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questions to ask a pro-IoT consultant before starting your IoT project

Top 11 questions to ask a pro IoT consultant before starting your IoT project

By Udit Handa / March 2, 2022

January 9, 2024
Top 11 questions to ask a pro IoT consultant before starting your IoT project

Internet of Things (IoT) is an advanced cutting-edge automation and analytics system which manages big data, networking, sensing, and Artificial Intelligence technology to provide a comprehensive system for a service or product. IoT systems permit users to accomplish more in-depth integration, automation, and analysis within a system. It exploits current advances in software, falling hardware prices, and current perspectives toward technology.

Today internet of things market incorporates countless customer gadgets such as Internet-connected video cameras, routers, smart TVs, as well as numerous enterprise IoT devices for scientific, business, and industrial applications.

The Internet of Things is helping many businesses to gain new and important insights into how their businesses operate. Digital sensors are being implanted in product development offerings, varying from coffee and tea makers to television sets, refrigerators, and even aircraft engines to achieve valuable insights that are required to understand and plan further growth of functional processes and quality of the product.

Today in this article we will understand what questions to ask a pro-IoT consultant before starting your IoT project. When interviewing individuals for these positions, IT leaders and additional decision-makers must be competent to evaluate a candidate's skill levels and proficiency to understand fundamental IoT ideas and concepts. You need to ask the right IoT interview questions of forthcoming employees and understand what to look for in the answers.

Also, read: Automated Purchasing Systems for Business Growth: The 2022 Guide

How to get your IoT project right - Key questions to ask before starting an IoT project

To make the Internet of Things work for your business the best idea is to do thorough research and preparation instead of rushing headlong into an IoT transformation. Therefore, answering some simple but tricky questions below can help you pave a secure way via the process of setting your first IoT project:

[embedimage]

1) Do you have an IoT Team and does your project actually matter?

This should be your very first question that whether you have a team of individuals that can focus on IoT development? The team should be interdisciplinary (that is, networks, applications, system infrastructure, database/ storage, and operations) for IoT to work, it must be capable enough to cross the boundaries and engage the resources of all of these domains.

Let’s suppose your project is the first of its type. As such, it’s likely to form the head for subsequent projects. So, it makes sense for it to handle an actual business requirement and to have a straightforward business case. Simply then it will have the visibility and importance to ensure commitment across the organization and earn crucial support from your Operations, Info Security, and IT associates.

2) What is your inspiration after the adoption of IoT in your business?

With IoT, the answer for most of the business is common like improved ROI, faster implementation, and work, improvement in how you plan work, and make informed decisions. Businesses will be capable to access tremendous data developed by the integrity of greater connectivity. But you need to back up your plan with in-depth research without which there is a risk of failure.

Without a definite plan of how it will help your business and the customers, it may pose risks to the project’s viability. So, you should focus on your goals, which in this case should be to achieve suitable information at the right time and place to improve business insights and make a better-informed decision and, as a result, gain more value for the end consumers.

Also, read: 7 Construction industry software solutions that have increased revenue for our clients

3) What do you wish that the Internet of Things should do for your enterprise?

Internet of Things is growing at a very fast pace, not only in terms of software and hardware but also infrastructure, communication, and connectivity. Hence, a wonderful deal of creative IoT projects that just recently have been impossible to deploy now may be entirely feasible and possible, with minor effort and finances spent.

People using the Internet of Things increasingly select interfaces that are more realistic and less visible than screens. They don’t like to type instructions on a tablet, mess with settings, or interact with a device, on a cell phone to obtain what they want.

Rather, they love these technologies as “living services” that predict their desires and work on them. As the popularity of smart tech is growing, the number of available deployment options increases likewise.

4) Do you have a strategic project roadmap for IoT? 

IoT is not a destination, it is rather a direction. A well-thought-out, complete and future-proof business approach is the foundation for any profitable and successful IoT project. Therefore, your strategic program should offer a roadmap of IoT development and growth, not simply a single IoT project.

By describing a precise and far-reaching roadmap for your IoT project, you won’t allow your decisions to be driven by short-sighted visions for a quick payoff. Future proof planning will make it more manageable to accommodate any long-term costs.

So, a well-planned strategy and roadmap will provide you with the essential insights into the forthcoming capabilities of your deployment in terms of robustness, scalability, and overall functionality.

Also, read: React vs Angular – Choose the right Frontend Framework

5) Do you have the right project leads, personnel, and expertise?

Cooperative end-user IT projects need IoT project leads in IT with powerful communication, collaboration, and people skills. Your lead technologist may comprehend the nuts and bolts of IoT, though if they can't excel in people skilfulness, they shouldn't be a project lead.

Because the Internet of Things is not simply regarding technology, but also regarding the people that visualize and execute it. If this is not the case, you may consider introducing project-related training or outsourcing a team of proficient to steer you safely throughout the process.

6) Do you have the IoT skillsets in your organization?

IoT professionals are in high demand all over the world. If you don't own IoT expertise, or the capability to develop it in your team, hiring will be challenging, and you may have to depend on vendors or contractors. As a result, you could encounter pushback from your staff because they will sense that you are not investing in them.

CIOs first need to figure out how to get the short-term skillsets that they need for IoT before they seek IoT, and secondly, a team with upper-level management and HR on a longer-term employee skills development program.

Also, read: Top Salesforce Products that can transform your business

7) How do you imagine your technology stack?

The foremost essential fact is the choice between establishing ready-made plug-and-play solutions of third-party service providers or developing a proprietary IoT ecosystem.

In a streamlined and workable solution, every layer of the IoT technology stack such as device software and hardware, protocols and communications, cloud platforms, and applications, needs to be integrated with the others to assure seamless interoperability, at the same time permitting for comprehensive flexibility and on-demand scalability.

There are many larger and more complicated tasks that need many different software and hardware tools working concurrently to accomplish the desired result.

8) How well-positioned is your IT infrastructure for IoT?

The advantages of networked objects differ by industry, and so it is crucial to understand how potential developments in the IoT connect to your marketplace.

IoT, with its quick transport needs and its massive information payloads, will need modifications in IT infrastructure and security - from databases and networks to processing and storage.

These infrastructure modifications must be described and budgeted for- Do you own central data networks and repositories that will eventually gather and process IoT data, or are you preparing to adopt an edge computing strategy where different facilities in your business monitor and compile their data? How are governance and security administered?

These are major IT infrastructure decisions not just for the CIO, but for the business as a whole.

Also, read: A self-learning chatbot is easier than you think: steps to create your own

9) Do you have strong IoT vendor partnerships?

Business relationships with vendors and associates provide you with a support network to promote your business. Partnerships with your different business contacts promote positive and mutually advantageous interactions.

Vendors and associates are more likely to reach for your help if you have a strong connection. The way you treat both co-workers and vendors play a big role in the relationship dynamics.

Some organizations 'work independently' with their IoT tasks. While most of them team up with best-in-class vendors for their applications or industries, whether the project involves manufacturing monitoring and the supply chain or utilizing IoT to observe building security. It should be the priority to carefully determine who to partner with.

10) Have you thought through IoT security?

Many security risks are involved with IoT, as IoT devices are connected to the laptop or desktop. This lack of security increases the chance of your information getting leaked while the data is gathered and transmitted to the IoT device. There is no agreement on how to enforce security in IoT on a device.

Therefore, if your IoT utilizes commodity devices such as sensors, which most will, safety warranties from vendors and your security methods will be extremely important. Numerous vendors create embedded software that implants 'intelligent' behaviour into their devices. Your security team should have an action plan if any dangerous breach emerges via one of these devices. 

11) Do you have a program for specifying and measuring the ROI of your IoT projects?

Investing in IoT is something that will continue influencing the investment industry for decades to come. It’s only the beginning of a prolonged journey as more future users are predicted to join this IoT trend.

It is very important that metrics for financial investment recoupment, and other advantages offered to the business be recognized upfront with IoT projects.

If you notice that a project can't provide on these commitments, you should prepare to plan something else. Discovering the right people to implement will help you find the key to a successful IoT adoption.

Wrapping Up

The Internet of Things technology is one of the digital transformation trends that make connected cities more unassailable; asset tracking more cost-effective; more personalized healthcare; and more efficient energy consumption. Businesses that can harness the data created by the Internet of Things will surely survive and succeed in the future. They will discover a powerful competitive advantage.

Defined above were the top 11 questions that are not the only ones you will require to request vendors when choosing an IoT platform. But these questions will make your short-listing process quick and efficient, making you pick the best. Dive in more deeply into the IoT platform power and capabilities to see which one is suitable for your organization.

Also, read: 7 Reasons to treat web application architecture seriously

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1) What are the primary parts of IoT systems?

IoT system consists of three primary parts:
i) Sensors
ii) Network connectivity
iii) Data storage applications.

2) What are security concerns associated with IoT?

Privacy and Data security are primary concerns connected with IoT. These devices are vulnerable to hacking and cloud endpoints could be utilized by hackers to attack servers. Device designers and software developers have to assure sufficient privacy and security measures.

3) What is the protocol named Bluegiga APX4 for the Internet of Things?

Bluegiga and wireless concurrently may be utilized without interference as they are compliable to concurrency protocols. The bluegiga apx4 supports both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and is established on a 450mhz arm9 processor.

4) Is it possible to use IoT without Internet?

Though IoT has got its name from the Internet but precisely speaking – it does not require the Internet. The IoT is helpful even without the Internet. Rather, you can think of IoT as something that makes usage of the identical technology as the Internet. 

[sc name="AI"] [add_newsletter] [add_related_page_diff_contents blog_cat = "business-consulting"]

Internet of Things (IoT) is an advanced cutting-edge automation and analytics system which manages big data, networking, sensing, and Artificial Intelligence technology to provide a comprehensive system for a service or product. IoT systems permit users to accomplish more in-depth integration, automation, and analysis within a system. It exploits current advances in software, falling hardware prices, and current perspectives toward technology.

Today internet of things market incorporates countless customer gadgets such as Internet-connected video cameras, routers, smart TVs, as well as numerous enterprise IoT devices for scientific, business, and industrial applications.

The Internet of Things is helping many businesses to gain new and important insights into how their businesses operate. Digital sensors are being implanted in product development offerings, varying from coffee and tea makers to television sets, refrigerators, and even aircraft engines to achieve valuable insights that are required to understand and plan further growth of functional processes and quality of the product.

Today in this article we will understand what questions to ask a pro-IoT consultant before starting your IoT project. When interviewing individuals for these positions, IT leaders and additional decision-makers must be competent to evaluate a candidate’s skill levels and proficiency to understand fundamental IoT ideas and concepts. You need to ask the right IoT interview questions of forthcoming employees and understand what to look for in the answers.

Also, read: Automated Purchasing Systems for Business Growth: The 2022 Guide

How to get your IoT project right – Key questions to ask before starting an IoT project

To make the Internet of Things work for your business the best idea is to do thorough research and preparation instead of rushing headlong into an IoT transformation. Therefore, answering some simple but tricky questions below can help you pave a secure way via the process of setting your first IoT project:

Copy Infographic
×

1) Do you have an IoT Team and does your project actually matter?

This should be your very first question that whether you have a team of individuals that can focus on IoT development? The team should be interdisciplinary (that is, networks, applications, system infrastructure, database/ storage, and operations) for IoT to work, it must be capable enough to cross the boundaries and engage the resources of all of these domains.

Let’s suppose your project is the first of its type. As such, it’s likely to form the head for subsequent projects. So, it makes sense for it to handle an actual business requirement and to have a straightforward business case. Simply then it will have the visibility and importance to ensure commitment across the organization and earn crucial support from your Operations, Info Security, and IT associates.

2) What is your inspiration after the adoption of IoT in your business?

With IoT, the answer for most of the business is common like improved ROI, faster implementation, and work, improvement in how you plan work, and make informed decisions. Businesses will be capable to access tremendous data developed by the integrity of greater connectivity. But you need to back up your plan with in-depth research without which there is a risk of failure.

Without a definite plan of how it will help your business and the customers, it may pose risks to the project’s viability. So, you should focus on your goals, which in this case should be to achieve suitable information at the right time and place to improve business insights and make a better-informed decision and, as a result, gain more value for the end consumers.

Also, read: 7 Construction industry software solutions that have increased revenue for our clients

3) What do you wish that the Internet of Things should do for your enterprise?

Internet of Things is growing at a very fast pace, not only in terms of software and hardware but also infrastructure, communication, and connectivity. Hence, a wonderful deal of creative IoT projects that just recently have been impossible to deploy now may be entirely feasible and possible, with minor effort and finances spent.

People using the Internet of Things increasingly select interfaces that are more realistic and less visible than screens. They don’t like to type instructions on a tablet, mess with settings, or interact with a device, on a cell phone to obtain what they want.

Rather, they love these technologies as “living services” that predict their desires and work on them. As the popularity of smart tech is growing, the number of available deployment options increases likewise.

4) Do you have a strategic project roadmap for IoT? 

IoT is not a destination, it is rather a direction. A well-thought-out, complete and future-proof business approach is the foundation for any profitable and successful IoT project. Therefore, your strategic program should offer a roadmap of IoT development and growth, not simply a single IoT project.

By describing a precise and far-reaching roadmap for your IoT project, you won’t allow your decisions to be driven by short-sighted visions for a quick payoff. Future proof planning will make it more manageable to accommodate any long-term costs.

So, a well-planned strategy and roadmap will provide you with the essential insights into the forthcoming capabilities of your deployment in terms of robustness, scalability, and overall functionality.

Also, read: React vs Angular – Choose the right Frontend Framework

5) Do you have the right project leads, personnel, and expertise?

Cooperative end-user IT projects need IoT project leads in IT with powerful communication, collaboration, and people skills. Your lead technologist may comprehend the nuts and bolts of IoT, though if they can’t excel in people skilfulness, they shouldn’t be a project lead.

Because the Internet of Things is not simply regarding technology, but also regarding the people that visualize and execute it. If this is not the case, you may consider introducing project-related training or outsourcing a team of proficient to steer you safely throughout the process.

6) Do you have the IoT skillsets in your organization?

IoT professionals are in high demand all over the world. If you don’t own IoT expertise, or the capability to develop it in your team, hiring will be challenging, and you may have to depend on vendors or contractors. As a result, you could encounter pushback from your staff because they will sense that you are not investing in them.

CIOs first need to figure out how to get the short-term skillsets that they need for IoT before they seek IoT, and secondly, a team with upper-level management and HR on a longer-term employee skills development program.

Also, read: Top Salesforce Products that can transform your business

7) How do you imagine your technology stack?

The foremost essential fact is the choice between establishing ready-made plug-and-play solutions of third-party service providers or developing a proprietary IoT ecosystem.

In a streamlined and workable solution, every layer of the IoT technology stack such as device software and hardware, protocols and communications, cloud platforms, and applications, needs to be integrated with the others to assure seamless interoperability, at the same time permitting for comprehensive flexibility and on-demand scalability.

There are many larger and more complicated tasks that need many different software and hardware tools working concurrently to accomplish the desired result.

8) How well-positioned is your IT infrastructure for IoT?

The advantages of networked objects differ by industry, and so it is crucial to understand how potential developments in the IoT connect to your marketplace.

IoT, with its quick transport needs and its massive information payloads, will need modifications in IT infrastructure and security – from databases and networks to processing and storage.

These infrastructure modifications must be described and budgeted for- Do you own central data networks and repositories that will eventually gather and process IoT data, or are you preparing to adopt an edge computing strategy where different facilities in your business monitor and compile their data? How are governance and security administered?

These are major IT infrastructure decisions not just for the CIO, but for the business as a whole.

Also, read: A self-learning chatbot is easier than you think: steps to create your own

9) Do you have strong IoT vendor partnerships?

Business relationships with vendors and associates provide you with a support network to promote your business. Partnerships with your different business contacts promote positive and mutually advantageous interactions.

Vendors and associates are more likely to reach for your help if you have a strong connection. The way you treat both co-workers and vendors play a big role in the relationship dynamics.

Some organizations ‘work independently‘ with their IoT tasks. While most of them team up with best-in-class vendors for their applications or industries, whether the project involves manufacturing monitoring and the supply chain or utilizing IoT to observe building security. It should be the priority to carefully determine who to partner with.

10) Have you thought through IoT security?

Many security risks are involved with IoT, as IoT devices are connected to the laptop or desktop. This lack of security increases the chance of your information getting leaked while the data is gathered and transmitted to the IoT device. There is no agreement on how to enforce security in IoT on a device.

Therefore, if your IoT utilizes commodity devices such as sensors, which most will, safety warranties from vendors and your security methods will be extremely important. Numerous vendors create embedded software that implants ‘intelligent‘ behaviour into their devices. Your security team should have an action plan if any dangerous breach emerges via one of these devices. 

11) Do you have a program for specifying and measuring the ROI of your IoT projects?

Investing in IoT is something that will continue influencing the investment industry for decades to come. It’s only the beginning of a prolonged journey as more future users are predicted to join this IoT trend.

It is very important that metrics for financial investment recoupment, and other advantages offered to the business be recognized upfront with IoT projects.

If you notice that a project can’t provide on these commitments, you should prepare to plan something else. Discovering the right people to implement will help you find the key to a successful IoT adoption.

Wrapping Up

The Internet of Things technology is one of the digital transformation trends that make connected cities more unassailable; asset tracking more cost-effective; more personalized healthcare; and more efficient energy consumption. Businesses that can harness the data created by the Internet of Things will surely survive and succeed in the future. They will discover a powerful competitive advantage.

Defined above were the top 11 questions that are not the only ones you will require to request vendors when choosing an IoT platform. But these questions will make your short-listing process quick and efficient, making you pick the best. Dive in more deeply into the IoT platform power and capabilities to see which one is suitable for your organization.

Also, read: 7 Reasons to treat web application architecture seriously

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1) What are the primary parts of IoT systems?

IoT system consists of three primary parts:
i) Sensors
ii) Network connectivity
iii) Data storage applications.

2) What are security concerns associated with IoT?

Privacy and Data security are primary concerns connected with IoT. These devices are vulnerable to hacking and cloud endpoints could be utilized by hackers to attack servers. Device designers and software developers have to assure sufficient privacy and security measures.

3) What is the protocol named Bluegiga APX4 for the Internet of Things?

Bluegiga and wireless concurrently may be utilized without interference as they are compliable to concurrency protocols. The bluegiga apx4 supports both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth and is established on a 450mhz arm9 processor.

4) Is it possible to use IoT without Internet?

Though IoT has got its name from the Internet but precisely speaking – it does not require the Internet. The IoT is helpful even without the Internet. Rather, you can think of IoT as something that makes usage of the identical technology as the Internet. 

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