Business Process Management in Internet of Things (IoT) for Smart Homes: A Literature Review

MBIS4008

Business Process Management

Literature Review

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Abstract

The concept of IoT has especially impacted home automation this has changed the way consumers interact with their homes. The current literature analysis discussed here is the assessment of the application of IoT in smart homes and the main subjects under discussion are automation of lighting, security, and temperature controls as well as energy management. The review concerns IoT business processes in the key areas of business, including product development, customer relations, supply chain, and cybersecurity. Drawing from the synthesis of the research studies contained in this paper, an assessment of the IoT's impact on the business in the smart home sector will be made.

Introduction and Background

The IoT is credited for the development of smart home technology that has been seen as being of high benefit to the consumer. IoT can be described as devices or ‘things’ that are networked or connected and perform operations in facilitating the management of homes automatically. This highlights the comparative advantages and disadvantages in so far as business organizations with an interest in the development and management of smart home technologies. At the micro level from which this review is conducted, this revolves around the impact that IoT has on business processes and how IT can support effective mapping of business processes.

Trend Focus: Internet of Things in home automation.

Integration of IoT in home automation has greatly impacted consumer experience with their homes by altering the manner they engage with their homes. Home automation systems include sophisticated features that are facilitated by the incorporation of IoT technologies including lighting, security, temperatures, and energy usage. It is these technologies that accept user commands and allow individuals to monitor and operate home utilities via network connectivity and applications (Raimundo and Rosário, 2022). For instance, smart lighting enables users to control the brightness from the comfort of their homes through mobile applications while smart security enables users to monitor their homes from remote locations through live feeds. Some of the ways through which IoT is applied in home automation include controlling heating and cooling systems where convenience can be of great importance as it can easily maximize comfort based on the choice of the user as well as climatic conditions thus increasing the efficiency in the use of energy in the building. Intelligent thermostat devices guarantee comfort in homes besides monitor and regulating the temperature to ensure they use little energy. Such a shift in direction towards more connected and automated environments is aligned with the trend of consumers’ desire for improved living environments. It is believed that as the IoT technologies progress, there shall be improvements in home automation, the interconnectivity of devices as well as efficient and user-friendly control and maintenance of homes (Shah and Mahmood, 2020).

Key Business Processes in the Internet of Things Integration

1. Product Development: The IoT smart home devices are assembled through both hardware and software which make them have different layers. According to manufacturers, their devices are to be integrated to work with other manufacturers’ devices. A product development plan involves the development of products in the form of devices to fit into different platforms and to meet set standards. Major concerns that require consideration in the product design include the security of the devices, reliability as well as privacy of consumers’ data (Raimundo and Rosário, 2022).

2. Customer Support: Users’ entrees to and interaction with IoT devices often require customer support to ensure that the user experience remains positive. The need to integrate the solution with comprehensive support has more support from noting that the business can only handle technical problems and user inquiries. This support encompasses help with common problems, which include installation problems, and guidance regarding various features, such as firmware changes for the smartwatch. Bridging devices makes it difficult for businesses to come up with support systems to deal with all the technicalities and relations between devices (Shah and Mahmood, 2020).

3. Supply Chain Management: Supply chain management of IoT products relates to the management of all the flow of the hardware products for these devices. According to there is a need to deliver components on time plus there is a need to manage the inventory. Supply chain management also entails dealing with employees or suppliers and dealing with issues that may affect device supply and functionality.

4. Data Privacy and Cybersecurity: Protection of the identities of users and their assets is very important in the IoT business. IoT devices store and forward the personal data of the user and therefore can be breached. Better security measures have to be employed to enhance the protection of the users’ data (Korneeva et at., 2021). They have to make sure that the firmware of the devices is protected against any weakness in it and also, the software applications need to be protected against any vulnerability that may lead to loss of user data and also follows data protection requirements.

5. Software and Hardware Integration: Management of software and hardware is very important especially when it comes to the functioning of IoT devices. Emphasize the importance of the interactions between software and hardware. This integration process has to go through extensive testing and quality checks to make certain that the devices work the way they are supposed to and offer the user experience they are designed to offer. There is also compatibility of products and making sure that updates of software do not interfere with the use of the device (Sepasgozar et al., 2020).

Conclusion

Designing IoT into smart home gadgets is changing consumer experiences with their homes by making them smarter to control, more secure, and energy efficient. This technological advancement brings the issues to the business: issues of product development, customer support, supply chain, and cybersecurity. Through overcoming these threats and the incorporation of possibilities brought by information technology, the processes in businesses can be streamlined, and solutions can be provided in the smart home field. It is important for those doing business to understand and manage these business processes as they seek to operate profitably in the fast-growing smart home market.

References

Korneeva, E., Olinder, N. and Strielkowski, W., (2021)” Consumer attitudes to the smart home technologies and the internet of things (IOT)”, Energies, 14(23), p.7913. https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/23/7913/pdf

Raimundo, R.J. and Rosário, A.T., (2022) “Cybersecurity in the internet of things in industrial management”, Applied Sciences, 12(3), p.1598. https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/12/3/1598/pdf

Sepasgozar, S., Karimi, R., Farahzadi, L., Moezzi, F., Shirowzhan, S., M. Ebrahimzadeh, S., Hui, F. and Aye, L., (2020) “A systematic content review of artificial intelligence and the internet of things applications in smart home”, Applied Sciences, 10(9), p.3074. https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/10/9/3074/pdf

Shah, S.K.A. and Mahmood, W., (2020) “Smart home automation using IOT and its low cost implementation”, International Journal of Engineering and Manufacturing, 10(5), p.28. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Syed-Kashan-Ali-Shah-2/publication/344471523_Smart_Home_Automation_Using_IOT_and_its_Low_Cost_Implementation/links/6094419d92851c490fbf94a9/Smart-Home-Automation-Using-IOT-and-its-Low-Cost-Implementation.pdf