The speed with which IoT enabled connected things are proliferating, and companies willing to tap this potential, it’s no longer an assumption that an IoT service provider can lead you to a faster time-to-market and also increase your business uptake, rather trying to do it all in-house. But what’s the key for evaluating and choosing a right IoT partner?
Apart from just checking the credentials of the IoT vendor what must you think before considering one? Expertise in IoT technologies, networking and security protocols, specialized hardware and software skills, IoT vendor who has expertise in all of these above will be an ideal choice.
In a fast changing vendor ecosystem and technology landscape, IT teams face multitude of challenges, of which security and networking are the most crucial ones.
Security: Just think about the breadth of IoT, there are as many connected devices as people on the planet and the ratio will only outnumber people by more in future. In the wrong hands, data collected by these devices, could be vulnerable to misuse. A set of strong security principles used rightly in enterprise computing can help cross this hurdle. It’s a best way to rate vendors. Comparing security practices of IoT service providers will help you choose the right one.
Networking: By design, the array of wireless technologies requires the support of internet, Wi-Fi and cellular connectivity. IoT service provider must therefore have a strong networking know how that includes wireless protocols and new forms of wireless connections to support a diverse set of IoT devices. Specialized in IoT solutions that link core business systems distributed across IoT devices, cloud and gateways will definitely be a plus.
In future, IoT solutions will be built that work across these distributed architectures, coupled with machine-learning, AI and cloud services. This scale and scope of IoT might leave CIOs grapple between skill development and choosing an IoT service provider with right IoT certifications.
CIOs will also have to face a much larger diversity of technology components and an even bigger challenge of putting them to work together. An IoT service provider can help you build the right IoT architecture that has the key to your business transformation and bring you desired business outcomes.
