{"id":25194,"date":"2021-06-28T18:34:46","date_gmt":"2021-06-28T18:34:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/?p=25194"},"modified":"2023-08-19T10:29:48","modified_gmt":"2023-08-19T10:29:48","slug":"top-3-challenges-for-building-your-first-iot-solution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/iot\/top-3-challenges-for-building-your-first-iot-solution\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 3 Challenges For Building Your First IoT Solution"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Before we dive into the top 3 challenges for building the first IoT solution, let us break down the definition of the Internet of Things.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Per Wikipedia: The Internet is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP\/IP) to communicate between networks and devices.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Per dictionary.com Things: some entity, object, or creature that is not or cannot be specifically designated or precisely described.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Hence, the Internet of Things, by definition, is a connected system of \u201cthings\u201d, that we cannot specify. This makes IoT, by definition, a network of connected devices or systems through a standardized protocol, i.e., anything and everything, when connected, becomes an IoT solution, which opens up our imagination to think of solutions that were never possible before. However, will your IoT solution be successful? It depends… let us look through the top 3 challenges in building your first IoT solution.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Valid business case<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Whether you have existing products or systems, or you are planning to develop new ones, the first challenge in building an IoT solution is to convert a brilliant idea into something that the internal or external customers will be willing to pay for. When it comes to IoT, everyone wants to create a scenario that saves them money, not cost more.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Let us use an example for operations optimization, a wind turbine, where sensors can be added to transmit critical data into an IT infrastructure for analysis. This data can include the temperature of a critical component, the amount of stress experienced, the number of revolutions, or even microfracture monitoring through a camera; the possibilities are virtually limitless. The benefits of such a system can be imagined as a digital twin, and for those who are used to running 3-D model simulations, the more the nodes, the more accurate the resulting information is. However, putting all these communications together will have an adverse affect on deployment and ongoing data costs; therefore, a benefit analysis must now be completed.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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To start, an end-to-end process flow must be created, documenting time and money as critical information for each step, including manufacturing, field deployment, and routine maintenance. Running through this analysis will highlight opportunities for process optimization. For instance, how often does someone need to go up to the wind turbine for a routine check, and how much does it cost? Have there been failures that could have been avoided by having a connected system, and what was the resulting loss of revenue? Are there expensive commissioning steps that can be avoided if we have a connected system?<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Following deep dives into the existing process, features creating the largest impact can now be prioritized, providing a baseline of potential savings to evaluate solutions against. This analysis can then be discussed internally within an organization or with a customer to evaluate who absorbs the upfront additional cost and obtain savings in the longer run.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Let us use another example; a car connected to the cloud through an active SIM card in the automobile. What would be the business case here, and why would car companies increase their manufacturing cost and complexity? Well, let us do the process flow of the traditional system again. Following the traditional system, for any software update, you would need to take the car to the garage. The mechanic would inspect the car with the symptoms described, complete the inspections by using a dealer software for diagnosis, and if the car is not connected through an IoT solution, this may be too late and may require more repairs that could have been avoided if the car had been brought to the dealer earlier.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Nowadays, with more and more IoT-enabled cars, the latest software updates are automatically installed matching, for instance, frequent phone updates. The car sensors display caution notes in the display screen, alerting you of a potential issue before it happens\u2026 customers are happy. The dealer is even happier because while the car is under warranty, they can optimize their garage resources based on actual issues diagnosed and communicated by the car rather than overburdening operations with buffers to inspect issues that may or may not be there.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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In short, most processes can be optimized through an IoT solution. The key is to understand and document the entire process, highlight the pain points and expensive areas, and see how your connected solution will help the stakeholders save time, money, and most of all, lost effort.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Communication Protocol<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Unlike the Internet where there is a system of standardized protocols, the Internet of Things in its infancy has many wired and wireless protocols depending on the applications. Even though many other aspects of the system and product design must be thought through, the communication protoco<\/a>l is the most important as it futureproofs the architecture for upgrading and or replacing devices within a given system. If the system futureproofing is not thought through correctly, it may need replacement of the entire system, which can be much more costly than the original deployment. A future-proofed system, on the other hand, only needs the defective nodes to be replaced in order to resume normal functionality of the system.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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So, how do we know which communication protocol is the correct one for the application?<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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With the creation of a reviewed business case, financial feasibility scenarios can be simulated and reviewed before we deep dive into the actual design activities. Example questions that can help select the right architecture and protocol are:<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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