Jul 31, 2014 By Laura Fagan

Why Cloud-Based Apps Are Key to Unlocking the Internet of Things

in Featured, IT

Simply put, the Internet of Things takes physical objects, connects them to the Internet, and allows them to be read and controlled remotely. But gathering this intelligence isn’t enough. It’s also important to understand the context around it.

The data from connected devices becomes more meaningful when it’s combined with applications and cloud services that help you gain insights and take action. In addition, this improved understanding gives businesses the power to evolve their operations and interactions with customers, and improve revenue.

Creating applications for the Internet of Things

The streams of data the IoT enables opens up a new ecosystem for custom applications. To take full advantage of all this information, the best of this type of app development is two-sided:

Customer Engagement - This element focuses on the app’s user experience by offering beautiful design, the latest and greatest UI, speed, and personalized options, such as remembering preferences.

Business Process - On the internal side, the development needs to emphasize real-time workflows, including automated employee responses; data integrity, so you can predict customer needs; and the ability to continually build your brand.

Technology exists that allows you to link both critical elements and make data sharing between them appear almost automatic. Heroku Connect seamlessly combines the capabilities of both Force.com, for internal business-facing apps, and Heroku, a platform for professional developers to build high-scale apps that run on any device.

Tieing applications into business systems

Another key element of a successful IoT application strategy is unlocking business potential by integrating the data you collect from connected devices and products to business intelligence systems, such as ERPs, CRMs, and logistics.

This takes that data from interesting to transformative, especially when it comes to how you sell, market, and provide customer service. As a business driver and source of truth, cloud solutions, such as Salesforce, put the data in context for your business. Heroku Connect makes it simple to build apps that sync with your Salesforce deployment.

Join LogMeIn, ARM, salesforce.com, and Heroku for the free webinar recording, 7 Steps to Success on the Internet of Things.

Hear how to get started from a business and technology perspective so you can quickly bring to market connected solutions that expand revenue, optimize operations, and delight customers and users.

What you will learn: