“Working with Binary Vision is just so easy, they bring such great ideas to the table and then exceed my expectations in delivering them”
Dean Bass, Oxford Instruments NanoAnalysis
Oxford Instruments
Binary Vision is transforming the experience of Industrial IoT and connected devices.
Working with Oxford Instruments NanoAnalysis we revealed the hidden value in their connected systems. We created an innovative web app to turn complex data into practical and useful insights. In the process, we created new revenue opportunities, as well as wider, deeper customer engagement.
The challenge
Oxford Instruments make state-of-the-art electron microscope detectors used in labs around the world. They send back a mass of data but it wasn’t being displayed in a way that was valuable to people. As a result, there was limited uptake among both customers and OI staff for their IoT system.
“We had all this valuable data”, says Dean Bass, Product Development Director at Oxford Instruments NanoAnalysis, “but it wasn’t actually useful to anyone. It was data without intelligence”.
The goal
Create a powerful, intuitive web app which presents this complex data in ways that are useful to users, allowing support staff to spot problems, and sales teams to demonstrate added value to customers. An app designed for easy adaptation so OI’s customers will be able to interact with the data from their microscope detectors.
What we did
- Customer and user research to identify priorities, gradually refining user needs with each ‘iteration’ (update)
- Worked to understand the complex data the systems were transmitting, and how they could be made useful to both customers and the business
- Used an agile approach to designing and building the web app, with cycles of development and improvement, guided by testing and research, to build out what works best
- Produced a ‘progressive’ web app (use it as a website or download it as an app) including a global overview dashboard, and an innovative interactive ‘tree’ of each connected system.
How we overcame problems
On the way, we met a series of blockers – with data completeness and consistency, for instance – but our Agile approach meant we could work with our client to find ways around them.
How it turned out
“Everyone loves it!”, says Bass. SENTINEL viewpoint is a user-friendly web app that’s optimised for phone, tablet and PC.
Sales teams are having new conversations with customers, and service teams can respond to alerts and examine systems remotely, even predicting problems before they happen.
Why Binary Vision?
“Binary Vision know this space,” says Dean Bass. “They have a process that allows them to home in on what users need. They also have enough technical knowledge to talk to specialist users in fields like instrumentation, then work with the available data to deliver against them.”
“Anyone with an IoT solution has vast amounts of connected data coming off sensors and into databases. They need simple dashboards which offer valuable insights, communicated clearly. And they need a partner that can deliver this.”