The full form of IoT is ‘Internet of Things. In recent years, there has been an accelerated growth of IoT devices across the world. It basically refers to the network of expertly connected physical objects. The objects or IoT Devices in most cases collect data and exchange information. It happens in real-time using Microcontrollers, embedded sensors, and a wireless module. Various devices operate on IoT technology nowadays.
IOT Consulting is an exclusive service related to the field. It has tremendous relevance in society from a technological perspective. The blog digs through the topic in a clear and precise manner.
WHAT COMPANIES COVER IOT CONSULTING SERVICES?
The IoT Consulting Services are primarily based on providing IoT-based solutions to various businesses. Companies in this domain concentrate on building case-specific solutions, focusing on the target audience of the client.
Enhancing manufacturing and improving operations: The service provider consults on aspects of improving the manufacturing process of a business by leveraging the power of IoT.
The client can use a user-friendly platform to monitor the dynamics of the process. The IOT solutions also maintain the regulatory standards of the system.
As a business owner searching for the right solutions, you have the flexibility to ask for a demonstration of how a specific IoT product or service can be positively impactful for your business. That’s where IoT prototypes and PoCs come into the picture.
In general, a certified IOT solution is able to produce sustainable value for the business within a professional framework.
Enabling specific condition-based advanced predictive maintenance: It centres on the real-time monitoring function of a device. A set of parameters are observed, and if possible moderated. The services of the IoT consulting firms accurately detect the primary and secondary parameters. The application of Artificial Neural networks comes into play to provide spotless predictions accounting for certain conditions.
Detecting and accordingly responding to particular network events: The IOT-based solutions of a top consultant essentially take into account the factors such as security, privacy, and resilience. It also focuses on the reliability of the service. The solution detects prevalent or probable issues. The next stage includes a technical response to structurally solve the issue with a well-defined roadmap.
THINGS YOU NEED TO CONSIDER BEFORE HIRING AN IOT CONSULTANT
As an entrepreneur or the CEO of a tech company, your obvious objective is to continuously grow your business. Hiring an IOT consultant can solve lots of issues. But, you have to consider some important factors while hiring a suitable expert for the job. Here is a helpful list that tells about the things you should take into account before hiring a professional.
1). RELEVANT EXPERTISE:
The consultant should have ample technical expertise relevant to your industry. For example, if you own a sports management company, then the professional must display skills in that specific domain, implementing solutions based on different sensors and drivers, and accomplishing your business goals.
2). ABLE TO WORK WITH BIG DATA:
Each day, voluminous data of several forms are produced each moment through various platforms, at a great speed. The expert you hire must possess the ability to handle such ‘Big Data’ efficiently. He should be able to integrate the data into your web- app, website, mobile application, or any other relevant interface.
3). INTEGRATING E-COMMERCE FEATURES:
The consultant must also have the skills to accurately integrate e-commerce features with your business app, enhancing the online shopping experience of your target customers. Not all businesses require e-commerce integration services. Still, hiring a professional with such skills can be helpful in the long run.
4). ABLE TO HANDLE SECURITY THREATS:
It is important to hire a professional who is dexterous in handling various types of security threats to your business platform or application. It includes embedding encryption features, implementing anti-malware technologies, debugging, etc. to make your business more robust in the IOT framework.
5). RICH PORTFOLIO:
Another point you must consider while hiring the consultant is the richness of his work portfolio. He should have experience consulting with several companies in the industry, providing a wide range of IOT solutions, and solving business problems efficiently. In most cases, you can visit the official website of the service provider and dig through the portfolio.
6). EXPERTISE IN QUALITY ASSURANCE (QA):
Implementation of IoT solutions with standard QA does not bear desired results. Hence, it is very important to hire a consultant who has the required knowledge of QA while integrating the IoT solutions into your business framework. It creates more value for your business.
7). EXCELLENT COMMUNICATION LEVEL:
The IoT consulting firms you hire to seek advice on matters of IoT should display an excellent communication level. The Consulting Company should be regularly in touch with you, giving reports on the proceeding of the project. Also, if the customer or client needs change in due course, the company must be able to improvise on its solutions and promptly report the same.
8). MAINTAINING DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS:
It is needless to say that the consultant should be well-versed with each and every aspect of the design standards of the IoT solutions, adhering to the required protocols. Also, the consultant should strictly maintain the development standards according to the specifications of your business need as well as the region where the solution has to be deployed.
9). INFRASTRUCTURE AND THE TEAM SIZE:
It is crucial to check the overall infrastructure of the company before you decide to hire it. Also, you should be sure of the team’s strengths. Get the details of the team that would be working for you. If you outsource the work to an inefficient team, then your investment would be completely wasted. In order to avoid such things, it is important to stay informed.
10). FLEXIBILITY:
You should also check how flexible the company is with particular projects and executing general business plans. The objective of the business can change according to the fast-changing markets. The company must possess the capability to quickly improvise. Also, the IoT solutions, in a case-specific way, should not be too rigid. There should be a certain degree of flexibility in the process of implementation, creating more value.
11). OVERALL PROFESSIONAL APPROACH:
To sum it up, it is necessary to assess the qualities of the IOT consultant from every possible relevant viewpoint. You must consider the weight of its professional approach to a project. The solutions it provides should be scalable in nature. Also, consider the fact how efficient it is to work with hardware systems, mobile interfaces, web platforms, etc.
PROCESS OF IOT CONSULTING Services
The process of IoT consulting has a set of sequential methodical steps. A top IoT consulting services provider takes into account all the practical perspectives of designing, implementing, monitoring, and upgrading (if needed) the IoT solution. In simple words, the process can be broken down into the following points:
1). Remain strategic: It is mandatory to set the right strategies for the consulting process before proceeding with the project.
2). Having clear ideas about the business objectives: The consultant must have crystal clear ideas about client priorities for the particular business.
3). Calculating the expenses: It is compulsory to assess the expenses, especially related to the prices of IoT components such as the deployment of Tech stack, subscriptions, etc.
Ranking the priorities: The priorities in the project are ranked in a planned and professional way.
4). Creating prototypes: The consultant focuses on creating prototype solutions to solve the business problem, and test those.
5). Implementing the solutions: Direct implementation of the IOT solutions happens at a later stage. The consultant maintains all the required regulations.
6). Communication at each stage: At each stage of the development and implementation of a specific IOT solution, the service provider transparently communicates with the client.
7). Monitoring the efficacy of the solution: The consultant dedicatedly monitors the efficacy of the implemented solution and records its performance.
8). Bringing changes if required: At a later stage, there might be a need for changing some of the features of the IoT solution. The consultant does it professionally and should possess knowledge of OTA updates.
9). Providing technical support: Even after the completion of the project, the consultant carries on providing robust technical support to the client.
WHAT IS THE APPROACH OF AN IOT CONSULTANT?
The approach of a standard IOT consultant is maintaining the technical strength of the solutions, within the framework of a specific business domain, which aims to accelerate the growth of your IoT Business.
The company or the service provider renders a holistic service to the concerned client, taking into account each detail of business objectives.
The goal remains to increase or establish the profitability of the business through the smart implementation of IoT solutions.
The consultant aims to grow the client’s business sustainably in a competitive environment, fluently.
How the market size of IoT-based services is expanding
The global market size of IoT-based services is expanding at an accelerated rate. The available data reveals an encouraging trend. According to industry experts and researchers, the growth is slated to increase its pace in near future.
In the year 2020, the total value of the IoT-based services market was around USD 98.8 billion. In 2026, the market size is expected to reach a whopping USD 149.9 billion. There is a CAGR of 7.2%.
Also Read: WHY DO MARKETS NEED IOT (Internet of Things) CONSULTING?
If you are a business trying to grow faster using IoT solutions, then hopefully the blog provides you with a fair direction. On the other hand, if you are a service provider, then you can easily understand the tremendous prospects of such services globally, in the coming years.
