Intelligent CIO Middle East Issue 24 | Page 94

FINAL WORD “THE CLOUD ALSO ELIMINATES THE INCONVENIENCE OF GEOGRAPHY, BY ENABLING LIVE COLLABORATION OF TEAMS SEPARATED BY OCEANS.” Connected by the ever-present cloud, these solutions allow manufacturers to lower operating costs by more quickly identifying and addressing inefficiencies. The cloud also eliminates the inconvenience of geography, by enabling live collaboration of teams separated by oceans. And, through its flexibility, the cloud further enhances customer experiences, by allowing the manufacturer to adapt quickly to changing preferences. Because of IoT, deep monitoring of the entire operational chain becomes possible. Innovation becomes a daily activity, as agile analytics converts gathered data into actionable insights. Indeed, the business model itself is in constant flux, being tweaked in real time to better serve both the manufacturer and its customers. Retail Karim Talhouk, Dynamics 365 Lead, Microsoft Gulf into revenue. The ability to syphon off the right data and deliver actionable intelligence to predict customer needs, optimise stock levels, monitor the supply chain and identify possible areas for operational improvement, is vital. central role in digital transformation projects. Operations are being optimised across the Gulf region by shrewd use of this emerging technology standard, as manufacturing businesses become convinced of its benefits. Manufacturing IoT-integrated ERP and Field Service solutions can be used to track land, sea and air fleets and shipments; they can be used to track customers; and they can be used to monitor products, premises and supply chains. In the manufacturing sector, the Internet of Things – now provided for by some ERP platforms, including Microsoft Dynamics 365 – is taking a 94 INTELLIGENTCIO Juggling the changing needs of shoppers who are increasingly digital natives is fraught with challenges. Millennials were born into data jungles, where they have become adept at foraging for information on products before buying. Although recent data suggests most sales still take place in brick-and-mortar stores, a 2017 eMarketer survey in the US saw 89% of marketing professionals reporting a substantial increase in revenues when their company’s apps and websites were personalised for their customers. Within stores themselves, millennials will come to expect mobile points of sale. In retail companies across the GCC, face-to-face services are being www.intelligentcio.com