The Internet of Things (IoT) shaping the connected reality of gadgets and devices around us creates both a huge business opportunity and challenge. In spite of the development challenges businesses that develop IoT gadgets and apps are designated to reap huge benefits in a short time and in the long run.
But IoT app development doesn’t represent a scenario where everyone is running after the hidden treasures. Building an IoT app itself doesn’t guarantee success unless you know what it takes to be successful.
Whether you hire remote developers or go for in-house development for your IoT app project, you must have a solid understanding of the scope and opportunities of connected devices and their corresponding apps and how they can alter the reality around us.
Understanding key concepts and promises of IoT
IoT, representing the expanding network of internet-connected gadgets and devices that can transmit information in actual time can offer a fluid and smart reality empowering automation and faster completion of tasks.
For example, a security camera just by sensing the movement of unknown objects can send a notification to your smartphone and a connected coffee machine can start preparing coffee when the morning alarm rings on your smartphone.
The real scope and opportunities of these connected gadgets represented by IoT technology are not limited to our smart homes and workplaces.
They can deliver serious wonders with mission-critical equipment in the healthcare sector or manufacturing plants. This is how the term Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and Medical Internet of Things (MIoT) have emerged.
IoT is equally about transforming the traditional dumb gadgets of our homes into smarter ones and also about transforming every living space including transport and workplaces with smart automation. One thing that still remains constant with the proliferation of IoT is the mobile apps that still are widely used to operate these gadgets and devices.
IoT apps further being equipped with AI-driven automation are offering smarter output for the users. Based on the device usage patterns and regular interactions over a period of time the app automatically can turn on, turn off or control the connected device and save the users from the tasks. This will further push intelligent automation in homes, workplaces, vehicles, industrial premises and public places.
The business potential of IoT
IoT gadgets and apps have already proved to have huge potential to transform your business operation, business processes, customer satisfaction and business outcomes. IoT gadgets coupled up with connected apps can transform the customer experience in never before ways.
Let us assume that a business wants to improve the customer experience. For these IoT gadgets and IoT, apps can come to the aid in several different ways. Let’s mention a few of them.
- A coffee machine that prepares a coffee as soon as detecting a seasoned customer entering a shop or a billing machine sending promotional offers to a loyal customer in a shop, there can be several such examples of personalising customer experience through connected gadgets and connected apps.
- Reducing administrative difficulties and long term maintenance costs can be a great advantage of IoT for many businesses. For instance, smart cars of a fleet management company can send automatic car health reports at regular intervals to streamline maintenance and reduce the risks and costs.
- Location technologies like Beacons and Geofencing that work by catching Bluetooth signals of the customer’s smartphones are nice examples of how IoT can make context-aware promotions for retail stores.
Of course, there are too many other ways IoT gadgets and apps can transform the lived reality around people and can ensure streamlined communication, collaboration and business conversion. But how you incorporate this connected reality of gadgets through notifications sent by mobile apps is equally important.
Key challenges for IoT app development
IoT gadgets are growing by leaps and bounds and they are fast transforming our reality into a connected one. But still, now, IoT is widely seen as the cutting edge technology and not everyday technology just as your handheld smartphones and mobile apps. Naturally, this is the right time for businesses to make an articulated plan to take advantage of the ever exploding IoT market and the IoT app opportunities.
But before entering into the IoT space, you need to have a clear idea about the challenges as well. What are the key challenges for building IoT apps? Let’s have a look.
- Most IoT apps still work like remote controls for a set of connected gadgets.
- IoT apps focus more on device control, less on intelligent automation.
- IoT apps often leave big security concerns unattended.
- IoT apps often fail to personalise user experience based on context and user preferences.
A smart app is not just about IoT
If you are not into hardware manufacturing and still want to take advantage of the smart and connected reality that is exploding, you need to concentrate more on IoT apps catering to multiple IoT gadgets.
For example, a smart home app that allows you to operate the most connected appliances besides playing the favourite music tracks with just a voice command can be very useful. Try different IoT app ideas and utilise the scope of AI, voice interface, chatbots and more.
Conclusion
There can be hardly any doubt about the fact that the IoT app development showcases huge promises for businesses that rely on smart automation to deliver a unique user experience. Any business that wants to attract customers through innovative interactions will find IoT as a promising horizon. But while jumping on the IoT development bandwagon, make sure you come with unique value propositions over and above the existing ones and follow best industry practices.
