July 24, 2023

What is IoT Device Management and Key Features

IoT device management encompasses a range of procedures, resources, and technologies designed to facilitate the provisioning, monitoring, and upkeep of the expanding array of interconnected devices within your home or enterprise network, often called the Internet of Things (IoT) endpoints or edge devices. This blog post delves deeper into the intricacies of IoT device management, outlines essential features to consider, and highlights leading software solutions available in this field.

What Is IoT Device Management?

Device management IoT is internet-connected devices, sensors, or machines that transmit data and perform specific tasks. For businesses utilizing or planning to develop an IoT solution, these tasks include:

1. Device setup: This involves expertise in areas like cloud scripting and firmware, which may require a specialized team rather than a single employee.
2. Administration and monitoring of device fleets: Once deployed, connected devices need ongoing monitoring and maintenance to ensure proper operation.
3. Managing the device lifecycle: This involves enhancing functionality, adding features, and improving uptime throughout the lifespan of the device.

IoT device management platforms, also known as connected device platforms, empower businesses to remotely manage their fleets of IoT devices. These platforms facilitate various management tasks such as device provisioning, authentication, remote configuration, data collection and reporting, real-time monitoring, and over-the-air (OTA) software deployments for updates, patches, device onboarding/offboarding, and more.

The key strengths of IoT device management platforms lie in their automation capabilities and robust security features. These platforms aim to automate numerous management functions, allowing for seamless scalability across hundreds or thousands of IoT devices. By reducing the need for manual intervention, they minimize resource requirements for managing the entire device network. Moreover, these platforms offer dedicated IoT-specific security measures, ensuring the protection of individual devices and preventing the propagation of breaches throughout the IoT ecosystem.

Why is IoT Device Management Critical?

Managing IoT devices is essential for companies utilizing IoT solutions due to the potential costs associated with device failure.

Remote device monitoring is a prime example of the importance of IoT. It enables companies to remotely control devices in the field, ensuring connectivity, data transmission, and system functionality. Without remote accessibility, continuous physical monitoring would be necessary.

Device management also involves troubleshooting and resolving issues remotely. Dispatching technicians to recover devices is expensive and often impractical. By monitoring and remotely fixing devices, significant time and cost savings can be achieved.

An example is Watsco, an HVAC distributor, which employs connected sensors and monitors to continuously monitor customer assets in the field. This method prevents issues from escalating. Additionally, by offering remote monitoring as a service contract, Watsco generates recurring revenue through IoT.

Uptime guarantee is crucial for businesses like Watsco. Device failures in the field would result in financial losses and reputational damage.

Configuring remote devices allows companies to scale solutions, iterate them efficiently, and expand coverage across larger areas.

Effective IoT device management is the ability to establish streamlined, scalable processes and solutions, ultimately reducing the expenses associated with repairs.

When Does Device Management Become Critical for an IoT Deployment?

Device management should be considered before initiating the development of IoT devices. Here's why:

The transition from prototyping to production can be challenging if device management aspects are not addressed early on, especially when dealing with a larger fleet of devices.

Two key factors make device management critical: volume and proximity. The point at which the number of connected devices surpasses the company's capacity to develop and maintain them with available technicians marks the moment when managing IoT devices becomes more complex.

At this stage, rectifying poor initial designs becomes challenging when dealing with devices at scale. Fragmented solutions can hinder fleet upgrades. Moreover, global supply shortages, such as semiconductor scarcity, highlight the difficulty of obtaining the required hardware for building new devices or updating outdated ones.

Another critical juncture arises when proximity becomes a factor. As companies expand and distribute devices across regions or even countries, sending technicians for deploying patches or fixes becomes costlier, impractical, or infeasible.

The reality is that device management should be prioritized right from the beginning. However, it is when a company's IoT product production reaches a critical mass, triggering volume or proximity challenges, that the benefits of effective device management become apparent.

Common Challenges in IoT Device Management for Deployments

Device management in IoT deployments has challenges that revolve around access to vendors, talent development, and cost. Here are some specific areas of concern:

• Hardware availability: Sourcing hardware components becomes increasingly difficult as the fleet of devices grows. Obtaining large quantities of specific hardware components can pose a significant challenge, hindering the scalability of IoT products.
• Talent and knowledge development: IoT's complexity spans multiple technical disciplines, including hardware design, firmware design, connectivity management, IoT security, and cloud infrastructure. Finding and assembling the right team with expertise in these diverse areas, particularly within budget constraints, can be a significant task. Weak design in any of these aspects can lead to complications when retrofitting devices later.
• Cost: The total cost of ownership for IoT projects often presents a financial barrier for many companies. Creating resilient devices requires iterative development, which extends the project timeline. Building internal capabilities also requires investment in technical expertise.
• Access to vendors: Small deployments may face challenges in negotiating favorable terms and meeting minimum order quantity requirements with carriers and vendors. Even at scale, companies may struggle to receive efficient support from their vendor's team for issue resolution.

Overcoming these challenges requires strategic planning, effective partnerships, investment in talent development, and a comprehensive understanding of the IoT ecosystem.

How to Reduce Costs Through Delivery by Stfalcon

IT delivery refers to the process of delivering information technology (IT) solutions or services to end-users or clients. It involves the planning, development, deployment, and ongoing support of IT systems, applications, or products. IT delivery encompasses various activities, including project management, software development, quality assurance, infrastructure deployment, and user training. At Stfalcon we can reduce the cost starting with the initial stage.

With device management IoT at hand, you can monitor your connected devices' conditions in real-time while keeping tabs on their productivity. Early detection is key - by noticing problems such as bugs or security threats at the outset, you can save money from fixing them later and avoid downtime. Overall operational cost reduction is an added advantage of IoT device management which improves efficiency by boosting up a great deal of speed in background work.

To reduce costs with IoT device management through delivery by Stfalcon, you can consider the following strategies:

• Efficient Project Planning: Collaborate closely with Stfalcon during the project planning phase to ensure clear communication of requirements, objectives, and budget constraints. A well-defined project scope helps in avoiding unnecessary expenses and ensures that the IoT device management solution aligns with your cost-saving goals.
• Use of Open-Source and Existing Solutions: Leverage open-source IoT platforms, frameworks, and existing solutions whenever possible. We can assist in identifying and integrating cost-effective open-source components that meet your requirements, reducing development and licensing costs.
• Scalability and Flexibility: Ensure that the IoT device management solution is designed with scalability and flexibility in mind. Stfalcon can help build a solution that accommodates future growth, allowing you to add or remove devices easily without incurring significant costs.
• Remote Monitoring and Maintenance: Implement remote monitoring and maintenance capabilities to minimize the need for on-site visits. We can help in developing a system that allows you to monitor and manage devices remotely, reducing travel expenses and minimizing operational costs.
• Cloud-Based Infrastructure: Utilize cloud-based infrastructure for hosting the IoT device management solution. Stfalcon can leverage cloud platforms like AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud, which offer cost-effective and scalable infrastructure options. This eliminates the need for maintaining expensive on-premises hardware and allows for efficient resource allocation.
• Energy Efficiency: Stfalcon can assist in optimizing the energy consumption of IoT devices through efficient programming and device management techniques. By reducing energy consumption, you can lower operational costs associated with device power usage and battery replacements.
• Data Optimization: Optimizing data collection and storage processes, ensuring that only relevant and necessary data is captured. This helps reduce storage costs and improves data processing efficiency.
• Predictive Maintenance: Implement predictive maintenance techniques to identify potential device failures before they occur. Stfalcon can develop algorithms and analytics capabilities that analyze device data and predict maintenance requirements, preventing costly breakdowns and minimizing maintenance expenses.
• Security and Privacy Considerations: It is crucial to implement robust security measures to protect your IoT devices and data. By proactively addressing security and privacy concerns, you can avoid costly data breaches, legal issues, and reputational damage.

It's essential to work closely with Stfalcon to understand your specific requirements and collaborate on cost-saving measures throughout the IoT device management project. By aligning your goals and leveraging their expertise, you can optimize costs while achieving an effective and efficient IoT solution.

Our Experience

An app for working with a smart lock

Device for remote control of street warning sirens

Bottom Line

When considering the fact that a significant portion of companies (75%) experience delays when attempting IoT device management independently, it becomes evident that achieving success in this field is challenging.

Effectively managing IoT devices requires proactive planning to anticipate and address the challenges we have discussed. This entails identifying your specific requirements and determining the necessary resources and timelines.

In this regard, one crucial requirement is partnering with the right IoT provider. Collaborating with a reliable and experienced IoT partner is essential to ensure a smoother and more successful implementation of IoT device management. If you are interested in partnering, just contact us, a free consultation is available.