Whether you manufacture sensors, data loggers, refrigerators, cars, or irrigation systems…. Your customer’s expectations have changed. They want to interact with your product in a different way. It’s not just about “the cloud” or “the Internet of Things.” It’s a paradigm shift for what it’s like to buy a product. Whether you like it or not, your business needs to be part of this change – the alternative is to perish.
Businesses in the measurement, instrumentation, and data acquisition industries have thrived for decades on expensive products that require experience and know-how to setup. As the Internet of Things expands to encompass every facet of our lives, the products we offer in this industry must change as well.
Users Expect Internet Connectivity
Consumer products led the charge toward the Internet of Things. Watches, thermostats, vacuum cleaners – they’re all connected. Consumers can install home automation systems that control lights, locks, and speakers. Those same consumers are evaluating your products… your products that have serial ports, programming cables, and don’t connect to the internet. That’s not sustainable.
Users expect your product to setup easily, connect to the internet, and include a mobile app… and they’re not willing to jump through hoops to get there.
Don't let your business get left behind
High-volume manufacturers have the resources to dedicate to IoT. It’s not as easy for smaller, niche market companies that have been around for decades. You may have a team of engineers who know all about your industry but have zero experience with cloud services and web development.
You have to adapt, find shortcuts, and focus on your core competencies. If your core competency is manufacturing sensors, it’s not time to become an IoT technology company. You need a low cost, low risk, quick way to bring your products up to speed.
IoT Hardware and Software Partners
This is where the multitude of IoT partner companies come in, but choosing the right one is difficult. Consultants are expensive, don’t offer firm fixed price solutions, and you still shoulder a big chunk of risk. Mixing and matching hardware and software from various vendors may work, but often results in a patchwork product that doesn’t represent your brand well.
If you think you can choose one of the big cloud services like Amazon Web Services or Microsoft Azure and get it done quickly, think again. The solutions aren’t pre-built. You’ll need to invest thousands of hours of software engineering labor to get it done.
Consider a simpler alternative
The simplest option is to use a pre-built end-to-end IoT system that works with your product. You can test it right away and evaluate if it fits your needs. You avoid the cost and risk of an extended or failed development process. You won’t stray from your core competencies. You’ll get your IoT enabled product on the market before it’s too late.
Consider SparkBridge – a hardware and software package that works off the shelf and can be customized to fit inside your existing products. Try an off the shelf solution with the SparkBridge One IoT Data Logger or contact us to have your product Powered by Sparkbridge.