Hidden Challenges in Growing Your IoT Application

The Internet of Things (IoT) is positioned to see significant growth over the next several years in many areas, including healthcare, manufacturing, logistics, fleet management, agriculture, smart cities, energy, and much more.

Organisations that have seen success during the proof of concept stage would like to increase the scope of their existing IoT application or move globally face the challenges of scale, which in any business or technology solution can be challenging. Three main areas can blight the path to successfully scaling IoT:

Connectivity

Deploying devices initially might be a more simplified path, but expanding operations into new areas, where new carriers or even new technology might be required adds complexity quickly. The cost of scaling and managing network connectivity without the proper systems in place can be overwhelming. Billing and usage require detailed management to help with cost overruns and make sure that devices are not working improperly. Choosing a connectivity technology with a vast selection of standards alone can be challenging based on the use case requirements, which might change over time or with scale.

Logistics

The procurement of devices, activation, configuration, kitting, and shipping comprises the forward logistics in an IoT deployment. If devices need to be replaced or have reached the end of their lifecycle, reverse logistics comprises the return and data cleansing for either re-use or disposal. Since deploying or scaling IoT is not linear, logistics is an ongoing process. This element can be rapidly complicated if there are regulatory compliance tie-ins or devices are deployed globally.

Globalisation

Regulatory compliance is going to vary by country or continent. Many organisations moving into new global areas might not have the international presence or experience to understand the different telecommunication or device standards in the new areas.

Data sovereignty is rising as an issue and can vary by region when it comes to data storage, whether it is a data center or in the cloud. Cloud infrastructure, data mobility, and shifting laws and regulations can be a significant stall in expanding globally.

Roaming agreements are also a moving target regarding global connectivity. Permanent roaming has been a method for overcoming roaming restrictions for IoT devices outside of their home country, but many mobile network operators are making changes or ending permanent roaming agreements, and those that do remain are subject to change without notice, leaving deployed devices in the dark.

Scale with Ease through Managed Services

These areas of struggle can be covered by a holistic solution – IoT managed services. Whether these are pre-configured or a la carte services based on the use case requirements, logistics, connectivity management, security, regulatory compliance and much more can be met by an IoT managed services provider.

IoT managed services can begin with strategy and technology/connectivity selection and move with an organisation as it scales, offering operations management and sustainment all the way through to deep analytics.

Learn more about how it works in this on-demand webinar.