Industrial Computing Reaps Returns On Investment

The title of this article appears to make common sense. Sure, who wouldn't agree? But our observation shows that not everyone realizes just how important computing is to their industry.

We could see how some entrepreneurs don't place high value on computing if, say, they work in something that's inherently non-technical in the first place. But we see high-tech companies that don't even seem to have faith in high-tech solutions just like the ones they sell!

The better-organized company wins the market. When a corporation is composed of thousands of people and vehicles, it has to operate like a single being. It has to think fast and act fast. At the "soul" of that corporation, there must be the perfect union of information, decisiveness, and action.

Let's put it in terms that a modern audience can understand: Video games. Specifically, the kind of video game referred to as RTS - Real-Time Strategy. Remember that the Japanese have a motto: "Business is war." Well, a real-time strategy game challenges you to be the general in charge of an army, playing against other armies while defending your base, or conquering another nation, and so on. You might have heard of Warcraft, Starcraft, America's Army... games like those.

If you play one for a while, you appreciate that the whole game rests on the interface to co-ordinate your forces. Whether it's realistic soldiers, elves and orcs, or Klingons vs. Vulcans, your forces are worthless if you can't marshal them effectively in the fastest time.

You see this all the time in the business world. The first innovator or the best product doesn't always win the market - it's the one who controls their business in the most fluid way. Having better access to information lets you react in a faster way, sometimes leaving the competition months behind.

One can try to calculate the return on investment in, say for example, implementing telemetry in your vehicle fleet. Sure, you'll save some gas and wear on tires, and also save on some personnel since you can do more with fewer people. But the secondary benefits are incalculable. Faster, more reliable delivery of goods and services will be something that gets you more customers. Saving the hassle of filling out report sheets and hand-checking equipment will take more stress off of your employees, making them happier and more productive. Implementing automation of as many boring tasks, which are easily prone to errors, will save everyone a lot of worry. And a dependable, reliable fleet can take your business into the future. The total return is incalculable.