Industrial automation includes many elements such as programmable controllers (PLCs), security systems, SCADA systems, drive technology, CNC, instrumentation, MES systems, and related software products. Related areas are also pumps and motors, robotics, material handling systems, supply chain management software, building automation systems, and low voltage switchgear.

According to the founder of the B2B marketplace for industrial components – SourceMe – market leaders have remained unchanged over the years, their solutions are time-tested and used in many enterprises. The irreplaceability of positions is largely due to the fact that manufacturers offer a complete infrastructure, and from the point of view of the operation, it is beneficial for customers to have equipment from one vendor, as this facilitates the search and replacement of components, as well as training of service personnel.

Market leaders

Here are the statistics on the revenue of the largest players in the industrial automation market.

Siemens is the undisputed leader in the Old World. Most industrial enterprises in Western and Eastern Europe use the solutions of this manufacturer. The most in demand are its products such as controllers, CNC, drives. The products of this manufacturer are very popular in Russia as well, the line of S7 controllers is especially well known.

Siemens products are valued much lower: there the vendor took only ninth place in terms of revenue. In North America, Emerson is confidently emerging as the leader with its Delta-V product line.

ABB has four divisions: Electrical Equipment, Industrial Automation, Electric Drives and Robotics and Discrete Automation – all linked by a common digital platform ABB Ability. ABB’s Power Grids business unit will be transferred to Hitachi in 2020.

Schneider Electric is a major supplier of switching equipment. But in addition, the company offers the EcoStruxure automation platform, which allows active implementation of IIoT technologies.

Regional segmentation

Depending on the region, the industrial automation and control systems market is divided into North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa. The share of the Asia-Pacific region in the total market volume in 2018 was more than 30.0% due to the presence of key market players and new companies in the region.

Some of the notable regional players are Kawasaki Robotics, Mitsubishi Electric Factory Automation, and Yokogawa Electric Corporation. In addition, the Asia-Pacific region is expected to experience significant growth, with the highest annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.0% through 2025.

The growth of the Asia-Pacific region can be attributed to the increasing demand for better industrial management solutions in countries such as China, India and South Korea. Following the Asia Pacific region, the North American regional market has a significant share in terms of revenue and is expected to grow at a steady pace.

The North American regional market is characterized by the presence of numerous manufacturing companies that use industrial automation systems. In addition, the marked growth in IIoT R&D in the region could also stimulate the growth of the regional market.

According to data from Grand View Research

Industry segmentation

According to the industries covered, the automation systems market is divided into the following segments: aerospace and defense, automotive, chemical, energy, food, healthcare, metallurgy, oil and gas.

The manufacturing industry is expected to remain the leader in automation adoption through 2025-26. The food and beverage industries are next – these are the segments most sensitive to product quality, and further automation will increase productivity, improve reliability, reduce waste and optimize costs.

Among all industries in the forecast period, the largest CAGR is expected in the healthcare segment – 9.6%. In the Asia-Pacific region, the chemical industry will lead, as the number of these enterprises is projected to increase in the region. According to Grand View Research

Control systems

This market segment is divided into Distributed Control Systems (DCS), Logic Controllers (PLC), Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) and others.

The DCS segment has the largest share in terms of revenue at the moment and is expected to dominate the industrial automation and industrial control market for the next six years. This growth is attributable to growing industrialization in developing countries such as China, India and the Middle East. Such economies are characterized by the fact that they have increased government support for industrialization and development plans in sectors such as energy and mechanical engineering.

Factors such as the discovery of new crude oil reserves and the need to improve safety and security standards at refineries are driving demand for DCS in the oil and gas industry. However, the adoption of SCADA systems is growing rapidly in sectors such as manufacturing, water supply and sanitation.

Leading companies such as ABB and Schneider Electric have an extensive portfolio of SCADA systems. Notable products include Symphony Plus and SCADAvantage from ABB and OASyS SCADA from Schneider Electric. The SCADA control systems segment is projected to have the highest CAGR of 9.6% from 2019 to 2025. According to data from Grand View Research.

• to measure advertising impact;
• to focus on the segments of the audience interested in buying.

Which marketing tools solve these problems most effectively?

Contextual advertising

It is desirable to use the full functionality of Google, Bing and its partners (and other local search engine systems like Baidu in Chana). Besides, there are various portal, web places where one can buy banners, ads, etc. Each business industry has its own digital marketplace. Just research yours. For example, cosmetics is better to advertise on specialized portals (cosmetic, medical), beauty blogs, Internet gloss, etc. Also, the advantages of the same product make sense to make Ads in different ways for male and female audiences.

Test more!

Social networks

Social networks are used not only for online, but they are also perfect for offline retail – for example, you can distribute promotional codes with discounts. It allows the possibility to link the displayed advertising to the region (in the FB) and some digital advertising platforms allow even target by a metro station!

Various complex settings are also available in social networks: you can upload your database, or you can customize the display by selecting age, gender, education, interests, geography, income, device type, etc.

Mobile marketing

It is no secret that the share of mobile users is growing. And since the competition in mobile advertising is lower, it makes sense to work on it.

Do not forget about the cheapest way to communicate with customers — SMS. With the right approach, this tool can not only increase customer loyalty, the average purchase check but also reduce costs, as well as attract new customers. Check one of such mobile marketing platforms, which can be used by agencies, businesses, and individuals to advertise own services or provide advertising services on demand – www.sms-smart.com.

Lead generation

This marketing strategy is aimed to work with a hot audience – landing pages, forms, mailing the form direct response, etc. That is, the priority is not to reach as many people but to target the customers with the greatest potential.

Comprehensive (end-to-end) Analytics

The effectiveness of all advertising channels and campaigns should be monitored. The problem is that it is difficult to do it manually. After all, before ordering a service or product, the user can visit the website several times – from an advertising banner, from SMS, from search, etc. here you should get familiar with the last click tracking methodology.

The larger the company and the more advertising channels are used, the more appropriate should be the special systems for end-to-end Analytics. To do this, you can use Google Universal Analytics or other paid services.

The same can be said about the advertising itself. To help the marketer will come a number of analytical programs that allow you to segment the audience, track, analyze and predict user behavior.

LAN telephony is understood as a telephone communication organization in which only one signal wiring remains (in addition to power) in the building with a local computer network, either computer network (for example, Ethernet) or telephone. In this case, both the computers and telephone sets are connected to the same socket.

For the organization of telephone communications in these conditions, use alternative PBX (also called pseudo-PBX or un-PBX) – these are PBXs based on personal computers (PCs). Those un-PBXs that use the same signal wiring to transmit telephone signals and data can be classified as PBX for LAN telephony.

Systems of this class are divided into the following three main categories:

• Distributed LAN-PBX. These systems consist of several elements: telephone servers, gateways, and telephone switches.
• Integrated communication systems (all-in-one-box) – specialized devices with built-in OS and application software.
• PBX with IP gateway – traditional PBX, where IP gateway cards are installed for IP communication.

The companies came to LAN-telephony in different ways. Those that dealt with the equipment supply for computer networks, proposed so-called distributed solutions that can be used at the offices without PBX in the usual sense (Cisco, etc.). Companies specializing in the production of traditional PBXs began to equip them with IP gateways – cards that are inserted into those PBXs that are already being manufactured and are in operation (Avaya, Ericsson, Siemens, Alcatel, Samsung, etc.). The same companies began to offer integrated communication systems.

All these systems are based on a common signal transfer and have a centralized intelligence, concentrated in the core of the system – a server or a PBX processor.

Distributed systems

In the LAN-telephony systems with distributed switching, the switching process is carried out in the local network. All such systems contain switches, IP telephones, gateways, packages with the voice in them do not necessarily go through the central core; Packets receive authorization and a route from the intelligent core and are routed to the phone or gateway. In such systems, the principle of distributed switching is implemented – it is implemented not in the switching field, but in the network itself. In this case, the call service servers are connected to the LAN and used to establish and disconnect traditional telephone connections, as well as to perform additional functions, for example, voice mail functions. As a rule, after establishing a connection in such systems, the servers are disconnected, and the subscribers’ phones exchange voice packets directly.

The overwhelming majority of local networks around the world implement some kind of Ethernet technology (typical network structure with distributed LAN-PBX based on Ethernet technology). However, if you need to quickly deploy a telephone and computer network in a building where there is only telephone wiring, it is advisable to dwell on distributed solutions for local ATM networks. In this case, high quality of telephone communication will be provided, but the network performance will be significantly lower than when using Ethernet. At the same time, telephone sets (analog or digital – depending on which telephone network is actually installed in the building) are connected directly to the network, and computer network equipment – via ATM modems. However, most often the ATM-enterprise class is implemented on wiring type twisted pair of a fairly high category, and the choice of this technology is dictated by the structure of traffic data, voice, and video.

Integrated communication system network

An integrated communication system (sometimes called an integrated LAN-PBX) combines the functions of the following devices: LAN switch, IP router, remote access server, VoIP gateway and PBX. In integrated communication systems (IP-PBX), switching is mainly based on PBX.

In this case, the PBX is supplemented, as a rule, with a LAN switch and IP router, therefore it is called an integrated communication system. The connection of switching is carried out by a telecommunication server in accordance with the list of services available to a particular user

The main advantage of such systems in comparison with distributed ones is greater functionality, and with systems based on upgrading existing PBXs by installing additional VoIP gateways – also in greater transparency.

Products in this category are represented by 3Com, Alcatel, Avaya, Samsung and Nortel Networks. Products from small companies such as Merlot Communications, Network Alchemy, Praxon and Vertical Networks are also available

Advices

When choosing the hardware and software solutions for organizing a LAN-telephony in your office, it makes sense to be guided by the following considerations

If your office already deploys Ethernet and telephone networks, then you probably have a PBX installed by a reputable manufacturer. In this case, it is advisable to dwell on an intermediate solution – to acquire an IP-gateway and install it in PBX.

If you are mastering a new building and installing a new wire, you will need an advanced distributed solution or an integrated communication system. However, in terms of one workplace, this would appear to be more expensive than a PBX with an IP gateway.

An integrated communications system is preferable to a distributed network solution if users are accustomed to receiving a variety of telephone services provided by traditional PBXs (call transfer, follow me, parking, pick-up, announcement, etc. – about 200 functions).

Distributed LAN-PBX supports only the basic functions of PBX (usually 10-20, at any rate, no more than 25 basic functions), but in some cases, this is not enough (for example, in distributed systems, as a rule, there is no barge in – operator intrusion into the conversation). In addition, there may be problems when connecting to a city exchange.

If you have already decided to implement the most suitable solution, when selecting a supplier, you should consider factors such as ease of configuration, the ability to receive updated software, scalability, diversity, and functions. If the main thing is reliability and fault tolerance, pay special attention to the possibility of clustering equipment provided by Cisco Systems. Some vendors also use redundancy of the main components (for example, in the Alcatel OmniPCX 4400).

If your company has a corporate ATM network, the opportunities for choosing PBX are dramatically reduced. Before choosing a specific supplier, it is advisable to analyze the above factors.

Even when a decision is made to deploy the equipment of a particular company, it will not be superfluous to use LAN phones from different manufacturers. The vast majority of such devices are considered compatible, but this applies only to IP-devices. In fact, this compatibility should be checked in practice. The equipment of 3Com company is practically incompatible with telephone sets from other manufacturers.

When choosing the hardware and software, one should take into account such factor as the cost per line or port, including the cost of the telephone set. The analysis showed that for this indicator the proposed solutions differ significantly – from $ 110 (Samsung) to $ 1000 (Nortel Networks and Cisco Systems).

The specific value of the cost depends heavily on the package and delivery conditions, which are determined by the contract.

The expediency of switching to the active use of IP-telephony in corporate networks is not in anyone’s particular doubt. However, when acquiring and deploying a corporate IP telephony system, you should first think about what you need it for. The fact is that leaving one wire instead of two, you can get a system that has less reliability, although more functionality. Therefore, evaluate in advance all the possible consequences of such a responsible step.

Standards and Algorithms

When creating LAN-telephony systems, two basic standards are used – H.323 and SIP. By now, the ITU H.323 standard has been most widely used, while developing it was the task of “adapting” telephone equipment to work in computer networks. This standard is close to traditional signaling systems (with circuit switching based on the Q.931 protocol), so it is most widely used in systems developed by traditional telephone equipment suppliers. It became the first standard protocol of IP-telephony.

The SIP standard was developed by the IETF group, it implements a simpler, internet-based approach to HTTP-based signaling. Therefore, it was the companies that traditionally produced equipment for computer networks that began to use it. However, everyone expects this standard to have a great future in LAN telephony, as it reflects the main trend – the “Internetization” of telecommunications.

To date, the SIP protocol is rapidly spreading, including through the efforts of SIPNET. Some functions, such as conference calling, are supported by the SIP protocol better than by H.323. Therefore, at the present time it is necessary to choose a solution supporting both these protocols, and in the future, perhaps, it is worth switching to using the SIP protocol. Some companies also use their own proprietary protocols (for example, Cisco’s Skinny Gateway Protocol, which it opened for use by other companies).

As for voice coding algorithms, the most popular conventional PCM is without compression (G.711) and G.723 compression mechanisms (5.3 / 6.3 Kbps) and G.729 (8 Kbps).

Telephone sets

Currently, the employee’s workplace can be equipped with voice communication in one of the following ways:

• Phone for direct connection to a LAN outlet. In the case where Ethernet is implemented in the LAN, it is a digital Ethernet phone.
• Multimedia personal computer (with a microphone and headphones or a speaker), equipped with telephone functions and connected to the LAN. The disadvantage of such an end device is typical for any personal computer – it, for example, can “hang” and communication will be interrupted.
• A conventional analog telephone connected to the LAN.

Often, LAN phones are called IP telephones. They should not be confused with system telephones – digital telephones manufactured by the same company as the rest of the telephone equipment, or by a terminal.

These are shiny little plastic things similar to your college identity card or a debit card loaded with credit for calling several destinations. Started first by Italians, these cards have calling credits clearly mentioned on them like how much they will charge per second or per minute. Some phone cards would be cheaper for calling to a certain continent or a group of countries in that continent and come in meager few currencies depending on the country you are purchasing them in but they are handy little things to keep in touch with friends and family overseas (overseas is used to say “abroad” if there is any sea between the two countries) or let’s just say abroad.

They are pretty useful as these can be bought, carried to a different country and used when you reach another country and let your family back home know that you have reached safely with the precious phone card, if you kept it in your pocket as luggage sometimes is misplaced by airfreight carriers and end up in a different country. So for the lucky ones that have reached in another country with their luggage intact they can call using these phone cards, for others whose luggage was misplaced they can also call with these cards provided they have a photocopy, Xerox of the phone card with them. Calling Procedure is pretty standard for most cards, there is a local number or a toll-free number to be called and follow the instructions and enter the destination phone number followed by some special key like *, # or any other numeric key and the destination number would be connected to the number called from.

Based on the credit on the card and the amount of credit charged per minute, it is easy to figure out how many minutes a card should last for. It would be sensible to keep track of the number of minutes that the card is used for calling and if there is any discrepancy than their customer care should be notified of this so that they can improve on it. In most cases, they are quite accurate when it comes to deducting credits but it is always wise to be careful when money is concerned.

Some services, like CallnSpeak, Rebtel, Keku, still offer calling cards but in a new virtual format. these cards are a convenient way to make international calls for the people who get used to this type of tools. Calling cards are refilled with balance, can be used several times,  its balance can be tracked in the personal account of the user at the service provider. All these and other features are available. Please, follow the links to learn more about it.

We continue our articles with the story of how to build excellent service in the company. Let’s look at the list of points to be taken into account while setting up the strategy of customer support at the company, that works with the clients. 

Mission

Following the vision formed a mission – why there is a department. This is a long-term goal, from which the annual goals are formed, and from them – the work plan and weekly tasks. Thus, at each of the levels, we have an answer to the question “why” to implement this or that change.

The mission of everyone who works with clients:

Excellent service in every touch.

It is easy to service perfectly once and it is almost impossible to perfect service every time. This formulation of the mission programs the desire for an ideal. At the same time cannot be avoided, requirements and products are constantly changing – we will always have something to improve. And here it is important to say how we understand the service and what we will develop.

Excellent service

The working group of the Call Center conducted a brainstorming session, dismantled the service into five elements:

• Availability
• Decision
• Speed
• Etiquette
• Participation

Each of the elements is important for the client, one can not single out – it is necessary to develop these things in a complex way.

1. Availability

Accessibility, this is when it’s easy to find contacts, employees quickly pick up the phone and answer letters. Call Center uses all available channels of communication and for customers they are free. Technical support works round the clock and any question can be independently obtained from the articles and documentation.

2. The solution

In order to close tasks perfectly, everyone must have a responsible person who reports the progress of the decision and the results. Experts not only give feedback but also receive it from customers, take it into work or transmit it inside the company. Any task is brought to the end, it is decided or given a motivated refusal – there should be no pending tasks.

The decision does not end with a refusal: the specialists explain why they do not solve the problem, build a causal relationship to the client and achieve her understanding, offer alternatives and consult them.

3. Speed

The faster we answer and solve the questions, the more satisfied the client – this is obvious. Therefore here it is better to write, due to what you can achieve high speed.

In Call Center all processes must be debugged, the necessary number of specialists works, applications on time escalate, the old ones are solved first. Experts are competent and should clearly and clearly state their thoughts, do not ask and do not say too much. For the independent decision – the knowledge base is kept up-to-date.

4. Etiquette

We need to respect the client: politely communicate, address by name, speak the truth. It is necessary to put into service standards a greeting, a farewell, a proper deduction on the line. The specialist should be a professional in the work on the phone, use the techniques of active listening, join the conversation, using an inner smile and just be careful.

5. Participation

If you limit yourself to the first four elements – you will have robotic support. Therefore, the fifth element is needed – participation.

Employees want to help, they must sympathize and empathize in situations where something has gone wrong. Help, even if we are not responsible, even if we are not asked about it. In Call Center should not be sent to another channel – all the necessary applications are drawn up on behalf of the client, and applications should not hang in the unknown – they need to be solved or transferred to a specific date.

6. Customer orientation

From the articles, it may seem that we are building a client-oriented service, but I did not use this word specifically. We grow and hire professionals in telephony, equipment, the web, our and related products. The employee is expensive: he has to be found, trained, provided with work and a workplace, instilled values, retained. Therefore, we think about business and profits.

We build long-term partnerships with all: employees, customers, partners. And client-oriented as much as collaborative. Also, we do not believe that the client is always right and do not seek to work with all entrepreneurs at all costs. From this follows two things.

First, we will never force employees to order a pizza or taxi at the request of the client, to look for the nearest pharmacy and to fulfill other requests that are not in our business. Employees have the right to refuse assistance on other matters. And second, it is cheaper for us to abandon an aggressive and conflicting client than from a specialist. Therefore, we are always for equal relations, without distortions.

Annual goals

Management by objectives in management brought by Peter Drucker is a tool for strategic management of the company. I like it: it’s simple and straightforward. First senior management determines the general direction for the company, it is revealed through vision and mission. Then he formulates a strategy for several years

Bulk SMS advertisement may be used in several ways by the Automobile Dealership showroom:

• Information about new car models,
• Customer invitation to test drive new brands,
• A reminder of the date of the next MOT car
• A message about current promotions,
• Holiday greetings and birthday,
• Informing clients about the opening of the new or auto centers.
• More cases you can find at the service provider, that we used to manage SMS campaign

Bulk SMS messaging can solve the following tasks:

• The message to customers about new brands and models of cars that appeared on the market.

Example: “The long-awaited new 2014, Nissan Qashqai crossover on sale from May 12! Hurry up! The first 100 customers gifts! Car dealer Nissan. Tel .: 133-45-55. ”

• Informing clients about the possibility of a test drive the new car models, an invitation to test drive.

Example: “Test-drive for new SUV Nissan! Evaluate the power of a brand new car 2014! Auto show Nissan. Tel .: 133-45-55. ”

• Message to the client of the date of the next vehicle maintenance, necessity to perform scheduled maintenance (tires replacement, oil, filters).

Example: “Dear George! We want to remind you about MOT for your vehicle. You can order it for July 10 at our service. Details by Tel.: 133-45-65. Auto service Nissan”.

• Invitation to the customer to participate in promotions, information about discounts on services, additional services.

Example: “Dear Pete! This weekend we have a draw of Chevrolet cars of the previous season. We invite you to take part in the raffle. Registration by Tel.: 133-45-67. Auto service Chevrolet”.

• Customer Congratulations on the Day of the motorist, birthday and other holidays.

Example: “Dear Mickle! Happy Birthday! We give you as a gift a free tires replacement. Auto service Nissan. Tel.: 133-45-65. ”

• The message to customers about the opening of new service centers in their city or town.

Example: “Dear Clare! We have opened a new tech center at 12 Brooklyn street. We invite you to a car service every day from 9 am to 8 pm. Pre-registration by the Tel .: 133-45-65. Auto service Nissan.

Bulk SMS service is a convenient way to deliver information quickly and inexpensively to a large number of customers.

A piece of useful and timely information provides a constant turnover of loyal customers and increases the income at the car showroom. Recently we had a client, how ordered SMS marketing service (like sms-smart.com) and after its implementation shared his impressions from it.

The showroom had a history of more than fifteen years. It was selling new cars and cars with mileage. The choice of car is a responsible and exciting task. The car dealership managers are helping to choose a car that is suitable for one’s taste and price category. The service has good relations with thousands of satisfied customers who also recommend its services to their friends and partners.

The service provides a full range of services, including insurance. Various unexpected situations can happen on the road. Every day here and there all over the country traffic accidents happens. Any car enthusiast wants to be sure that if something bad will happen, the damage will be reimbursed. In this salon, there are qualified professionals, capable of choosing the insurance program both on CTP policies and under the policy Hull. Today, few people need proves of the importance of insurance; everyone has heard the story of a friend, as he had all damages compensated.

For buyers who failed to get the driving license, or for those who are in another city, the service provides a service of the car delivery to the house. The service can deliver the vehicle as the tow truck, and drive the vehicle itself.

The service also opened a technical center. Motorists who have made a purchase from the service, are guaranteed to repair and maintain this car in this technical center. The service has all that is necessary to diagnose and repair. Technicians took the car in for repair, inspection and calculated the approximate cost of repairs. There is a warehouse where there is always a wide range of spare car parts. The service offers a flexible system of discounts to regular customers. Also, there is a guarantee for all installed car parts.

This car salon also provides services for installing car alarms, parking sensors, xenon, and bi-xenon lamps, as well as the growing popularity of multimedia panel,  allows you to watch movies and listen to music while in the car.

When the service launched a new service – anti-theft system installation, it decided to inform all their customers about it. To implement this, they asked our SMS service to use their database of clients. As the database was fresh and alive, it took only several hundred dollars in this campaign.

However, the revenue that the car dealership center achieved from the installation of anti-theft systems was a hundred thousand dollars. Just satisfactory results, isn’t it? Sending SMS has proven to be effective!