Why is it High Time to Invest in IoT App Development?

The number of devices connected to the Internet of Things (IoT) worldwide is expected to grow from about 9 billion in 2020 to over 25 billion in 2030. Along with that, revenues generated by the IoT are also expected to double. Internet of Things applications continue to cover more and more life-important, rich industries including education, healthcare, agriculture, manufacturing, and everyday life.
Why Internet of Things?
It helps make your home smart, your manufacturing automated, and the plants you’re cultivating on your farm monitored. With the advent of 5G, the interconnected network opportunities should advance dramatically. IoT application development services become more relevant by the day.
  • As many as 2,550 Europeans invested over $5 billion in IoT applications as of May 2020.
  • In 2019, the global funding of smart city initiatives reached $104 billion.
  • By the end of 2023, common consumers will have spent about $150 billion on smart home solutions.
  • The global IoT market share should reach $1.1 trillion in 2023 while 5G should power around 1.3 billion mobile devices connected to the IoT.
  • Experts at the McKinsey Global Institute claim that the market should grow to as much as $11 trillion in total share.

All in all, there is a positive outlook of IoT investments in the market. 63% of companies believe their IoT investments will pay off completely in 3 years after the IoT project implementation. It’s definitely high time to start thinking about creating an Internet of Things application and turning to IoT application development services.
Why investment in IoT development is worthwhile?
Potential Use Cases and IoT Application Areas
In 2020, 1,414 IoT startups run worldwide. And that’s only publicly disclosed ones.
The densest employment of the IoT by areas:
  • 22% - manufacturing and industrial IoT applications;
  • 15% - application of IoT in logistics and transportation;
  • 14% - energy IoT applications.
When it comes to your particular business, the integration of IoT opportunities can help you reinvigorate the underlying processes with real-time tracking, centralized network, and cloud capacities. However, a mobile app is most demanded and relevant among commercial consumers while enterprises and agriculture organizations, for instance, may not require mobile interfaces. In those cases, web apps and cloud-based IoT solutions fit their goals best.

IoT mobile apps are more geared towards customers who prefer using their smartphones to manage smart home features, monitor health, manage security, and even care for children and pets.
TOP-10 IoT application areas
5 Reasons to Develop IoT Applications
With the interconnected, centralized IoT approach, 54% of 1,600 enterprise-owned IoT projects saved business costs, 35% boosted revenue, and 24% reinforced business security. Ultimately, you may want to start considering IoT application development services because IoT is:

Cost-efficient

The all-in-one philosophy of the IoT helps interlink many moving parts and streamline business performance with automation. This results in a significant reduction in staff-related expenses. Reportedly, businesses can save up to $1.2 trillion on employee recruitment and management.


Income-boosting

Reducing costs, centralizing, and smoothing out in-house workflows allows for a gradual increase in revenue. Streamlining business operations allow you to accelerate the delivery of services, become more available as a provider, and eliminate many hindering infrastructure pitfalls. A well-implemented IoT system also enables one to easily deploy further IoT services and solutions.

Startup-focused

With the IoT, startups get an excellent opportunity to hit the market fast and make connections with reputable, innovation-minded organizations. A truly outstanding IoT startup is usually eagerly funded while leading IoT providers are happy to partner up with other talented organizations in their line of work.


Advantageous for employees

IoT integrations also help make the life of your employees easier. Staff workers get real-time access to all needed data, manage important tasks remotely, and respond to work inquiries asap.

“All-seeing”

Thorough monitoring and tracking will help you keep a firm hand on the progress of your business or project. The location and status of employees and customers, the state of your hardware and products, the situation of your physical outlet - all of this can be easily monitored throughout to avoid miscommunications, downtime, and many other business-critical risks. The importance of IoT in biometric applications deserves special attention, as it also avoids lots of costly risks related to unauthorized access.
How do I Start Developing My IoT Application?
And now for the most important part - what is IoT system development and application all about? What specifics should I know?  The Internet of Things system consists of three major “pillars”:
  • The IoT infrastructure that collects and processes centralized network data;
  • Devices connected to the centralized network for monitoring, interaction, and data exchanging;
  • An application or multiple applications for interacting with devices and managing the whole system.

One major nuance concerns horizontal and vertical applications in IoT - horizontal systems are focused on a particular set of tasks and goals while vertical solutions are “toolsets” for a wide range of tasks with no specific focus.

What your final solution will feature, how it will look and work depends on your particular needs and goals. However, there is a standard set of basic elements that lie at the core of any IoT app out there.

All in all, there are four basic elements to any Internet of Things system.

1

Hardware


For powering up the underlying IoT processes, you will need servers, sensors (for interconnection), control and routing/bridge devices, and remote dashboard hardware. Sensors are  major elements that also require energy and power management modules, RF modules (for processing WiFi, Bluetooth, ZigBee, and other types of communication), and sensing modules. 

2

Software


The IoT software is a cloud-based solution for managing hardware IoT powers. This can be a mobile app (the most versatile, highly-available option for employees and customers alike), a web app (better for in-house use), or a custom dashboard (for in-house use only).

3

Cloud


The capabilities provided by cloud technologies allow for rapid, secure, centralized data storing and processing. No physical resources are required, you pay only for the cloud space you use, and the risks of data leakage are decreased dramatically.

4
Connectivity

The centralized IoT network interconnects tracked sensors and tracking devices, making your IoT infrastructure robust. For this, different protocols can be used:

  • Bluetooth - a short-range yet very versatile, optimized, and popular wireless technology supported by all existing mobile and wearable devices.
  • WiFi - the top used technology in terms of IoT due to long connection range, high data transfer speed, and simple integration.
  • ZigBee - a 2.4 GHz connection technology focused on industrial use where the smallest amounts of data are usually transferred.
  • RFID - radio frequency identification based on electromagnetic fields used for identifying close-range tags and tagged devices (super high frequency identification goes 10 cm to 200 mm in range).
  • LoRaWAN - the Long-Ranged Wide Location Network used for heavy networks that cover extensive areas and interconnect thousands of low-power devices (commonly used for Smart City solutions).
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Developing Your IoT App in a Nutshell
The process of creating a new IoT application consists of the following stages:

  • CONCEPT. Come up with a clear, defined idea and goals.
  • RESEARCH. See how similar solutions work and gather valuable insights.
  • TA ANALYSIS. Compose a portrait of your target audience of users.
  • HARDWARE. Decide on  the required hardware and platforms to use.
  • DEVELOPMENT. Hire an in-house or outsourced team of developers.
  • SECURITY. Make sure user data can be reliably protected with a privacy policy and access control.
  • TESTING. Conduct thorough testing to polish up the solution before launching the app.
  • REVIEWING. Analyze what users/customers/employees say about your solution and perfect it.
The process of creating a new IoT application: basic steps for developing the IoT app
Whatever the scope of your project or ambitions you have in mind, take your Internet of Things project step by step, take note of insights you find along the way, and don’t neglect professional assistance. Creating an MVP (minimum viable product) that outlines the basic capabilities of your future solution and helps you evaluate its development is always a great idea.

You may not want to bother with all the IoT expertise, nuances, and brain-busters. This is what esteemed Internet of Things specialists are here for. We can help you build, launch, and optimize an IoT app or system of any scope and complexity. Got a project or basic concept in mind? Check out our IoT application development services and let’s bring it to life together.
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