Find an IoT partner instead of a vendor
Searching for an IoT app developer to help with your connected product? There are a couple of questions to ask yourself that will tip the search in your favor.
If you want to launch a successful product and save yourself a lot of headache, the trick is to pick a development partner that acts more like an extension of your team and less like a vendor.
Here’s a quick litmus test:
Do they offer proactive strategy and recommendations? A good app development partner will be invested enough in your product to have opinions and offer feedback that will help you 1) create a better user experience and 2) avoid expensive pitfalls down the road.
Do they respond to your questions with transparency? Are they honest with you and thorough in their responses? Clear communication makes all the difference in connected product development—because you’ll likely have multiple teams working on a product simultaneously (e.g. hardware, software, bluetooth, cloud infrastructure)
Do they acknowledge unknowns and ask the tough questions? A good IoT development partner should be asking you specific, informed questions and having concerns upfront, so you don’t have to have those concerns later.
Working Partnership > Vendor Relationship
When you hire an outside vendor, you get a relationship based on strict management from your team. You will likely only get the work you ask for—and this often creates stress on both parties. With a vendor-style development partner, you will manage the requirements and deliverables.
Companies relegated to vendor status often feel like their opinion matters little. Plus, they are less likely to put in the extra mile on your behalf. They will stay squarely inside the bounds of the engagement. It will be up to your team to manage the process. Essentially, you will buy production resources instead of forward-thinking team members.
On the other hand, if you are able find a company willing to serve as a strategic partner, you immediately gain some clear benefits.
Team strength: Any gaps in your team, can be filled by a good strategic partner. You become stronger together.
Proactive strategy: Technology is such a complicated target that it becomes very difficult to anticipate challenges and accommodate for them in the future. When you find a team that can move out of a vendor position, they will look ahead for you—often without you asking. They have seen many of the pitfalls common in IoT and can help you avoid them.
Transparency: A partner who is invested in your product will put your interests first. They will have the courage to be honest with you, even when they know it’s not what you want to hear.
Collaboration: IoT has so many aspects to it, collaboration is the quickest path to project success. Without this, your team will be managing multiple companies who don’t always speak the technical language of the other, which can quickly result in a vendor finger pointing match when something goes wrong. A partner who is proactively interested in understanding the long-term roadmap for your product—and how all of the different vendors will be working together—is a huge asset.
Before you dive into a the selection process for your IoT app development partner, consider the intangibles:
Where can you build trust?
How can this organization help you scale for the future?
How might this organization add strength to your team?
IoT software involves dozens of different variables to plan for, including both technical and creative components. The quality of your connected product and associated user experience depend heavily on the company you choose to partner with. Finding a strategic partner will pay long-term dividends to your roadmap and ensure you are creating valuable connections with your audiences.