Chief executive of ITonCloud, Andrew Tucker, explains how the Internet of Things will make its mark on financial services
Chief executive of ITonCloud, Andrew Tucker, explains how the Internet of Things will make its mark on financial services.
MPA: What is the Internet of Things and why is it taking off now?
Andrew Tucker: The Internet of Things (IoT) simply refers to the inter-connection of different devices facilitated by the internet, for instance, mobile devices, wearable devices, cars, watches, fridges, alarms, sensors and even buildings. The types of devices that can be connected to the internet is growing. Gartner predicts that by 2020 there will be over 26 billion connected devices.
The reasons behind the growth of IoT are many. From a consumer point of view its convenience – a fridge that can connect to the internet so you can easily order more food online is appealing.
From a business perspective, it’s the ability to gather more data and streamline processes to make things efficient. For instance, using IoT technology courier companies can use tracking and vehicle sensors connected to the internet to manage their fleets, helping to identify the shortest and cost-effective routes to take.
MPA: What does this mean for financial services?
AT: The application of the IoT in financial services is still quite immature but it is growing. According to PwC’s 6th annual digital IQ survey, financial services is one of the top 10 industries that has been investing in sensors for potential IoT innovations.
Some of the areas IoT applications will impact include:
MPA: How will brokers be able to maximise the opportunities presented by IoT within their brokerages?
AT: One of the biggest opportunities for brokers is being able to gather more information about clients so they can provide more personalised advice. This could be from more information available about spending habits, financial positions, investment potential, the list goes on.
Another area is in business management as the IoT is also paving the way for new types of automation tools to cope with the influx of new types data that will be available. Whether it’s processing data or linking different systems, it will help to streamline operations and management so firms can focus on activities that are revenue generating.
MPA: In what ways will IoT change current finance models and consumer behaviour?
AT: From a consumer behaviour perspective, the IoT is likely to encourage more pay-for-what-you-use modes of spending, requiring a rethink on pricing models and how products and services are marketed. For instance, rather than pay for a subscription to a movie channel, a consumer can use their internet enabled TV to purchase the exact movies they’d prefer to watch at times that are convenient to them.
This shift in behaviour will have a flow on effect to finance and accounting, in terms of invoicing, reporting, and forecasting revenue streams.
For instance, it will allow businesses to collect behavioural information in the areas of buying preferences and stock movement. For example, warehouse shelves are being fitted with sensors that can detect when inventory gets low, then an automatic reorder request is made and sent directly to suppliers.
IoT will also impact the way audits are carried out. The availability of real-time data coming from multiple sources and automated analysis will only increase the need for continuous auditing. However, the upshot of this is better risk management and detection of issues. In addition to this, the sheer level of customer data that will be feed through will enable more informed decision making and will also impact models around revenue generation.
MPA: How can ITonCloud benefit brokers?
AT: ITonCloud works with a number of firms in the financial services space, helping them to simplify and automate their IT systems by leveraging the cloud. Using ITonCloud firms can have their entire IT environment in the cloud, including email, files and business applications, making it easy for their workforce to access anywhere, anytime, on any device.
With ITonCloud’s proven and state-of-the-art cloud desktop platform, firms no longer have to host, maintain or backup their IT environment, eliminating the need to invest in on-premise servers, expensive hardware and support costs.
MPA: What are you most excited for in regards to the expected exponential growth of IoT?
AT: Slowly but surely, more and more devices are going to be Wi-Fi enabled making the collection of important data that much easier. This means that businesses are going to be able to get a more in-depth insight into how efficient their business is or could be. This is opposed to now, as there are not Wi-Fi enabled devices for every application.
Custom applications are going to be a lot more available and are going to be industry specific, making it quicker and easier to work with all the data coming from the devices. As with any emerging technology, the more people use it and embrace it, means the costs will start to drop.
At the moment companies are not quite sure how to capitalise on this new technology, to start with make sure that your IT platform is compatible and has the ability to communicate with internet-connected devices. At the same time have a chat with your cloud company to see how best you can start to utilise this technology.
MPA: What are your concerns?
AT: There’s really not a whole lot to be concerned about, but as with anything, especially when it’s emerging technology, the top concern is security.
As each device does communicate back to a server, it is important to make sure the way that it communicates is secured. This is also to protect the data from being intercepted and then sold to the highest bidder.
About ITonCloud
ITonCloud helps businesses simplify and automate their IT systems by leveraging the cloud. With ITonCloud businesses have their entire IT environment in the cloud, including email, files and business applications, making it easy for your workforce to access anywhere, anytime, on any device with comprehensive security. Using ITonCloud’s proven and state-of-the-art cloud desktop platform eliminates the need for businesses to invest in on-premise servers, expensive hardware and support. www.itoncloud.com
MPA: What is the Internet of Things and why is it taking off now?
Andrew Tucker: The Internet of Things (IoT) simply refers to the inter-connection of different devices facilitated by the internet, for instance, mobile devices, wearable devices, cars, watches, fridges, alarms, sensors and even buildings. The types of devices that can be connected to the internet is growing. Gartner predicts that by 2020 there will be over 26 billion connected devices.
The reasons behind the growth of IoT are many. From a consumer point of view its convenience – a fridge that can connect to the internet so you can easily order more food online is appealing.
From a business perspective, it’s the ability to gather more data and streamline processes to make things efficient. For instance, using IoT technology courier companies can use tracking and vehicle sensors connected to the internet to manage their fleets, helping to identify the shortest and cost-effective routes to take.
MPA: What does this mean for financial services?
AT: The application of the IoT in financial services is still quite immature but it is growing. According to PwC’s 6th annual digital IQ survey, financial services is one of the top 10 industries that has been investing in sensors for potential IoT innovations.
Some of the areas IoT applications will impact include:
- Dealing with more data: The IoT will mean even more data coming from different sources which will need to be incorporated into reporting systems and analysed. It will also enable more customer-insights, feeding back data to enable better decision making from a sales and marketing perspective.
- Real-time: As more data and insights will be available in real-time, the speed at which it needs to processed and analysed will only increase, and likely pave the way for increased automation tools.
- New finance models: How people will consume products and services will be impacted by IoT with more pay for what you use models with sensors tracking actual usage. This will require new pricing and finance models.
- Better advice to clients: IoT is allowing finance professionals to see more of their clients’ financial activity. Whether it’s information from tie in accounting services from banks or cloud-based order and inventory management processes, this data can help finance professionals get a better picture of a client and therefore offer the best advice.
MPA: How will brokers be able to maximise the opportunities presented by IoT within their brokerages?
AT: One of the biggest opportunities for brokers is being able to gather more information about clients so they can provide more personalised advice. This could be from more information available about spending habits, financial positions, investment potential, the list goes on.
Another area is in business management as the IoT is also paving the way for new types of automation tools to cope with the influx of new types data that will be available. Whether it’s processing data or linking different systems, it will help to streamline operations and management so firms can focus on activities that are revenue generating.
MPA: In what ways will IoT change current finance models and consumer behaviour?
AT: From a consumer behaviour perspective, the IoT is likely to encourage more pay-for-what-you-use modes of spending, requiring a rethink on pricing models and how products and services are marketed. For instance, rather than pay for a subscription to a movie channel, a consumer can use their internet enabled TV to purchase the exact movies they’d prefer to watch at times that are convenient to them.
This shift in behaviour will have a flow on effect to finance and accounting, in terms of invoicing, reporting, and forecasting revenue streams.
For instance, it will allow businesses to collect behavioural information in the areas of buying preferences and stock movement. For example, warehouse shelves are being fitted with sensors that can detect when inventory gets low, then an automatic reorder request is made and sent directly to suppliers.
IoT will also impact the way audits are carried out. The availability of real-time data coming from multiple sources and automated analysis will only increase the need for continuous auditing. However, the upshot of this is better risk management and detection of issues. In addition to this, the sheer level of customer data that will be feed through will enable more informed decision making and will also impact models around revenue generation.
MPA: How can ITonCloud benefit brokers?
AT: ITonCloud works with a number of firms in the financial services space, helping them to simplify and automate their IT systems by leveraging the cloud. Using ITonCloud firms can have their entire IT environment in the cloud, including email, files and business applications, making it easy for their workforce to access anywhere, anytime, on any device.
With ITonCloud’s proven and state-of-the-art cloud desktop platform, firms no longer have to host, maintain or backup their IT environment, eliminating the need to invest in on-premise servers, expensive hardware and support costs.
MPA: What are you most excited for in regards to the expected exponential growth of IoT?
AT: Slowly but surely, more and more devices are going to be Wi-Fi enabled making the collection of important data that much easier. This means that businesses are going to be able to get a more in-depth insight into how efficient their business is or could be. This is opposed to now, as there are not Wi-Fi enabled devices for every application.
Custom applications are going to be a lot more available and are going to be industry specific, making it quicker and easier to work with all the data coming from the devices. As with any emerging technology, the more people use it and embrace it, means the costs will start to drop.
At the moment companies are not quite sure how to capitalise on this new technology, to start with make sure that your IT platform is compatible and has the ability to communicate with internet-connected devices. At the same time have a chat with your cloud company to see how best you can start to utilise this technology.
MPA: What are your concerns?
AT: There’s really not a whole lot to be concerned about, but as with anything, especially when it’s emerging technology, the top concern is security.
As each device does communicate back to a server, it is important to make sure the way that it communicates is secured. This is also to protect the data from being intercepted and then sold to the highest bidder.
About ITonCloud
ITonCloud helps businesses simplify and automate their IT systems by leveraging the cloud. With ITonCloud businesses have their entire IT environment in the cloud, including email, files and business applications, making it easy for your workforce to access anywhere, anytime, on any device with comprehensive security. Using ITonCloud’s proven and state-of-the-art cloud desktop platform eliminates the need for businesses to invest in on-premise servers, expensive hardware and support. www.itoncloud.com
