—by generating new opportunities to provide services that add value to everyday products. Consider the many ways in which the IoT might benefit your customers.

How can the IoT help my products?

An IoT-capable product can serve as a sensor that communicates raw data on customer usage—when, how frequently, where, and in what ways the customer uses it, and where they might be having problems. It can be an early warning device to tell you what customers are getting or not getting from your product.

For example, data provided by a “smart” blender could reveal that your customers use most of the buttons all the time, but almost never use one button. Further investigation might reveal that the button operates a feature that your customers don’t understand very well, or that customers don’t really care about. Perhaps the button’s location is confusing. Perhaps you learned from product returns data that 10 percent of customers found that this button wobbled when they first opened the packaging. Based on your findings, you’d decide what to do next—remove the button, move it elsewhere, improve your instructions, fix manufacturing so that the button no longer wobbles or maybe even fix packaging so that the button is better protected during shipping.

Insights into usage patterns can lead to better product design, helping you prioritize what features to add or fix, how to extend its useful life, and even identify upsell opportunities. What could you learn from your customers that could result in better products and services?

For a deeper dive on IoT, we recommend Wired’s “The Internet of Things is far bigger than anyone realizes” (Part 1 and Part 2).