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Why an MVP is the first important step in your IoT Journey!

"many IoT projects fail because they spend longer thinking about how they could scale their product rather than prioritising their MVP"

Why IoT Projects can fail before they begin

The business opportunity for IoT has grown exponentially over the last decade, delivering massive value to all industries when it is implemented correctly….

However, many IoT projects fail for some key reasons one because they spend longer thinking about how they could scale their product rather than prioritising their MVP (minimal viable problem) and two not investigating the true business value to the company should you scale out from the MVP. MVPs are essentially, a stripped-down version of your product that can demonstrate (at least some of) the functions of your final product to potential customers.

MVPs can validate ideas quickly and determine if you can turn an idea into a problem-solving solution that can be scaled commercially. It’s a great way to get customer feedback also. For those who don’t have experience in developing an IoT solution or the processes that are involved, it can be challenging. We believe sticking to your company’s core competencies and value is important, we simply don’t know what we don’t know. Forming partnerships with companies whose core competency is IoT is a big step in the right direction.

“Your MvP should be one of the first steps in your digital transformation journey”

What do I need to develop an MVP?

IoT MVPs involve a cornucopia of elements: hardware, communication network, software web or mobile app, and an IoT platform. One of the advantages of Davra is that we not only address the hardware layer, we also have an experienced operational technologist to guide you on your first steps of your IoT Journey.

Fortunately, choosing these might be simpler than you think :

Hardware

It might be tempting to shell out on custom hardware, but it’s not necessary at the MVP stage. If you’re handy with soldering and wiring, you can build a prototype with simple boards. Failing that, a single-board computer Raspberry Pi is insanely cheap and can help you shape your design, do in-house testing and validate your ideas.

Network

As the name suggests, Networks connect your hardware to your IoT platform. There are loads of ways to connect IoT devices and sensors, including; LoRaWan, Cellular, Satellite, WiFi, Bluetooth, RFID and many more.

Your choice will depend on your final project’s power consumption, bandwidth and range. For example, does your device function with short or long ranges? How much power will be required, if there is no power how long will the battery last, how much data will your device transmit, and how often? Experienced network providers can walk through the differences and the nuances specific to your product.

IoT Platforms

It can be tempting to go DIY, but a commercial platform lets you spin up a proof of concept relatively easily as someone else has done much of the hard work for you. A good platform supports a mix of protocols, giving you the flexibility to switch providers and make rebuilds possible.

For example, Davra provides a complete Industrial IoT platform that allows System Integrators, Product Builders, OEMs, and startups to define, build and rapidly bring to market industrial-grade IoT applications on a single reliable, secure and scalable IoT platform. It comes with a user-friendly developer portal. It also has a couple of other standout features:

• Security: It’s never too early to think about security mechanisms, even at the MVP stage. Baking-in security at the design stage is always the way to go, especially when designing for industries that deal with people’s sensitive data. Davra recently was awarded ISO27001 certification, the highest commitment to information security management.

• Digital twin: A paired-down MVP may lack the wow factor, but this is where a digital twin can provide a simulation of your product in the real world using actual data. For example, take building smart cities project MVP. You could use data from a local transport provider to provide insights that merge the physical and digital world and get people excited.

Why Choosing Davra is the first step to success?

1. Davra is a full-stack IoT and application enablement platform, one of the few globally. But what does this mean? It means Davra provides all the tools and building blocks necessary to develop a small application or MVP to trail on a limited number of devices, or a full-scale IoT project with 100,00’s of assets in multiple locations.

2. Security is paramount in today’s digital world, you would not get a door made out of straw to protect your house so why do it for your company online? Covid really transformed how companies operate, choosing to remotely manage and monitor sites using cutting edge technology. You’re software and hardware must be prepared for this! Davra is ISO 9001 & 270001 accredited plus many others which you can read here. A real differentiator is when you use the Davra platform all your devices inherit these protection protocols which take a lot of time to secure!

3. Since Davra’s inception the ethos has been inclusivity of hard, networks and hosting. We understand our customers want to use different tools based on their location, relationships and industry. So that’s exactly what Davra allows being a completely technological agnostic platform . The platform is flexible to the needs and requirements of the user.

4. Davra is ranked by Gartner as one of the top IIoT platforms globally, and the number 1 private IIoT platform globally.

Tip for success: Learn from your predecessors

Working with an experienced industrial IoT platform vendor can provide a wealth of experience and insights. IoT development is hard in many respects, and many companies fail to bring their products to market for reasons that a well-built MVP could have revealed. Compared to some industries, IoT may appear young. But growth in AI, machine learning, big data, cheaper hardware, and greater connectivity have accelerated innovation in the space across all industries with a lot of experiential knowledge packed into just a few years.

Well-established IoT platform vendors have seen it all. They have kept up with the trends and technical advances, know the challenges and pitfalls, understand your industry intuitively, and possess insider knowledge that can help you build an MVP that takes an idea to market.