It’s called the internet of things, and it’s not the future anymore. It’s now, and it’s getting bigger. Estimates are by 2020, more than 20 billion devices worldwide will be connected to the internet. The IoT lets you optimize your business operations and offer your customers an unprecedented level of features and service.
So what happens when your landline-based internet connection goes down; when the devices on your network that you rely on 24/7 to run your business and serve your customers and clients can’t even talk to each other?
Here’s something you can count on: When that crash happens, it’s going to happen at exactly the wrong time — at the Zero Moment of Truth.
Are you ready for that moment?
If you’re not familiar with the Zero Moment of Truth, that’s what Google calls “the moment in the buying process when the consumer researches a product prior to purchase.” A ZMOT can happen anytime, from anywhere. They’re happening for your business right now. And for any single customer or potential client, you may get only one.
Forbes says the most powerful advantage the IoT offers a retail business is enabling customer service — inventory visibility and accuracy, digital interaction between customers’ devices and yours — and all of these available in-store and online. The IoT places your business front and center at a customer’s Zero Moment of Truth.
So imagine this scenario for an online sale: A customer on your site chooses their item, clicks “Place in cart,” and they get the message, “Item unavailable.” Only it’s not. What’s unavailable is communication between the RFID inventory tracking system in your warehouse and your online customer portal. You’ve missed their ZMOT. With just a few clicks they go somewhere else, taking with them an impression of the way you manage your online business.
Or maybe you have a brick-and-mortar store you optimized for IoT. Great! Your customers can come in with their own devices, connect to your network and do their ZMOT research onsite without having to use up minutes on their data plan. Until they can’t, because — through no fault of yours or your equipment — your landline-based connection to the web goes down. What does it say to a customer who comes to you, ready to use their personal technology to help with their buying decisions, that your tech doesn’t work?
You can expect the best if you’re prepared for the worst
There’s a saying: The key to success is how well prepared you are for Plan B. For the internet of things in your business, that B stands for “backup.” Say it with me: “Everything needs backup.” And that includes your business’ connection to the IoT.
If you rely on the IoT to run your business and improve your customer UX, you can’t afford not to have a backup. At No More Salespeople, we can recommend a variety of failover solutions utilizing the best-of-breed products like SD WAN, fixed wireless or 4G LTE wireless to solve your business challenge.
Here’s what you get:
- Network connectivity with 99.99-percent uptime
- Seamless, automatic connectivity; no user intervention required in an emergency
- Automatic termination of the 4G LTE connection once your landline network service returns
- Credit card processing, web-based orders and all other critical services continue — business as usual
Talk to us about wireless failover. Set up Plan B. It’s not just critical for allowing your business to keep running smoothly. It can keep your customers from walking out the door.
As speeds increase and costs continue to decline, more and more businesses will migrate mission critical applications to the mobile broadband (LTE) networks. Our solutions are designed using enterprise class routers combined with service on the best available LTE network along with industry leading remote monitoring, management and ongoing technical support. By bundling LTE services from AT&T™ and Verizon Wireless™ with devices from industry leaders like Accelerated™, BEC™ and Cradlepoint™, MACH Networks is able to provide the best solution possible for your customer’s specific application. For example, one of the largest landline service providers in the nation needed to add fully managed solutions for Wireless Failover and SD-WAN applications to their product portfolio. They needed a white label solution because they did not want to impact their existing business model. They turned to MACH Networks for a solution. MACH Networks stocks the routers, conducts a multi-carrier coverage analysis for each location. Once the order is placed, MACH activates, configures, and tests the routers prior to shipping, and provides all ongoing technical support – allowing the service provider to stay focused on their core business.
