Amidst all the talk about connected devices, big data and business intelligence, businesses are being bombarded with the message ‘disrupt or be disrupted’.

Recent research has revealed that 81% of CIOs believe legacy systems are having a negative impact on their businesses, but although there is clearly a case for infrastructure investment, the need to disrupt needn’t be tantamount to huge expenditure.

If the Internet of Things (IoT) solution businesses are considering requires any kind of rip and replace, maybe they should think twice before taking the plunge as existing infrastructure is actually smarter than one would think.

>See also: The next frontier in the Internet of Things

The Internet of Things is at the heart of many digital transformation strategies – streamlining processes and improving efficiencies.

Yet, for those looking to reap the rewards of IoT, ripping out supposedly out-dated systems and replacing them with new, state of the art facilities won’t do the business any favours.

Not only will this exercise be extremely costly, but it’ll also remove the infrastructure that is already there – infrastructure that holds a mountain of data that can be put to work improving the business.

The potential business benefits of the Internet of Things are truly transformational: not only to increase productivity and save money, but to generate more by adding value to the business’s core purpose.

This is fantastic in principle, but how many are willing to explore this potential if there’s a huge initial investment attached to it?

Take refrigeration and cooling with the food retail industry as an example. It seems unlikely that replacing every in-store fridge, freezer or food delivery van is going to appeal to a multiple retailer whose core business focus is selling produce, as the cost will far outweigh the immediate benefits.

>See also: Scaling for web: enterprise web-scale IT

For businesses undergoing digital transformation, rather than investing in brand new equipment, the answer lies in existing infrastructure. The data that is an increasingly vital part of many enterprises’ digital strategies is already being generated, businesses simply need a way of extracting, understanding it and releasing its value.

Using an IoT layer, businesses can tap into the available data locked within legacy machines. By integrating it with supply chain and merchandising systems as well as the fridge control systems in real time, the temperature of each fridge can be automatically managed to suit its specific contents.

As a result, not only is energy consumption reduced, but a higher quality product can be achieved, resulting in a better customer experience.

Likewise, within the food manufacturing industry, IoT technology at the edge can provide the necessary insight to monitor each stage of the process when creating foods in batches.

Consistency of both ingredients quantities and environmental factors can be regulated and the available data from each stage of the process united to ensure the highest quality, most profitable end product every time.

There’s no denying that the Industrial Internet of Things is gaining momentum, but legacy equipment should not be a setback to its fruition – it should be at the heart of it.

>See also: Preparing your business for a digital transformation

Many enterprises have the data needed to modernise sitting unused in their current systems, and now is the time to unlock it. IoT offers a world of opportunity but it must be implemented in a way that makes business sense.

By taking full advantage of existing infrastructure with an IoT layer, enterprises can efficiently and effectively transform their organisation in a way that supports their core business purpose.

Sourced by Jason Kay, chief commercial officer, IMS Evolve