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4 Ways to Solve IoT Cost Objections

Justifying The Cost Of An IoT Investment & Putting An End To Objections

As IoT deployment is rapidly advancing, how can you keep up with the others, while convincing your board members to invest in a secure IoT platform? Through careful observation, we’ve assessed clients’ initial costs concerns and how they strategically decided to move forward with successful IoT projects.

Although it can be easier in the short term to dismiss any potential problems with machinery or the current manual processes, these costs quickly add up. At the first mention of introducing Industrial IoT platforms to the organisation, stakeholders can be even quicker to flout the effort required.

It can be difficult to convince stakeholders of the vast array of benefits due to it being a relatively new technology. One of the main IoT investment issues that we see cropping up is the justification of costs.

Rather than directly building out new product lines or services, IoT instead helps alleviate future unnecessary spending through improving output or even bringing insurance costs down. That’s not to say in the future IoT could open up new processes too, but when investing at the beginning it can be difficult to see so far ahead.

With over 95% success rate of Davra IoT projects, we see first hand the amazing payoff in IoT platform investments. In a previous blog we mentioned the importance of having a clear IoT business use case. When IoT projects are executed efficiently, they will bring in far more revenue and insights compared to the costs incurred by the overall project investment.

If your stakeholders and executives are still struggling to overcome these price objections, read on for a list of possible reasons why they may be struggling and how to quell their issues.

IoT Cost Objections & How to Overcome Them

Objection: Seeing the initial project cost with just one end goal when budgets are already tight

When presenting executives with the possibilities of an IoT project, it can be hard to justify costs when the statement is just what the end goal or outcome will be. Rather than presenting them with a huge project undertaking, instead break the IoT project down into sizable and manageable chunks in order to make it more attainable.

Start with projects that are guaranteed to succeed and will bring in the most realistic and needed business outcomes first, in order to solidify the investment. Develop a trial to keep it as simple and achievable as possible.

Objection: Simply not understanding IoT

IoT can seem like a bunch of robots about to take over the world, when this couldn’t be further from the truth! Stakeholders might be thinking, why would we want to invest in robots when everything is working fine as it is; it’s only another fad and waste of money.

It’s imperative that you not only go in with a clear use case applied to your business, but also with the simple and multiple benefits of IoT. Benefits such as new organisational insights, operational improvements, fewer unnecessary tasks and better supply chain or environmental management.

Relay a clear explanation of exactly how it applies in your industry. People naturally repel new technology and concepts until they are familiar with them, so be sure to clearly show the benefits and proven ROI through other industry use cases and examples.

Avoid technology jargon and instead use language they are familiar with. Focus on challenges they clearly see in the business that can be overcome with an IoT investment, rather than looking at new and more complicated business processes.

Objection: Wait until the costs come down

This seems like a plausible reason to slow down the possible IoT projects, but this could also be a way for executives to simply put off ever investing in IoT. IoT sensors and tech are also becoming cheaper. But those who have invested early are already reaping massive rewards in its benefits, and it can be easy to get left behind!

Show your stakeholders examples of companies in your industry or of similar size who have undertaken IoT investments and are succeeding.

Davra has developed multiple projects for the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System, who were early adopters of IoT. This has meant ease of use throughout development and they can continually advance their transport systems because of this. It’s equally important to choose a reputable and resourceful partner who can aid you on the IoT journey.

Objection: Not understanding IoT pricing

We all know IoT can be complex, but so are many other digital transformations. If your stakeholders are grasping the multiple benefits of IoT but are unsure of how the pricing is broken down, it’s best to go back to your unique business use case.

Your IoT platform could be looked at in three separate parts; monitoring, prediction and prescription, with each of these components adding value and costs to the platform.

A device that monitors your environment conditions costs considerably less than a device with an algorithm attached, invoking action if states change.

Going back to the first point, starting with a small trial project with minimal tasks but guaranteed positive outcomes is generally cheaper than taking on projects with big trajectories.

For many, IoT is still seen as a complex technology far out of reach or relevancy. Yet over 80% of industrial manufacturing companies plan on, or have already developed an IoT strategy. There is no better time than now to chat to your stakeholders about the multitude of benefits that IoT brings. Gartner have developed an Industrial IoT magic quadrant, putting Davra up there as true born IoT leaders. If you would like to chat to us today about how IoT can propel your company forward, we’ll happily discuss how to apply new systems to your unique business case.