DECEMBER 2018CIOAPPLICATIONS.COM8Robots: A New Source of Business DataJOHN SANTAGATE, RESEARCH DIRECTOR, SERVICE ROBOTICS, IDCo business is immune to the growing presence of robotics. It doesn't matter whether your organization is into manufacturing, retail, or even banking, robots are making their way into your business. As robots proliferate across businesses, they are generating an immense volume of data about your operation. From a data management perspective, we must consider robots as a part of an IoT strategy and work to harness the massive volumes of IN MY Viewinformation and figure out ways in which to connect this information to other, at times disconnected, business processes. Robots, much like any other connected asset, are a tool used in the day to day operations of our businesses. Obviously, the data generated and the applicability of this data depends on the processes in which the robots are involved in. The interesting point, and perhaps the most disruptive point, is that robots are now being called upon to perform tasks outside of the traditional industrial manufacturing role of robots. A new breed of service robots has emerged that is smart, connected, and collaborative. These robots, often referred to as co-bots, are being deployed in a variety of industries and across a wide range of business processes.As organizations look to deploy robots in new business areas, they are introducing a data generating mechanism that can tell us a lot about our businesses. For example, robots are increasingly being used within the order fulfillment process in distribution and fulfillment centers. As robots are used in this process, they are being tied into the business management systems (WMS) which is helping to deliver greater insight into things N
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