by Exosite, on July 12, 2016
Last week we released our newest white paper, Solving the IoT Problem: Build or Buy? As a leading consumer and industrial IoT platform provider, Exosite strives to bring new insight to the IoT market in the hopes of assisting the public. In this new blog series, we will be dissecting sections of this white paper to gain a better understanding of what building or buying an IoT platform entails.
In the last few years, the Internet of Things (IoT) has transformed from a buzzword to a business need. Creating new revenue streams is a goal and challenge for most businesses, but IoT is empowering them to stand up to that challenge in a big way. Collecting data and connecting a product or manufacturing line allows people to make informed data-driven decisions, add value, and reduce complexity. This can make a huge impact on an organization’s bottom line.
As discussed in Exosite’s Data Analytics for IoT white paper, companies are using IoT to create new value where none previously existed.¹ More than ever before, through their analysis of the data they collect, organizations are becoming more efficient, accurate, and knowledgeable about their products, customers, and markets. Through IoT solutions, machines are getting smarter, gaining context about where they are and what is around them so that they can react. Essentially, we are making machines more human - connecting them to their human counterparts so that together, they can do more than ever before. And, when those intelligent machines are integrated into the enterprise, IoT allows you to remove tasks, decrease complexity and confusion for the end user, and drive accurate, data-driven decision making.
As suggested by a recent Economist poll, IoT is becoming less of an if, and more of a what, how, when question.² Their poll suggested 95% of people expect their company to invest in IoT, 63% think that without IoT their business will fail, 40% are researching it, and a mere 17% actually have IoT product deployments planned. But creating a connected solution involves a complex ecosystem - beginning with a device and data collection, all the way through data processing, business integration, and interactive experience on the web or app. Successful, connected solutions must integrate that entire ecosystem in a way that results in a simple, seamless, and cohesive experience for users in order to fully capitalize on the opportunity IoT presents. This task is easier said than done and can be approached in a number of ways.
This white paper will first provide an overview of the IoT ecosystem necessary to develop a connected product, including what it takes to build an IoT platform, what expertise is necessary, and what to think about when determining how to integrate it with your business. Next, this document will explore the different approaches to developing an IoT solution, namely building your own IoT platform internally or “buying” pieces of it. As a result, you will gain a greater understanding of the benefits and cost associated with each approach so that you can make a smart, informed plan about how to move forward into the IoT generation of your business.
Download the complete white paper below to read the whole piece, or contact us directly to kick-start your IoT solution today.
¹ http://info.exosite.com/data-analytics-for-iot
² https://www.arm.com/files/pdf/EIU_Internet_Business_Index_WEB.PDF