Building the Digital Enterprise

Building Digital Enterprise

 

 

August 08 2016

John Gordon

I spend a lot of time working with cities to create digital cities — open, secure technology platforms that enable equitable economic growth. I’ve been building off a belief in recent posts that lighting and lighting-related IoT sensors can create the most pervasive and useful fabric to enable the next era of smart city innovation. I’ve touched on how this can create value both economically by lowering the barriers to innovation and academically by helping our kids prepare for the future.

As much as I have these conversations in city circles, I am just as often asked how these same principles can apply in the business world. How we can use open, connected digital infrastructure to unlock digital enterprises? After all, it seems like the very same ideas about using light sockets (arguably the most pervasive source of connected energy in any industry) to see, hear, feel and smell in every corner of a business would have value to their customer satisfaction, product quality, revenue generation and other key operational areas.

There are certainly many parallels. Like cities, many enterprise CIOs have already taken advantage of IoT sensors and technology to solve individual problems. Many use sensors or beacons to track the general locations of items in stores or hospitals. I recall one story where hospital staff were outfitted with beacon sensors on uniforms so that they each time they passed certain movable medical equipment, a system would be updated with the equipment’s location should it need retrieval later. Many office buildings are using occupancy sensors to ensure lights turn off when a room is empty (or sometimes even when a rooms is full… resulting in frantic hand waving usually reserved for signalling a rescue boat when lost at sea).

Just like in cities, these individual sensor deployments are useful and are helping businesses to optimize their operations. But also, like in cities, they have significant drawbacks.

First, because they are purpose built, these sensors tend not to be extendable. Most conference room occupancy sensors are tied directly into the light switch, but couldn’t be extended to do something like let you see which conference rooms are currently available or occupied. 

Second, businesses have tended to deploy sensors locally to solve a pointed problem. That means that every time a new problem arises, a complicated process of deploying more sensors in buildings has to happen again.

Third, each of these sensors tends to be proprietary. Meaning, it can be used for its specific purpose, but it doesn’t have a published interface or API allowing the information that it can see, hear, or feel to be leveraged by a variety of internal IT developers or external applications to create value. 

If you’ve read any of my previous posts, you’ll know that I believe in building an open, secure digital platform to enable physical spaces to take on many of the sensory characteristics of online experiences. This is the foundation of the digital enterprise. And sensors tied to lighting create the most pervasive location to deploy technology that addresses each of these traditional limitations.

Lighting-based sensors have an array of capabilities that helps identify how objects are moving in the space (think: occupancy sensors, beacons and indoor positioning technology) as well as the condition of the overall environment (think: temperature, humidity, light level). 

When data from these sensors are made available through APIs, corporate IT departments, consultants, and application vendors have a broad set of horizontal information that they can leverage to build solutions. 

That same set of lighting-based sensors can enable solutions such as conference room availability in office space and customer path analytics in retail. Our GE team is using these sensors in our own warehouses to manage and track inventory.

There are tremendous opportunities waiting for those who can put the power of the digital world into the real environments of the physical world. Intelligent lighting isn’t just for cities.


 

John Gordon, Chief Digital Officer of Current, powered by GE, is responsible for orchestrating an enterprise-wide transformation by leveraging the capabilities of GE’s Digital business. This article was first published online by Current, powered by GE. Read more articles: http://hub.currentbyge.com/h/c/241161-current-articles.

Image courtesy of sumetho at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

 

Related Articles


Changing Scene

  • Contact Delage Announces New Partnership with Zilux

    Contact Delage: New Representation Agreement – Zilux

    Contact Delage is pleased to announce a new partnership with Zilux for the representation of their products in the regions of Montreal, Laval, Estrie, Lanaudière, Laurentides, and Montérégie. Specializing in the design of aluminum lighting and urban furniture, Zilux, a Quebec-based manufacturer, combines innovation and durability to enhance your outdoor design projects. Their expertise in… Read More…

  • Mac’s II Agencies Announces Jamie Capell as the New Sales Manager for Lighting Specification

    Expanding Expertise: Mac’s II Agencies Strengthens Lighting Division

    Mac’s II Agencies is pleased to announce the expansion of its lighting division with the addition of Jamie Capell as the Sales Manager for Lighting Specification. Jamie brings 25 years of experience in the lighting and electrical industry, most notably serving as the Director of Sales for a local lighting agency in British Columbia. With… Read More…


Design

  • Light ARchitect Is Revolutionizing Lighting Design for Architects & Designers

    Light ARchitect Is Revolutionizing Lighting Design for Architects & Designers

    Traditionally, lighting design could be a tedious process, often involving physical mockups, time-consuming calculations, and static renderings using multiple software tools. With advancing technology, these traditional methods are giving way to more sophisticated tools that enhance precision, speed, and visualization. On the downside, many of the new tools are not particularly intuitive and the learning… Read More…

  • Project Story: Sainte-Thérèse High School Outdoor Lighting Upgrade

    Project Story: Sainte-Thérèse High School Outdoor Lighting Upgrade

    August 6, 2024 Built in 1980, the building that houses Sainte-Thérèse high school, in Quebec Canada, was looking a little worse for the wear. Renovation work began with two major projects: introducing a multidisciplinary sports centre, as well as redesigning the parking lots.  The employee and visitor parking lots were completely reconfigured during phase 1… Read More…


New Products

  • Magic Lite: New 5-Channel High-Performance LED Amplifier

    Magic Lite: New 5-Channel High-Performance LED Amplifier

    Designed for professional-grade LED systems, the 5-Channel High-Performance Amplifier delivers precision, scalability, and reliability. Using advanced MOSFET technology and high-speed 10Mbps optical couplers, this amplifier ensures robust power output and flawless signal transmission across large-scale, synchronized LED applications. Whether expanding capacity for PWM controllers or enhancing system stability, this amplifier simplifies complex lighting designs while… Read More…

  • Eureka: Lattice – 3D Printed Ceiling Suspended Fixture

    Eureka: Lattice – 3D Printed Ceiling Suspended Fixture

    Lattice is a one-of-a-kind 3D metal printed fixture. Layer upon layer of intricately braided aluminum branches meld into one of three comprehensive shapes. The result is a stunning glowing light fixture that will add a luxurious feel to ambient environments. EXCLUSIVELY AVAILABLE ON DEMAND. Read More…