In the telecoms, energy and transport sectors, budgets for infrastructure and asset management are continually being reduced. Meanwhile, networks are getting older and the number of users is increasing… as is the number of incidents. So, what if location intelligence provided a practical solution to such challenges?
“Nowadays, asset management decision-makers have numerous tools available so that they know what resources they have and where. But this information is scattered across spreadsheets and complicated graphs and not represented on a map. And yet, this is the simplest and most intuitive way to distribute teams over a geographical area”, explains Benjamin Levaillant, Account Executive at Galigeo. For example, if an incident arises, the company knows that a technician is already in the vicinity thanks to location intelligence. There is no need to send out a second one who’d be surplus to requirement and incur extra expense. And today, in the age of data science, maps mean we can go even further.
Data matching for better strategic choices
Location intelligence tools are now able to match business data, such as the tonnage of a train or the performance of a communications antenna, to external information, such as climate and weather. Decision-makers then know that an infrastructure in danger of failing isn’t necessarily the most used, but may be the one that has experienced the most difficult weather conditions. This means they can prioritise their budgets in real time and therefore make the most of a real competitive advantage.
From the IoT to predictive analytics
Business data can even be cross-referenced with information taken from the Internet of Things (IoT). On-board sensors can provide live information about rainfall from a communications antenna, the temperature of a lorry engine or the exact position of a train. IBM predicts that over 50 billion of these connected sensors will be deployed worldwide by 2020. At the same time, algorithms are pushing the boundaries with predictive analytics. This ability to make maps talk means we have a better understanding of the past and the present so we can better predict the future. With predictive maintenance, tools can answer essential questions such as: “how likely is it that such and such piece of equipment will fail and when?” Visualising the ‘future’ on a map is invaluable in sectors where the slightest disruption to service is costly or even disastrous.
Using location intelligence, infrastructure managers now have all the cards in their hands to optimise their strategy and budget. “It means we can move from a reactive to a proactive approach where decision-makers can anticipate incidents in full knowledge of the facts”, stresses Vincent Dechandon, Product Manager at Galigeo. All the more so since these tools allow a company to earn plus points in terms of customer loyalty and the ultimate satisfaction of users by ensuring faster intervention and a better service.