Adding a layer of AI to IOT is proving transformative for South African organisations, allowing them to extract significantly more value from IOT systems and existing hardware such as CCTV cameras.
This is according to Zjaen Coetzee, Executive: Business and Digital Advisory Services at BCX, who says the convergence of AI and IOT is allowing customers to reimagine the capabilities and value IOT can offer.
He says: “In South Africa, IOT first emerged some years ago in the smart cities, utilities, and industrial and manufacturing sectors. The technology didn’t always deliver the hoped-for value due to the challenges of integrating multiple disparate systems, or because the IOT use case wasn’t properly thought through. The rate of adoption that has been somewhat slow due to complex integration and non-standardised technology is now eased through the application of artificial intelligence and is more accessible than before.
“When you add a smart layer with AI over the whole environment, you can overcome integration issues and complexity, and start getting more value out of IOT,” he says.
BCX has moved to bring this value to the local market, with the convergence last year of its IOT and AI and analytics business units.
Coetzee says: “We have brought together the businesses and added value with our data analytics, alerting and digital twins’ capabilities within the BCX PaaS and SaaS division. In addition, BCX has competencies across connectivity, cloud, security, physical hardware, storage, installation, monitoring and maintenance, so we are able to offer an end-to-end AI and IOT value proposition as part of the BCX everything as a managed service (XaaS) model."
He adds: “We are now seeing significant uptake in areas such as smart utilities and smart plant management.”
Strategic IOT for business value
However, Coetzee notes: “Although there's a significant shift in IOT and AI adoption, finding the right use case is still crucial. Too many organisations want to invest just because everyone else is doing it, but later find the investment does not yield value.”
“BCX’s Digital Advisory Services helps ensure business value by first assessing key factors like the business goals, business processes and existing hardware, and what value means to them, before we design a solution,” he says.
“It’s important that we aren’t just putting down technology – we need to be solving a problem and adding value. We have industry principals with deep knowledge of each industry; account executives with a good understanding of each customer; and a strong team of solution architects who build out what we call the digital value journey to come up with solutions that deliver real value and ROI for the customer. Because of our capabilities, from connectivity all the way through to managed services, we are the AI in IOT leader in South Africa.”
Working with leading partners, BCX also deploys its own bespoke industrial solutions, data insights and intelligence competencies to give local organisations the ability to implement smart monitoring and predictive and prescriptive analytics to enhance operations.
Adding measurable value in manufacturing
“Linking AI to existing hardware turns end devices like CCTV cameras into smart cameras. For example, with computer vision AI, you can turn a normal camera into an intelligent camera for quality assurance, security or occupational health and safety,” Coetzee says.
Coetzee cites examples of food manufacturers that have enhanced the value of existing CCTV cameras by adding AI to monitor whether the products are being prepared in line with company standards.
“One customer uses AI to track whether the machines are spreading sauce on the pizzas uniformly. Another uses it to raise alerts about misshapen products, improper packaging or foreign objects,” he says. “AI image recognition quickly spots inconsistencies or defects, sending alerts or automatically pausing production for human review,” he says.
AI in CCTV and IOT can also be harnessed to detect bottlenecks and track worker activity and risk by monitoring storage and processing temperatures and conditions, and worker compliance with safety protocols, raising alerts when there are violations. In inventory and supply chain monitoring, IOT with AI enables real-time ingredient and stock management.
“With converged AI and IOT, manufacturers can start analysing things like yield based on failure rates. They can build models to determine acceptable failure and repair times, carry out proactive interventions and de-risk production, which reduces costs and improves quality,” he says.
Making mining safer and more productive
In mining, AI in CCTV can enhance workplace safety by detecting potential hazards like vehicle collisions, falling objects or unsafe working conditions, and triggering real-time alerts to supervisors. It can also detect worker fatigue and analyse worker behaviour, and monitor for environmental anomalies.
BCX is a leader in digital services and transformation across Africa, offering customers the unique advantage of accessing a broad range of solutions. By combining IOT, data analytics and AI capabilities with connectivity, cloud hosting, cyber security, physical hardware and managed services, BCX delivers tailored, end-to-end solutions.
By pairing AI and IOT, BCX says it is bringing together the best of both worlds for customers, enabling them to extract sustainable value. He explains there are three main deployment models – at the edge, in a hybrid model or in the cloud.
“At the edge, we install local storage, which only sends anomalies to the central system. This is ideal for distributed sites where a real-time connection is not feasible. A hybrid edge model with local servers can also be implemented, and for mature organisations with a strong interconnect into a robust cloud landing area, cloud deployment may be preferable. This is faster and easier to spin up.”
Whether customers require edge, hybrid or full cloud-based IOT and AI services, some customer sites are remote and might have unreliable connectivity or access to power. BCX meets them where they are, delivering services that align with their specific needs.
BCX has partnered with leading technology providers and developed bespoke solutions, ensuring maximum value through a fusion of world-class technology and services. With their deep industry expertise, particularly in mining, manufacturing and the rising demand for smart city capabilities, BCX stays ahead of the curve in IOT and AI innovation, delivering transformative solutions to meet evolving market needs.
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