Seeking insight from the Internet of Things (IoT)

ASSA ABLOY is starting the journey into the IoT by connecting the Group's innovative products.

Understanding the strengths of a business and building customer value requires knowing the ins and outs of our products. Extending Internet connectivity into our physical devices enables us to gather important data and learn more about how we can benefit our customers. 

Delving into the Internet of Things (IoT), ASSA ABLOY is making a vital transition from selling hardware to selling digital services too. By enabling our devices to communicate and interact through the Internet, we are able to monitor, control, and analyse their functions, creating a new business model that optimises our products’ true value. 

Tomi Viljanen, the Product Manager at ASSA ABLOY Shared Technologies, is working on ‘Information Services’, a global platform currently under testing, designed to connect ASSA ABLOY Group’s products through digital infrastructure. “It is happening within the company,” says Viljanen. “This work is hugely vital. If we just look around at what customers and competitors are doing, we can see that everyone is working in this area”.

 

Intelligence in each component

Gathering data from cloud-connected ASSA ABLOY Entrance Systems products, one of the key goals for this project is to inform servicing and maintenance performance. The ASSA ABLOY Hi-O (Highly Intelligent Opening) technology works by building intelligence and communicative capabilities into each of all the components involved in a doorway solution, enabling higher security and simplified management. In practice, service engineers are able to react faster to a faulty door, or even replace a door’s malfunctioning components before it breaks down. Not only does this make for a more secure environment, but is time and cost-effective. ASSA ABLOY products, such as the Smart Residential product range, Yale and August locks are gradually becoming connected devices that can be controlled remotely through users’ smartphones. 

Where the flow of people through large facilities is concerned, the application of IoT allows the collecting of customer and staff movement data, from which measures can be taken to improve services. In a store, for instance, such information can help ensure managers are opening and closing at the right times, identify busy periods or understand how long customers usually stay in a store.

Building close-knit connections

In order to support HID Global’s IoT applications, ASSA ABLOY is also working on building a cloud-based platform that will enable these digital ID credential products and software to function in a more interconnected structure. 

With the IoT as a close ally, ASSA ABLOY aims to make far-reaching developments in product innovation and customer benefits.