Microsoft hosts focused Workshop at Africa IoT Summit

The premier Africa IoT Summit was evidently a resourceful pool considering that Microsoft secured a moment to engage with delegates in a special focused workshop themed: Transform Your Business with the Internet of Things.

The workshop explored the challenges that hinge on the velocity and variety of data collection and what to do with it after capturing it. One solution offered by experts was to make sure that as companies gather data and analytics back into their system, information is used to actually change the content dynamically. No one wants out-of-date data providing out-of-date results.

The workshop also organized against a background that companies yearning to get into the IoT ecosystem hardly have a full plan – one that includes exactly what they want to do, who or what problem to address, what the end deliverables are and how to make money out of it.

Alive to the fact that business models have to change for businesses to generate revenue from the IoT investments, Zekri advised on the need for collaboration and finding partners who provide flexibility and adapt to customers’ environment.

As IoT becomes more pervasive across industries like retail, manufacturing, energy, security, and healthcare, many businesses should begin to handle the latest tools and platforms that help streamline the implementation of IoT into their business models and processes, Zekri stressed.

Most companies tend to believe that having a few tools and a cloud partner are all they really need but even with them, they still may not be sure how to implement those offerings.

Of importance according to Microsoft is for companies to consider having partners who provide package solutions with tools that companies can quickly and easily use themselves, see a proof of concept quickly so that they get management approval for the project, then embark on production and ultimately save or make money on the IoT ecosystem.