Once you have an IoT analytics platform set up, have cleaned and refined the data, used exploratory analysis and visualizations to understand it, enhanced IoT data with external datasets, applied geospatial analytics where appropriate, used data science to understand and predict, and organized your data lake for analytics efficiency; you can take a step back and think about additional revenue opportunities.

These are ones that you may not have considered before you had a deep understanding of the data. Opportunities may also simply not have been previously possible until an IoT analytics infrastructure was built.

Here are some revenue possibilities to consider:

• Extensions to your current business processes: These ideas closely align with what you are already doing and can add additional value to your customers. It is always beneficial to think of services from the perspective of the end customer. Put yourself in their shoes and think what would save you costs and help you run your business better. Even better, ask them for their input. Some areas to think about are as follows:
  • The monitoring of field operations: Getting data instantly on the status of field equipment is often the reason for adding an IoT device in the first place. But you can add value to your customers by providing monitoring and alert services to them so they do not have to create it for themselves. You are in a position to have a greater economy of scale since your costs can be spread out among many customers.
  • The tracking of field equipment location and status: Again, you are in the position to spread your costs over many customers, so you can add this as a service to them inexpensively. It will be less costly for them than creating it on their own.
  • Improved field repair services: If your company also services the equipment connected to an IoT device, you have the opportunity to have faster and better field service levels. If you are also monitoring the equipment and tracking location and status, this is a natural next step. Not only do you know right away if there is a problem, you know exactly where it is located and which parts to bring to correct it. Even if you do not provide field service of the equipment, you can serve as an intermediary to companies that do provide that service. Since you are making the entire process more efficient, this has value to both the end customer and the field service company. There is a revenue stream from both sides that could be going into your pocket.
• New revenue opportunities: These ideas are additional services not directly related to current business processes. Think about it; you have new information about location and operation of IoT devices flowing into a centralized location. This is information you did not have before. Take a minute to look at it differently, and think how your business would have generated revenue from it if the information had always been available. Try to get out of the mental context of how things have always been. Some things to think about are as follows:
  • Value from the pool of IoT data itself: Think which other business and industries would find the data you have valuable. Package it up in a way that protects your customers and provides the information these other companies need. Then, charge them to get it. We discussed an example earlier in the book about IoT thermostat data, which was being aggregated and sold to power generating companies. Cellular network companies package up cell phone location data in a way that indicates current traffic congestion along highways. Some cell phone app companies collect GPS position and package that up to sell to retailers as an indicator of foot traffic at their stores. Financial and insurance companies certainly find value in indicators of business segment activity available earlier than official statistics.
  • New business services: Think about where having the IoT data and the analytics power you have created could put your company in a better position to provide a service than anyone else. It may even be in a currently unrelated business. Back to the IoT thermostat example. Since the company can both detect HVAC problems and know the location of the unit, it is in a position to efficiently schedule the correct repair procedure. This concept was mentioned earlier in the extension of current business processes section of this chapter. However, in this case, the IoT thermostat company currently has no service function. They may want to start one, however, as they are well positioned to do so. Imagine if the thermostat sends an email to the customer that it detected a problem and can have a repair person there to fix it in two hours at a predefined reasonable price. And all the customer has to do is click on Ok, as shown in the following image:

• • Services that would be very valuable to the customer that you could not have provided before: Think about how a customer can use the data you now have to improve their business. They may already be doing some of these things, so again, it is very valuable to connect with them and ask them. Package up that service and sell to all the customers. An example, if you provide a GPS tracking device for logistic companies attached to on-road trailer units, think how customers could find that data valuable to them. You could provide bench marking services to customers to compare miles traveled for their units to similar companies. You could aggregate their position data over time to show them a route concentration map. You could compare their map to the industry, which may be very valuable to them when considering expansion planning.