How App Developers Can Stay Relevant with IoT

The internet of things (IoT) is no longer a novelty that’s championed by Apple Watches and Nest thermostats. In fact, the industry has grown significantly since the technology first emerged a few years ago.

IoT’s impact on app development is no secret, in fact, it can be felt across industries!

Furthermore, there is a lot of money pouring into it. This is evidenced in IDC’s IoT spending forecasts that highlight IoT spending for the last year by these top three industries:

• Manufacturing accounted for $178 billion
• Transportation accounted for $78 billion
• Utilities accounted for $69 billion

This means that there’s a lot of development taking place within this innovative field. It makes sense because IoT development is driven by various industries trying to access new revenue streams.

As a result, the demand for IoT developers and app development service providers is enormous, to say the least. An experienced app developer looking to stay relevant in the age of smart things will have to have the following characteristics:

• Thorough understanding of cloud failover strategies
• The ability to seamlessly incorporate multiple sensors and device interfaces with machine learning (ML)
• They will also be up to date with the latest smartphones standards

But what does this mean for app developers? How can they remain relevant with IoT? Let’s take a look.

• Build device, data, and platform interoperability into the architecture

App developers transitioning into IoT development must first understand that allied regulations and technologies are in a continuous state of evolution. As a result, they need to be highly adaptable to stay relevant in a highly competitive space.

For example, the retail industry has applied platform, protocols, and technology that’s changing almost daily to cater to the specific needs of their customers. This means things like radio-frequency identification (RFID) inventory and security tags that are sewn into the garments to record a variety of information like color, code, and size.

This initiative makes inventory management a breeze as each time a tag is scanned, it will transfer the data to an inventory management system. But when retailers incorporate the “buy online and pick it up at the store” model, the whole process will rely heavily on the device’s interoperability with the data platform to achieve it.

However, this can become highly complex pretty quickly if retailers source their garments from multiple factories that are using different RFID based technologies. Furthermore, when these chips require an upgrade, transactions will also become very difficult to deal with.

As a result, it will be critical for developers to know how to architect interoperability right from the start. This will empower them to seamlessly switch between platforms and adapt easily when a new technology emerges.

• Enable uncontrolled access to historic sensor data for effective analysis

Most industries demand seamless access to historical data to make better business decisions. Enabling rapid access to this data will ensure that employees react to situations quickly.

This can be witnessed within the healthcare sector where doctors measure skin and body temperatures using advanced sensors along with other elements like geolocation data. By enabling access to the data in real-time, healthcare professionals can quickly access a complete picture of the patient’s present condition.

These IoT sensors can also help clinicians make accurate predictions of when events such as a heart attack may occur. So it’s plain to see that this technology plays important role in improving the quality of the patient’s health and the level of care that’s provided to them.

As a result, developers need to remember the importance of seamless access to historical data based on real-time sensing technology. This will help medical professionals make better-informed decisions regarding treatment based on accurate data related to the health of a particular patient.

• Stay on top of IoT cloud innovations

It’s no secret that IoT has really taken off. This is evidenced by multiple technologies and platforms available in the market today. As a result, developers will have to keep updating their knowledge and gain experience in different platforms and technologies.

This happened in mobile application development where iOS apps were first developed in Objective-C but then Apple made the switch to Swift. However, when it comes to Android, Java is still the preferred language, but that can change any day now.

• Be prepared to respond to security breaches

In the age of ransomware attacks, developers need to be prepared to adequately respond to attacks. They can do this by developing a backup plan and by staying on top of vulnerabilities in the system.

At the same time, they will need to have an in-depth knowledge about IoT cloud platform pricing models where the data will be stored securely.

The IoT space will continue to evolve rapidly to meet the growing requirements of apps across industries. As a result, app developers and mobile development providers need to always prioritize interoperability over everything else to remain relevant in the years to come.

Are you looking to engage an app development provider like Intersog for IoT development? Click here to schedule a free consultation with one our IoT experts.