Most of the startups that are searching for help with the development of their IoT-based application are mainly concerned with cost-efficiency: how can I attain the best possible product for the least amount of money? In this article, Mahipal Jadeja outlines a basic guide to choosing a development company, estimating a budget, and removing unnecessary features from your app design that could be costly.
Developing an IoT application is a complicated process. In fact, for the first time, a combination of software and hardware development is being performed at such a large scale. No matter the communicating devices are in huge demand but there’s a risk attached; the risk of producing a faulty product and losing money. Moreover, reverse engineering development may be a cumbersome process and another cost overhead. Amidst such complexity, how do you plan to predict the inconsistencies and resolve them in advance?
The answer is prototyping. It is a working model, a mock-up, or an early release of a product. For IoT, prototyping is a huge deal. Firstly, it is the go-to design reference for actual production and secondly, it helps in gap analysis of the ideated design versus expected output.
Now, unlike in other product development scenarios, prototyping in IoT is done at different levels: mechanical (hardware & electrical), software (UI & back-end) & Firmware. In most cases, the first two are covered.
From the perspective of value to money, prototyping is an important phase. Achieving smarter prototyping leads to smart product output and that’s why outsourcing is important. Most likely, your technology partner should be skilled in prototyping. In fact, it is the most effective way to evaluate the quality of a technology company that pitched its expertise.
Procurement issues often go unnoticed in planning IoT developments and that is one of the greatest causes for bottlenecks in productions. Even the smallest of IoT devices come to have numerous small and medium-sized components embedded inside. Imagine the number of components required for larger builds! Sensors, indicators, casing, wires, screens, power supply kit, network infrastructure equipment etc. are just a few of the many components needed to build a single model. An average IoT project targets thousands of rollouts from the manufacturing unit. That’s the level of components to be procured.
Since IoT is a relatively newer industry, there aren’t dedicated vendors to supply all material from one desk. It is a cumbersome process for enterprises to manage multiple vendors while keeping the costs under check. To resolve the complexity, Ioterra has an impressive solution. The platform dedicated to end-to-end IoT development helps the companies find partners for business analysis, solution designing prototyping, procurement, development and production. As the world’s first digital platform to offer such a range, Ioterra has a large database of service partners or vendors supplying different components. Product developers can simply handpick the items they need and find all vendors that fit the requirement. Similarly, Ioterra provides on-demand access to connect with millions of skilled resources and strike project engagements.
In the pursuit of ensuring lucrative returns, cost optimization is a necessary check at multiple stages of IoT development. Ioterra helps with that too. Their built-in IoT project cost estimator provides the closest possible tentative idea of the cost and the areas where it can be saved. Quick, smart and immensely enterprise-friendly!
Initiatives like these are supporting the cause of actualizing contactless communications in COVID stricken world. As you begin your venture to choosing the correct IoT app development company for your project, just remember:
- The first step is to figure out exactly what your app needs to do and who it will be for. This will help you to decide which features are absolutely must-haves and which ones are just unneeded fluff. Picking out important features and pinpointing the application’s intended audience also will enable you to foresee possible challenges such as security, connectivity, and compatibility. A great finished product generally will cost more, but those costs can be reduced by understanding the major features that need to be focused on and invested in.
- Picking the right development company is a make-or-break step for most startups. A freelancer or a less experienced smaller company might offer their services for a cheaper price, but they may also lack the foresight to develop proper plans for deployment and maintenance. Therefore, it is generally more cost-effective in the long run to opt for larger, more experienced IoT service providers because, while they may charge slightly more, they will finish your project on time with solutions for all of the aspects of your IoT app.
- Understanding the overall cost range for an app development project is crucial so that you formulate a proper budget to get what you expect from a company. If you set your budget too low for a complex app, your return product could be below par. Whereas if you have a high budget for a simple app, you might just be wasting money. Jadeja estimates that you can expect a simple app with standard UI and basic features to take over 450 hours to develop with a cost between $15,000 and $18,000; a medium complexity app should take over 600 hours and cost between $18,000 and $25,000; a complex app with real-time synchronization and relationships to a database will usually take over 1000 hours and cost at least $30,000 (note that these numbers are only estimates made by Jadeja himself). Some of the most pricey features of an IoT application include location integration, payment gateways integration, synchronization between devices, third-party API, data encryption, and CMS integration. Pick and choose the features that impact most on your IoT project cost. If one of these is unimportant, don’t spend the money on it!
Emphasis on Prototyping
Developing an IoT application is a complicated process. In fact, for the first time, a combination of software and hardware development is being performed at such a large scale. No matter the communicating devices are in huge demand but there’s a risk attached; the risk of producing a faulty product and losing money. Moreover, reverse engineering development may be a cumbersome process and another cost overhead. Amidst such complexity, how do you plan to predict the inconsistencies and resolve them in advance?
The answer is prototyping. It is a working model, a mock-up, or an early release of a product. For IoT, prototyping is a huge deal. Firstly, it is the go-to design reference for actual production and secondly, it helps in gap analysis of the ideated design versus expected output.
Now, unlike in other product development scenarios, prototyping in IoT is done at different levels: mechanical (hardware & electrical), software (UI & back-end) & Firmware. In most cases, the first two are covered.
From the perspective of value to money, prototyping is an important phase. Achieving smarter prototyping leads to smart product output and that’s why outsourcing is important. Most likely, your technology partner should be skilled in prototyping. In fact, it is the most effective way to evaluate the quality of a technology company that pitched its expertise.
Resolve Procurement
Procurement issues often go unnoticed in planning IoT developments and that is one of the greatest causes for bottlenecks in productions. Even the smallest of IoT devices come to have numerous small and medium-sized components embedded inside. Imagine the number of components required for larger builds! Sensors, indicators, casing, wires, screens, power supply kit, network infrastructure equipment etc. are just a few of the many components needed to build a single model. An average IoT project targets thousands of rollouts from the manufacturing unit. That’s the level of components to be procured.
Since IoT is a relatively newer industry, there aren’t dedicated vendors to supply all material from one desk. It is a cumbersome process for enterprises to manage multiple vendors while keeping the costs under check. To resolve the complexity, Ioterra has an impressive solution. The platform dedicated to end-to-end IoT development helps the companies find partners for business analysis, solution designing prototyping, procurement, development and production. As the world’s first digital platform to offer such a range, Ioterra has a large database of service partners or vendors supplying different components. Product developers can simply handpick the items they need and find all vendors that fit the requirement. Similarly, Ioterra provides on-demand access to connect with millions of skilled resources and strike project engagements.
In the pursuit of ensuring lucrative returns, cost optimization is a necessary check at multiple stages of IoT development. Ioterra helps with that too. Their built-in IoT project cost estimator provides the closest possible tentative idea of the cost and the areas where it can be saved. Quick, smart and immensely enterprise-friendly!
Initiatives like these are supporting the cause of actualizing contactless communications in COVID stricken world. As you begin your venture to choosing the correct IoT app development company for your project, just remember:
- High prices do not always mean quality.
- Low prices could end in disaster.
