Vodafone pushes on the Internet of Things (IoT) and looks to businesses and public administrations not only in the North but also in the Center and South. This is why it chose Rome to present the new solutions designed to facilitate communication and connectivity between machines, a connection which allows you to streamline processes, innovate products and improve interaction with customers. On the launch pad are theAgrifood, industry 4.0, “Smart Buildings” and “Smart Cities”. Businesses, properties and cities of the near future.
Il IoT market in 2017 reached 3,7 billion euros, with an increase of 32% compared to the previous year and the Smart Metering, Smart Car, Smart Home and Industrial IoT sectors are expected to be the ones with the most significant growth rates in 2018. According to the latest “IoT Barometer Report” by Vodafone, the leading global survey on the state of IoT innovation and investment, the number of IoT-dedicated projects globally doubled in 2017, while 61% of all companies surveyed see IoT as an essential driver for the digital transformation.
The reason for this exponential growth can be better understood by citing a few concrete examples. Imagine being in the car for hours in the frantic search for a parking space, working in a potentially dangerous environment for one's safety, wanting to independently read the home water, gas and electricity meters, needing a view from high to search for a person lost in a dense forest. Imagine having the solution just a click away and being able to easily find a place for your car, saving time, fuel and energy, seeing dangerous situations signaled in real time, and reading the consumption of your home by yourself. , to find the missing person with the help of a drone: these are just some of the intelligent applications presented by Vodafone to businesses and public administrations.
AGRICULTURE AND CLIMATE, INTERNET MAKES THE DIFFERENCE
"Food and wine tracking and safety” is the solution designed by Vodafone to control all the production processes of the agri-food industry, guaranteeing the quality of the products. Instead, the weather station was created to monitor the level of humidity, lighting and the presence of polluting agents in the ground (taking advantage of NB-IoT technology) "Weather Station” which is positioned in the field of interest and is powered by a photovoltaic panel which recharges the batteries. Finally, the "smart stall” which is a solution for monitoring the environmental parameters of a stable and animal health.
It is interesting to see which sectors of excellence for Italy agriculture and livestock, which are considered traditional sectors in our country, can benefit from technological innovation and it is for this reason that the trade associations themselves – Confagricoltura and Coldiretti in particular – consider it essential to disseminate knowledge of the Internet of Things in companies to all productivity levels.
“The IoT solutions presented on Wednesday 13 June are a further demonstration of Vodafone's positioning as a solution integrator, to accelerate the digital transformation of businesses and public administrations, starting from their distinctive assets: from the latest generation mobile network, to fixed-mobile convergent solutions, up to the IoT platform, and Cloud services and Vodafone Analytics,” he said Giorgio Migliarina, Enterprise Director of Vodafone Italy.
INNOVATION, COMPANIES MORE AWARE OF ADDED VALUE
The positive note is represented by the fact that compared to last year the awareness of Italian companies towards digitization and technological modernization has changed a lot: in 2016 25% of companies declared that they did not know the topic, while in 2017 the figure dropped at 8%. Linked to the Industry 4.0 paradigm, today the situation is quite different: only 8% of companies declare that they are unaware of the issue (25% in 2016), while 28% are considering how to take action.
"In the race towards digital transformation, the IoT represents one of the main factors of innovation for companies, in all industrial sectors" , continued Migliarina. “Here in Rome we wanted to concretely show how IoT technologies can change business models, making them more efficient and productive, also in light of the imminent technological evolutions in which Vodafone is a protagonist: from the completion of NB-IoT coverage, to the development of 5G".
Vodafone recently announced the completion by September 2018 of 100% of its 4G sites with Narrowband-IoT network technology which is part of the strategy towards the development of 5G with new services for customers, individuals and companies, greater coverage capacity and longer battery life.
The real added value of the Internet of Things is not only the development of connectivity, but the ability to be able to provide high-level services that help people and businesses find concrete solutions to their needs with an impact also on sustainability.
