Key Steps to Achieve Successful IoT Deployment

Today the Internet of Things (IoT) has emerged as a transformative technology that connects devices, sensors, and systems. It paves the way for unprecedented automation, efficiency, and innovation across industries. Yet deploying IoT solutions requires careful planning, meticulous execution, and a deep understanding of the underlying challenges and considerations. So, whether you’re an organization looking to embrace IoT or an individual embarking on an IoT project, it’s crucial to follow essential steps to ensure a smooth and effective deployment.

With this blog, I’ll explore the critical steps in a successful IoT deployment, covering everything from strategic planning and device selection to security measures and scalability. Let’s delve into the world of IoT and uncover the critical factors that can pave the way for a successful and impactful implementation.

What is IoT?

IoT, popularly known, are hardware devices containing firmware, electronics, sensors, and software that can gather, store and send data to similar devices or platforms over the internet.

An example of an IoT device is a smartwatch that can collect data or specific information from the user’s body, like blood pressure, oxygen level, stress levels, distance walking, and much more. But how does this work? The smartwatch contains specific sensors, electronics, firmware, and software, enabling it to collect all this information in real-time and show it in graphic form to the user.

Importance of IoT

The Internet of Things helps reduce the human effort for many activities and processes while collecting and transmitting data streams. IoT offers various benefits, like -

● Better quality of life

● Automation of processes

● Data-driven decisions

● Real-time monitoring

Statistics on IoT

· As per Business Insider, there will be approximately 41 billion IoT devices by 2027.

· Fortune Business Insights suggests that the global IoT market will grow to around USD 1463.19 trillion by 2027.

· Gartner predicts that over a quarter of cyberattacks will be IoT based by 2025.

· As per Cisco, by 2023, the number of connected devices will be around three times the global population.

· ETNO suggests that healthcare IoT connections will reach 12 million In Europe by 2026.

IoT applications

● Human health — IoT devices like wearables or ingested can be used to monitor and help maintain health and wellness.

● Home — Devices installed at home, like security systems, automated home appliances, voice assistants, and more.

● Retail — Devices that can be installed in stores, restaurants, arenas etc, that can help in the check-in check-out process, automate and optimize inventory, alert customers on offers, store guidance systems etc.

● Offices — Applications can include energy management, building security and more.

Successful IoT Deployment Steps

Successful deployment of IoT can vary by project. The steps for successful IoT deployment are as follows -

● Building the case of IoT deployment — Before choosing and making any technology-based decisions, it is necessary that the ‘why’ implementing IoT and ‘what’ is to be accomplished are clear. It can be done by establishing a business case by setting business objectives, key metrics, indicators, and target markets and evaluating the business processes.

● Deciding on the technology foundation — Once the objectives and business cases for IoT deployment are finalized, the technology to be used and deployed comes into play. It involves thinking through technological challenges.

■ Some questions that can help go through this step -

○ What kind of devices can be deployed and will they have sensors?

○ Will the devices be battery-powered, or will they be powered through a wired connection?

○ What kind of wireless connection options can be used?

■ Planning for device management -

○ How are the devices to be managed and supported once they are deployed?

○ How to plan and deliver over-the-air (OTA) updates for new features, bug fixes etc. ?

■ Cost and certification -

○ Hardware — Device form factor needs to be considered, along with using a certified cellular model or getting certification on every carrier. Devices need to be certified without which there is a risk of devices getting terminated off the network.

○ Battery life — Developers of any wireless device have to consider the impact of communication frequency will have on battery life.

○ Infrastructure and Network — It would be necessary to check if the infrastructure can support the number of check-ins and the network cost .

○ Certification — Hardware certification has to be considered since there would be a cost attached for hardware that is not certified.

● Choosing a connectivity partner — Choosing the right connectivity partner makes all the difference in the success or failure of IoT deployment. Many challenges need to be navigated in this area, and some of the considerations that need to be factored are -

○ The connectivity partner should be able to offer local and international connectivity and support.

○ The connectivity partner has to be either the network itself or should have the authorization to sell the data from the web. Without these options, the chances of connectivity issues can create big problems.

○ The connectivity partner should have the ability to support LTE-M or NB-IoT technologies.

○ They should have prior experience in supporting IoT deployment.

○ They should be able to help monetize cellular and platform services.

○ They should be able to offer key business insights regarding cellular data usage and subscription-based billing, such as revenue generation, gross margins etc.

● Pre-deployment testing — Pre-deployment testing is a must to ensure that it meets the expectations and goals set. The testing can be both internal and external. Market and product validation are also essential parts of pre-deployment testing.

● Post-deployment — Once the IoT systems are deployed, it is essential to continue monitoring system effectiveness. Deployment is not the end game, and businesses need to consider the evolution of the IoT ecosystem and next-generation product planning.

In conclusion, IoT offers significant opportunities to sustain and expand growth in business. For companies looking to step up their operations with IoT, software companies offering enterprise Internet of Things development services can be consulted to provide IoT solutions for businesses.