Transforming Facilities Management – and your business – with IoT from Ingram Micro and Daizy

Transforming Facilities Management – and your business – with IoT from Ingram Micro and Daizy

17 November 2022

Internet of Things (IoT) represents a major revenue opportunity for partners. More than that, it showcases the kind of ‘smart’ skills and solutions that will be critical in driving diversification, competitive advantage and, ultimately, long-term, sustainable growth. But how do you realise the true promise of IoT and where are the hot areas to target right now? Let’s get some answers…

 

Industrial and manufacturing firms may have been the first to recognise the opportunities of IoT: to tackle downtime, enhance operational efficiency and reduce costs. But those same benefits, and many more, are now being embraced across the sector spectrum. As the vast portfolio of IoT connected devices grows and more intelligent device and data management systems appear, so the opportunities for partners are growing.

 

The concept is simple: install devices – anything from smart water meters and CCTV cameras to environmental sensors – connect them to a network, then employ a range of monitoring and analytics tools to gain insights from all this real-time data. The ‘everyday’ use cases are almost limitless.

 

Getting smart in facilities management

In the building and facilities management sector, companies are employing IoT solutions for predictive maintenance, security, energy reduction and increasingly to ensure health and safety compliance for building users.

 

Here, not only are sensors being deployed to track water consumption and provide accurate billing data. They are also measuring water flow and temperature to prevent burst pipes and identify leaks, and critically meet legionella compliance.

 

But creating smarter and safer buildings can be challenging in terms of solution design, deployment and management. if you haven’t done it before, it’s not always easy to know where to start or how to sell. This is where Ingram Micro and Enterprise IoT management platform Daizy come in.     

 

Building the platform for success

Daizy has developed a cloud-based platform that radically simplifies the deployment and management of IoT devices. In a facilities management context, this is the beating heart of any IoT deployment, bringing IoT project management, device, connectivity and data together in one place.

 

Because it’s open, Daizy is compatible with thousands of devices from hundreds of vendors, and it works over all major communication networks: NB-IoT, LTE-M, LoRaWAN, Sigfox, 4G/5G, WiFi & LAN.

 

The true value of any IoT deployment is in the data, and that’s where Daizy really excels. By offering integration with your client’s business systems, a flexible API and options for custom integrations, Daizy ensures that the data is made available to those that need it, at the right time and in the right format to enable action. From exception alerts to notify teams about potential hazards through to monitoring and alerts for device status, Daizy ensures that facilities teams can continue to manage all assets with existing systems.

 

All of which means Daizy solves the common challenges of every IoT deployment project, enabling system integrators to prototype quickly at low cost and deliver scaled rollouts to customers through a single, standards-based and robust environment.

 

Remote water safety solutions

While Daizy can deliver on a variety of solutions fulfilling almost any IoT requirement, water safety compliance is a growing use case with massive opportunity – delivering ongoing monitoring to mitigate risks such as contamination, freezing and potential scalding. 

 

Traditional monitoring requires costly monthly physical site visits using outdated and unreliable techniques. Daizy's discrete IoT sensors are attached to pipework providing 24-hour remote water flow monitoring. Alerts are delivered automatically in real-time for exceptional events. Automated data capture eliminates the risk of human error.

 

7-month ROI for BCHA housing association

Bournemouth-based housing association BCHA is using IoT technology to improve the living environment for its customers. The organisation partnered with Daizy to install sensors to monitor building systems and environmental conditions across its 1,700 properties, with the aim of identifying issues that could adversely affect residents’ quality of life. 

 

BCHA faced spiralling manual labour costs from continual legionella compliance testing of its housing estate. Daizy enabled 100% coverage across disparate locations using multiple connectivity and network technologies. IoT sensors attached to pipework now allow 24-hour compliance monitoring. Daizy’s solution also ensures that future devices and technologies will be fully supported. 

 

Not only does BCHA now enjoy compliance peace-of-mind, it has seen a positive impact on its bottom line. A five-year return on investment forecast for the Daizy solution was paid off within seven months.

 

The Ingram Micro advantage

Here at Ingram Micro we recognise that creating an IoT practice, understanding the complex ecosystem and delivering the critical network connectivity needed can seem like a daunting task.

 

So, for partners looking to realise the promise of IoT in facilities management and elsewhere, we’re here to help. Alongside our industry-recognised leadership in procurement and wide range of low-cost, flexible financial services, we offer a true IoT one-stop-shop.

 

We will support you every step of the lifecycle from initial sales engagement through device prototyping and solution design to platform deployment and integration, full device management and ongoing support.

 

Our dedicated partner enablement teams will work alongside your technical and sales teams, building your capabilities, assisting you in the creation of compelling solutions and guiding you through your deployments. Then, leveraging Daizy as the IoT platform at the core of your solution, we can provide white label managed services to monitor and support your customer’s entire IoT estate.

 

As your confidence grows, Ingram Micro and Daizy will help you build on those early wins and further extend the portfolio of IoT offerings and services you provide.

 

Get in touch at OG-AIOT@ingrammicro.com