Posted by Yuvrajsinh Vaghela

If you are planning to innovate your business and disrupt your niche with the Internet of Things, it may not be as easy as it seems. There are quite a few things that you need to be prepared with, and you should know certain facts about the technology before starting out.

Before anything else, it is important for you to be patient, understand the nuances of the technology and know how best to incorporate it into your business.

It is true that your IoT product will differ from what your competitors are planning to offer and in the technologically driven environment, it is important to differentiate. But, there are underlying patterns that cannot differ, which is why you need to know the basics of IoT before getting started.

So, are you ready to know them?

#1 Start with Design Thinking

When you are surfacing a company with IoT at the core, it is important to think slightly different. All your life as a businessman, you have thought of tactical ways to get your business started, focusing on objectives and goals. However, when you are dealing with IoT, your focus will need to differ. The idea is to think from the user’s perspective and create a framework that will create more practical and usable approaches.

The design strategy should be your first priority. You need to know how and what will work when you are designing for the users. There are a few things you might want to know before planning the design.

What is it that your users need? When we automated home ACs over WiFi, the purpose was to allow remote access, and not keep an eye out for another remote. Once this point is cleared, you may want to think of path defining solutions for the basic idea. The remote needed to go obsolete, which is why the path defining idea was to convert your mobile into a remote. Finally, you will need to build the prototypes and craft a story around it. The idea is to define a product that talks for itself.

#2 Workaround security

When you are working on an IoT-based startup, you might want to think about a security-first solution. You will need to protect the data that can be availed from the connected device so as to offer better security. Remember, the security for IoT based solutions are complex and difficult as compared to a regular security need. If there are more connected devices in the network, the security threat grows and you will find it difficult to control and manage.

So, when you are planning an IoT solution, you will need to think of security before you plan anything else in the device management or define other aspects of the solution.

#3 Managing the costs

Like with any other venture, you will need to think IoT solution development cost. There are costs involved in every stage, and these costs evolve through your development phases.

For instance, let’s start with the development cost of the IoT solution. From planning to actual feature selection to development with connected devices, there are various phases that you need to manage and work around.

Similarly, introducing security into your IoT solution will cost you, which you need to think about before panning it out. Finally, you will need to plan for the operation and maintenance costs of the IoT business, which requires either bootstrapped funds or investment, if you want to survive in the long run. Remember, the IoT business will not get your immediate returns on the investment.

#4 Scaling is different

The scaling of your IoT business works in a different manner from the scaling of other businesses. If a business works at a particular size, it is not necessary it will work for other sizes too. So, before scaling, you will need to figure out will the scaling manage the increased needs and demands of your company. The prototype scaling would differ from the actual business scaling.

Conclusion

IoT businesses are different from the normal businesses, and you will need to understand the nuances before you start building the prototype and acquiring customers. It is more user-oriented and works with a focus on the end goal to be achieved. If you are planning an IoT business, you should ideally consult a professional before starting with the strategies.