Cutting Cost, Maximising results

In the IoT industry, as much as in any other, ideas are shot around, with often only one or two departments involved, sanctioned, and executed. Start-Ups, NGOs and pretty much everybody else has at least once made the mistake of not identifying a real business problem first, and this can cost them dear. 

To cut cost

and maximise results, here are some of the points I tend to follow, and I recommend checking out Alan Paithis on Pulse who also covers interesting aspects. #1 – Business problem first, not technology. Focus on defining the problem first and the technology solution will present itself. This is not a religious choice, it is about dispassionately solving a problem. #2 – Run IoT like any other innovation project. Eric Reis in his classic book Lean Startup talks about the different management needed for early stage projects. Intense, constant, market-based feedback is one of the best ways to get most projects across the finish line whether the customer is internal or external. #3 – Bring your mates One of the hardest things about deploying IoT solutions is that they require so many parties to work. A specific set of partners for one use case may be completely different from the set of partners that you need for the next. (remember about starting with the problem?) You need to understand the strengths and applications of multiple partners in each layer of a solution. #4 – Trust but Verify many product announcements recently have gotten way ahead of reality or defying the laws off physics as part of the intense hype around IoT. Trust but verify before betting your project on something. The space is too immature to simply trust the brochure.

I am covering the related topic of building vs. buying in another blog post. Snoop around and you might just find it.