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Over the past several months, working with Salesforce customers connecting devices and products to their business, I have heard a recurring theme: there is a “surprise” business benefit from connecting devices to Salesforce. As Salesforce becomes the business engine that powers the Internet of Things for these customers, they are being pleasantly surprised by unpredicted business value.
Take, for example, the stories about cities connecting their garbage cans to the cloud. It goes without saying that cities can save money on fuel by only emptying trash receptacles when they are full. Further savings can be gained when garbage truck routes are mapped dynamically to maximize efficiency. The surprise business value derived from instrumenting trash receptacles came from the data collected from the trash cans themselves. For example, pedestrian traffic patterns could be determined by viewing how often trash was dumped and at what time of the day. This turned out to be valuable business data for determining where to put the next Starbucks or FedEx. This data could either be provided to businesses for free or sold as a service.
But garbage cans are just one instance of cloud computing's ability to add value. Consider the following examples of surprise business value gained from connecting to the cloud:
Ventana Medical Systems' vision is to empower its customers by providing innovative cancer diagnostic solutions. When Ventana first connected its devices to salesforce.com, the company expected visibility into device health, alarms, and errors. They wanted to distribute software updates and proactive notifications. Their surprise business value was that they were able to measure product performance in the field and provide insight to product and device usage for their Marketing and Sales groups. They were also able to provide performance information and visibility into new requirements for R&D.
ATEK began their journey with Salesforce by connecting their storage tanks. Their goal was to provide proactive service by anticipating battery failures. They also wanted to provide remote visibility into fluid levels and storage tank utilization. ATEK's surprise business value emerged when the company ended up with a new revenue stream that resulted from a Preventative and Proactive Service Program that they can now offer to their customers.
When Dependable Auto Shippers (DAS) embarked on their Salesforce implementation, their goal was to track their customers’ vehicles for the entire journey. They simply wanted to improve logistics management of vehicles in transit. But the company found its surprise business value when they created a new subscription-based service model based on vehicle monitoring. Essentially, they created “Vehicle Monitoring as a Service.” When their customers completed their vehicle move, they were able to offer this new service to the customer to continue to monitor the safety of the vehicle. For example, if they transported their college kid’s car to college, then the parent could continue to monitor the vehicle through DAS subscription service.
New England Biolabs, a supplier of choice for scientists across the globe, offers recombinant and native enzymes for genomic research. Previously, the companyy distributed enzymes with very limited automation; they stocked their customers' freezers in a laborious fashion. After connecting their freezers to Salesforce, they were able to manage enzyme product inventory, monitor the health of the freezers, and automate the entire fulfillment process. Their surprise business value was that scientists were able to collaborate with each other to compare notes and share enzyme “tips and tricks.” Using Salesforce Chatter, the scientists could collaborate with each other while the NEB product management team benefited from the exchange of ideas for future product development.
There are many other examples of customers who were pleasantly surprised after connecting their products. Who knows what unpredicted benefits your company will discover?
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