As the Internet of Things (IoT) improves operational efficiency and monitoring processes across multiple industries, it also presents new challenges that organizations need to address. Failing to do so can threaten to reduce the ROI, efficiency, and deployment scale of IoT network investments, as well as cause potential compliance issues.
This guide outlines the top challenges that impact IoT solutions development and how IT project managers, technology leaders, and operations directors can address them. When implementing or expanding IoT solutions, administrators must be able to anticipate and prevent these common deployment challenges before they impact their organization.
Common IoT Implementation Challenges
1. Integration Issues
IoT devices work in tandem with the company’s existing or “legacy” systems, including ERP platforms and cloud infrastructure. This interaction tends to be intricate since a lack of standardization across devices and communication protocols can lead to issues with compatibility that impact efficiency.
2. Scalability Problems
The number of IoT devices deployed by an organization depends on the purpose of the devices. For example, a healthcare facility may track a few dozen patient wearables and maintain real-time observations of health vitals, such as blood pressure or sugar. However, a business in manufacturing or agriculture may need to track hundreds or thousands of sensors that track temperature, machine function, security, and more.
Organizations that attempt to scale their networks too fast can overload their databases and cause performance bottlenecks due to limitations in their IoT software.
3. Security Concerns
Security concerns in IoT networks can arise from multiple sources. On the organizational side, collecting and processing large amounts of data raises concerns since every connected IoT device is a potential vector on an attack surface that grows larger as more devices are adopted. Outdated message protocols or firmware pose serious security risks, while interoperability issues typically arise from mismatched or proprietary communication standards.
Additionally, on the consumer side, IoT networks present a privacy concern in certain industries. In healthcare, for example, personal biometric information may be frequently collected and analyzed by company servers. Patients need confidence that their organization uses strong and reliable security protocols to protect their personal data.
4. Cost Management
Organizations can underestimate the costs of deploying an IoT network, which include not only the devices themselves but also ongoing service, maintenance, and data usage charges. Unclear expectations can lead to issues communicating with contributors and partners, especially since new IoT networks often have a long cycle between the initial investment and return.
Network & Connectivity Solutions
Many modern IoT platforms support open APIs that use industry-standard protocols like HTTP and MQTT to achieve interoperability between old and new systems. Experienced IoT device vendors will conduct thorough integration tests at deployment and throughout the product’s lifecycle to guarantee that new IoT devices address coverage gaps in the current systems without creating new issues.
Device Management & Maintenance
Organizations must account for scalability before the network experiences problems. To that end, cloud-native platforms that utilize multi-carrier strategies can help scale larger numbers of devices more easily, especially when handling high-throughput workloads. In latency-sensitive industries like healthcare, poor scalability can lead to performance issues that may impact patient safety or regulatory compliance.
In other industries, such as agriculture, device maintenance concerns more often arise over how well the company can remotely manage thousands of sensors and other devices. An experienced wireless network vendor can help you understand how your organization can better manage firmware updates, battery life, and monitoring processes to maintain uptime on a new or updated IoT network in any industry.
Data Management & Security
Some organizations must comply with specific regional and industry security compliance regulations, such as HIPAA, which protects healthcare data. However, every organization needs to protect its own attack surface from data hackers and bad actors, especially when deploying large IoT networks at scale.
This must involve secure boot processes, multi-factor device identity management, advanced encryption, updated firmware, role-based access control to data storage solutions, and more. The more frequently devices and users are verified, the more easily the data can be protected at scale.
Resource & Budget Planning
Refined planning methods include all aspects of IoT solutions development in the ROI calculations of the business, including the costs of hardware, cloud services, connectivity, security, maintenance, staffing, training, and more.
Many vendors employ flexible pricing systems that help organizations manage overall deployment costs effectively, while also planning for ongoing investments in security and compliance. IoT device security is not a quick-fix solution but an ongoing process of training and maintenance between staff, managers, and network vendors.
Overcome Your IoT Challenges Today
IoT solutions development is challenging, especially when so many hackers are quick to take advantage of an organization’s challenges. By understanding and preparing for these common IoT challenges, organizations can better manage their device networks at scale. However, a real-world assessment from an experienced wireless network provider is still the best tool to help solve these challenges and minimize risk.
At Allpoint Wireless, our team can examine your company’s specific industry, workflow, legacy architecture, and more to find IoT solutions that make sense in your situation. Allpoint Command is our self-service management portal designed to help users receive prompt, customizable technical support customized to their organization’s needs. Contact our team today and schedule a consultation to avoid one-size-fits-all IoT network solutions.