Much of the talk about the Internet of Things (IoT) focuses on the “things” themselves – wearables, sensors, iBeacons, and other network-connected machines. However, the greatest value for organizations comes from combining the data generated by these devices with other customer or operational data to uncover insights and establish predictive models. This is the incredible promise of IoT, but without the ability to link data from the smart, networked “things” with other business data, its value is limited.

Instead of isolated IoT projects that aren’t connected to the core corporate data infrastructure, there is an opportunity to use IoT data to create business value. Organizations can combine customer data from devices with other customer data to gain new insights and identify new signals of potential churn or propensity to purchase. These insights can lead to a deeper understanding of and greater responsiveness to customers. For example, retailers can combine data gathered from in-store iBeacons with customer transaction histories and store behavioral models to determine the best promotion to send or other actions to take, such as notifying the store staff that a VIP has arrived.

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