Ready or not, change is coming.

Ready or not, change is coming.

The way businesses interact with technology is changing on a fundamental level. Increasingly intelligent and responsive devices and platforms are disrupting business. This is hardly surprising considering that leading analysts are predicting that by 2020, over 50 billion devices will be connected to one another.

Given that we live in the age of the customer, who know more, expect more, and are using technology on an increasing level, the bar has been set higher, with new priorities. There is little doubt that how we service this techno-savvy breed of customer will have a highly influential impact on the survival of our businesses.

When it comes down to it, you face the same challenges as your competitors and, like them, you must adapt to the digital marketplace or risk becoming showroom roadkill. To put it simply, how you respond to the shift towards technology could either empower you to interact in rich and relevant ways, or expose you to unnecessary complexity, frustration, and noise.

So, who wins in the year 2020?

To my mind, those companies who apply forward-thinking, who optimise efficiency to support client service in the most profitable way, who anticipate their customers’ future needs, and use this data to create a valuable experience for their customers will come out on top.

One such example can be found through Britehouse Automotive, who has put a strong emphasis on entering the IoT space within the automotive industry. This drive and emphasis is what will contribute significantly towards building the dealership of the future. The Britehouse Automotive Digital Dealership platform, to be specific.

This platform, which is facilitated by our partnership with IoT.nxt, will have far-reaching benefits across the industry. For instance it will utilise Tracking, Workflow, and Analytics which will enable car dealerships to work more efficiently, to understand and predict each customer’s individual needs, personalise their experience, and proactively address their current and future needs.

Where does your journey begin?

The IoT starts with you and the things that matter most to your business. It therefore makes sense that your journey begins with you directing your focus on bringing ‘your things’ and your existing data together in new ways.

Practically speaking, this begins with your network of physical objects, including (but not limited to) devices, vehicles, buildings, and other items, embedded with electronics, software, sensors, and network connectivity. This is what will enable these objects to collect and exchange data, and by tapping into this data you will uncover actionable intelligence which will allow you to optimise efficiency, anticipate your customers’ needs, and create a valuable experience for them.

In order to tap into this data though, it is essential that all areas of your business communicate in the same language. This is primarily because the only way businesses can evolve is through communicating in one language. For this reason, Britehouse Automotive in partnership with IoT.nxt has pioneered an agile, application agnostic platform that leverages off the core principles of the IoT.

Not only does this platform promote integration and interoperability, protect your existing investment, and allow for rapid time to market, but it has also been built as a scalable, nimble service. It can be hosted as a public or private cloud, on a local or enterprise network, and it is responsive and secure. Because devices and networks are seamlessly connected at speed there is no need to spend months setting up a complex system.

Simply, it’s still your business, just better!

Embracing this journey is what will empower you to capture the benefit of the IoT, embrace the Digital era, and interact in rich and relevant ways with your customers in order to transform your business as you know it.

Callie Human – Group Executive – Automotive, Britehouse Automotive.