How to monitor the movement and condition of agricultural machinery in Bitrix24 — a comprehensive offer for farmers from Avivi

Ordinary people may not even consider that each unit of agricultural machinery working in the field is under the close control of managers who may be geographically located even on the other side of the world. This makes a lot of sense:

• Control over the implementation of plans, because the time for planting and harvesting is extremely important;

• The possibility of analyzing the efficiency of the work, because it is always possible to improve the process, reduce the cost of its cost;

• Supervising the conscientious work of staff who work far out in the fields where their machines are sometimes impossible to see even with binoculars and much more.

Today, there are many specialized offers for farmers that develop and implement complex IT solutions for controlling the operation of equipment. But if you are already the main working tool for the Bitrix24 company, is it possible to get the same directly in the company Portal? As experienced developers of custom functionality for this platform, we can authoritatively say that yes, it is possible. However, different versions may require different methods and different approaches to expand your company's capabilities. So let's look at all this in detail. And in the end, we will form a comprehensive offer for your company, which will definitely not go unnoticed in terms of its attractiveness.

How does tracking work?

In order not to delve into complex processes and do not need clarifications, we will reduce this explanation to a minimum. Each unit of equipment must be equipped with special equipment that tracks its geo-position — its location on the territory. Usually, the GPS system is used for this, although it is not the only property of mankind that makes it possible to do this. The accuracy of such tracking is extremely high, and the error can be no more than 1 meter. In comparison, for example, with a harvester that reaches ten meters in length, this is nothing. Most modern agricultural machinery already has built-in GPS equipment, and also collects many other data from sensors and machine sensors: the amount of fuel, the temperature of nodes and units, tire pressure, the fullness of tanks and much more. All this is required for telemetry — measuring certain parameters at a distance. If necessary, you can always install the desired sensor on the equipment and include its indicators in the general telemetry. 

But getting the data is only half the battle: then it needs to be transferred somewhere for processing. However, you should not worry about this component of the process, because as of today, the IT structure is already developed at a sufficient level. And electronics manufacturers already have resources where their products send the necessary data. So the next step is to get the collected data into the system that your company uses directly. 

For this, there are APIs — described methods that provide instructions to IT solutions, how and where to get the necessary information. So, after combining the APIs, you will receive real-time telemetry from the selected equipment. In the screenshot above, you can see an example of the API and make sure that there is nothing scarry with it.

Solution for Bitrix24 on-premise

The server edition of Bitrix24 has a significant advantage — practically unlimited possibilities for customization. The finished product does not have functionality intended for tracking the movement of equipment, but it is quite possible to create it. For this, Avivi has everything you need:

• Qualified developers in the PHP and Javascript programming languages used in the creation of Bitrix24;

• Thorough knowledge of Bitrix's own framework, which is necessary for optimizing PHP solutions specifically for the platform;

• Extensive experience in developing custom modules for Bitrix24 and developing integrations with other platforms, which has been ongoing since 2014.

As an illustrative example, we can present the internal development of our company, which serves as the basis for each specific module for new customers. 

This is the basic version that accepts most of the necessary data, such as geolocation, notifications from the machine's on-board computer, engine telemetry, fuel remaining. In the presence of an API, this list can be continued almost endlessly. Integration with Google Maps will even allow you to see a marker on the map where the equipment is located in real time. But such a display requires additional development, which we wrote in detail in the article " How a module for Bitrix24 from Avivi will help work with Google Maps to determine locations " of our blog.

For users, the module is displayed in a slider window on the portal (as in the picture) or on a separate page. In the screenshot you see the working version, which does not have a special design. But for each individual order, the appearance can be individual. So if you are interested in our solution, let Avivi managers know.

Solution for cloud Bitrix24

If you do not use the on-premise edition and do not intend to switch to the server version, it is still possible to implement tracking. Although with small limits. This will require the development of a custom application rather than a module, which usually takes more time for programmers. You will also need a server to work, but this can always be rented for a small fee. A significant difference will be in the interface: display is possible only in the slider window. 

But there is one significant advantage — the possibility of commercial distribution. For this application, you need to publish it in Bitrix24.Market — this service from Avivi is also available to our customers. In this case, everyone who has a subscription to the Bitrix24 application gallery, both with on-premise users, will be able to download the application to their Portal, configure and use it. The cost of such an opportunity is arbitrarily determined by the owner, that is, you. This is useful if you're looking to monetize a product you've created for yourself rather than use it alone, and you're sure there are enough other users who need it. The best option is membership in a trade union or, say, an association of farmers. In this case, you can even collect funds and develop one branded application for everyone. If you are interested in the details of such an offer, order a free consultation from Avivi managers.

And if at all without Bitrix24?

But what if not everyone uses Bitrix24, or if the tracking needs to be shown to, say, your contractors that you don't think should be allowed on the Portal? Well, in this case, Avivi has a great offer for you - creating a separate custom portal for any users in the Python programming language. We described its advantage over other technologies in detail in the article “ Why does Avivi love Python and what is this programming language capable of? ”, so now we will present only the most important theses:

• Python is one of the most popular languages in the world, which allows a large number of developers from different teams to be involved in a project for development or technical support;

• Python is able to quickly process large arrays of information and perform complex calculations, which is useful for such projects;

• Python allows you to easily create integrations with any other platforms, including Bitrix24;

• Python has a Django framework that makes it possible to create a convenient user interface;

• Python projects are easy to scale as your business grows and expands.

In fact, there are many more advantages, but we named the key ones. Thus, it is possible to create a functional backend that, using API methods, also receives telemetry from agricultural machinery and displays it on a separate website. For example, it might look like this: 

Only authorized users can access it, so you can be sure of the security and confidentiality of your corporate information. Two-way integration of the Python backend with Bitrix24 will allow not only the exchange of data, but also the real possibility of making changes in both systems. According to a similar principle, our team has already created client portals for providing advisory services, trading platforms for purchasing goods, and many other solutions of various levels of complexity for clients from all over the world. The reliability of the connection between Python and Bitrix24 is confirmed by satisfied feedback from our customers. So if you are interested in such an opportunity, where, in fact, there are no restrictions, notify the Avivi managers and they will contact you as soon as possible.

Let's sum up

We hope you are convinced that receiving telemetry from agricultural (or any other) machinery is possible and easy, provided the necessary set of electronics is on board, right in Bitrix24. This greatly strengthens your business, because it automates the process of receiving data and synchronizes work, allows you not only to control the movement, but also to attract the received data to CRM with all the advantages. And even without Bitrix24 or, more precisely, without using it, you can provide other users with access to monitoring results.

It is impossible to immediately and definitively determine the term and cost of projects. But thanks to previous experience and many years of expertise in working with Bitrix24 and Python, we will give approximate estimates in hours:

• A simple dashboard with data display in Bitrix24 on-premise — 50-60 hours, for cloud service — 60-80 hours;

• Dashboard with the ability to save data and use it in reports or CRM for on-premise — 60-70 hours, for cloud service — 80-100 hours;

• Creating a custom Python backend without integration with Bitrix24 — 170-200 hours, with integration — 220-270 hours.

We would like to remind you that for corporate customers, Avivi considers the possibility of discounts on the cost of development hours, provided that package hours are purchased. You can always find out all the details from the managers of our company. So we look forward to hearing from you!