Since businesses are all unique, their IoT projects have to be unique, too. Some businesses will need help with automating data and reporting; others will need assistance reducing their equipment downtime using predictive maintenance, and more still would like to cut costs by utilizing supply chain monitoring. This is on top of manufacturers that are ready to incorporate IoT functionality into new product lines.
IoT has a wide range of benefits to offer, which means that businesses don’t have to cram into a one-size-fits-all box. That said, there are still challenges to overcome. Old figures for failure rates for IoT projects range from 58 to 76 percent. While this data is outdated, it remains true that IoT can be difficult to deploy correctly.
That said, incorporating IoT into your product is worth it.
Your business can be completely transformed by connecting devices. Your costs can be radically cut, and your productivity can increase, both of which can increase the value of your products.
Therefore, the question isn’t if you should utilize IoT for business, but how you’ll be negatively impacted by not doing so. Fortunately, by employing professionals who know how to employ IoT services, you’ll be able to utilize them in no time.
If your business is looking to bring on IoT professional services, particularly cellular IoT, there are 3 key services you should utilize.
Device design and prototyping
One of the biggest mistakes your business can make in terms of IoT is trying to figure out things as you go, especially in the case of manufacturers who need a high level of expertise to do it correctly. When bringing in professionals to set up your IoT, make sure that you’re partnering with someone with both software and hardware know-how.
Since you’ll want to keep costs low, you’ll also want to partner with a professional who can build you an IoT system from the ground up—all the way through your product build. The quicker you can go from an idea to a production-ready design, the quicker your product can hit the shelves.
Onboarding
While you may think that having a plan of attack and a proper IoT design in place mean that your next step is the market, you might be getting a bit ahead of yourself. Before any IoT devices using cellular IoT can be sold, they require extensive behavioral testing. This testing will help eliminate problems at launch. Your best bet is to find an onboarding partner that can test for the following real-world scenarios:
- Reliable connectivity
- Battery life
- Exception handling
- Mobile network operator (MNO) certification and compliance
When you’re dealing with cellular connectivity, you depend on standard protocols in terms of network and device communication. There is a global mobile connectivity organization known as the Global System for Mobile Communication Association (GSMA), and it has certain standards that must be maintained. The same can be said for MNOs. To make sure your cellular IoT is a success, you’ll want to ensure you have embedded universal integrated circuit card (eUICC) and MNO certification.
Deployment assistance
Launching your cellular IoT system or product involves more than just the relationships between the device, MNO and SIM card. You’ll need to ensure that you have a connectivity management platform that will work as a bundle when your service deploys. Particularly, your platform should include integration, reporting and training.
