From Watering Hole to Data Lake: Digital Technology Connects Farms and Harvests Efficiently

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If I were to ask you to describe a typical farm, you might envision a farmer in overalls, a tractor and a big red barn, and you would be right, partially. Modern farmers are running sophisticated businesses and spending increasing amounts of time analyzing data on tablets, phones and laptops. In the barn, field or office, farmers’ tools have gone way beyond the Farmer’s Almanac – today, they are using the internet of things to monitor their farm and grow their business.

I recently had a chance to learn about a particular use case from Yash Technologies, a specialist in delivering business transformation through IT. Its large dairy equipment manufacturer client wanted to assist its dairy farm clients with feed management, cow comfort and health and milk production. At the same time, it wanted to reduce the cost of equipment maintenance and improve system uptime.  

But Yash Technologies didn’t start with technology, it started by literally getting its proverbial hands dirty, asking questions about farming and farming equipment. This approach helped the company understand the obstacles dairy farms face and how it could best create value for both the farmers and the farming equipment manufacturer, its ultimate client.

By implementing AWS Greengrass, Yash Technologies connected and synced farming equipment with other devices and stored the resulting data in a data lake that was available even when not connected to the internet. This centralized approach provided the company’s client with up-to-the-minute data about equipment around the globe. Instead of as many as four visits to a farm each year, maintenance teams were better able to predict when equipment was ready for maintenance or was at risk of going down. Fewer visits significantly reduced the client’s costs and improved the farmers’ experience. Eliminating or significantly reducing downtime ensured optimal productivity and boosted cow comfort and safety.  

From hospitals to manufacturing plants, travel and hospitality and yes, even farms, this use case reminds us that digital transformation can significantly change the way a business goes to market, creating competitive advantages and improving customer and user experiences.

Dozens of industry experts and ISG advisors will explore the benefits of digital transformation for customer and user experience at the virtual ISG Xperience Summit on June 2. Join us to learn how your business can employ innovative techniques and emerging technologies to deliver an experience guaranteed to improve outcomes and win customer loyalty.

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About the author

John Boccuzzi, Jr.

John Boccuzzi, Jr.

What he does at ISG

John was named Partner and President of ISG Research in January 2024 and is responsible for the ISG Research business globally, including such products as ISG Provider Lens™, ISG ProBenchmark™, ISG Momentum® and ISG Events.

Past achievements for clients

John serves enterprises, technology and software companies globally to help them achieve operational excellence and accelerate growth. John joined ISG in 2019 and most recently was Partner and Chief Sales Officer, ISG Research. John is the creator and co-host of the ISG John and Ola Show, a LinkedIn Live broadcast. John has twenty-five years of executive and sales management experience working in the retail and data analytics industries.