The Propinquity of IoT and Outsourcing

The predilection towards making things ‘effortless yet efficient’ is the source of all human innovation.

The spry soar of IoT

IoT or internet of things is a splendid brainchild of the smartest and the most creative people of our time. Just imagine how simplistic and untroublesome everything would become with such an artistic and ingenious notion.

With IoT, the conception is to associate anything and everything with the internet. This ‘anything and everything’ can be a human who has a heart monitor or your car with a sensor or a smartphone with customer data; typically anything with an IP address and the competency to gather or transfer data. And for what? To make our life easier.

IoT projects have been propitiously infused by 21% of the organizations in their business and more than 30% are planning to do so next year. Another report suggests that by 2030, the IoT sector will amount to $14.2 trillion in the global economy, authenticating its credibility in the personal and professional paradigm. Intel, the place that breeds and bolsters innovation, has anticipated that by 2020, around 200 billion devices will be connected to each other.  

Is it achievable? Consider the forecast goal:

The pace at which the digital transformation is overshadowing every sector, I think that IoT will, without a doubt, accomplish what is anticipated by industry experts.

However, if we leave Fortune 500 companies and a few others aside, not every organization has the needed resources or team that could handle, comprehend or maintain IoT. Enterprises and SMBs both are facing an enormous skill gap in IoT based projects.

Would you believe it, the greatest bottleneck in IoT deployment is lack of talent? (That’s a bummer)

Are you too one of those business owners whose hands are tied because of the absence of skilled experts?

However, not all business owners are ducking down – instead, some are opting to outsource IoT owing to the immense scope it possesses.

Ironically, the tech we imagine, ideate, and develop to make human intervention less still requires human professionals to take it forward. This answers the raging question of whether humans will be replaced by technology anytime soon or not.

In fact, if we go through a study by McKinsey & Company, approximately 49% of the business functions that involve human intervention and handling will face friction in automation.

This is why many organizations are now stretching their hands to business process outsourcing companies located across the globe.

So, outsourcing IoT huh….what’s up?

Similar to the other sectors, the outsourcing industry also experiences a dynamic jolt by the wave of digital transformation and several tech innovations that are hitting the market every now and then.

You tell me, what is the most elementary reason you or any business owner will opt for BPO services? –To curtail the operational expense and elevate the holistic performance of the business.

But what’s more alluring than that? Don’t say anything! The benefit of getting direct access to a qualified team of skilled agents is nothing less than a treasure.

So, IoT, the God concept of building an ecosystem of linked physical objects that are accessible through the power of the internet, can actually be outsourced!

Above, I have evidentially concluded that a major lack of skilled professionals is one of the major reasons why organizations are looking to handover the IoT projects to BPO companies.

A study tells us that Indian tech experts are emphasizing to learn the skill of IoT most amongst other high-end techs like AI, RPA, Blockchain, and Data Science. This is so because India has a humungous outsourcing sector, which actively adapts to the latest technological advancements going on. Also, India is currently leading the list of nations outsourcing IoT.

Must Read: The Fourth Industrial Revolution is ON – Era of IoT!

Delegating IoT…does it help?

Is it productive to hand over your high-end tech requirement to an external entity?

Clearing the air, I am going to present you major benefits that your business will leverage when giving the responsibility of IoT projects to a business process outsourcing firm. Check them out:

• Saves your money: The average cost to hire a skilled and proficient development team (to create an IoT product) is $500K per annum even if you contact staffing agencies for the same. When you contact a BPO company, it will cost you way less than that with access to already qualified experts who possess vast domain prowess.

• Trimmed time to market: How many days or months or years do you think your IoT product will take to touch the market? Remember, the speed of your business is reflected by a repetitive comment from the customer. So, contact a specialized workforce with a multi-dimensional approach that will transform a mere idea into a workable and developable product concept in 1-4 weeks of time. In short, the time it takes for your product to reach the market will be reduced exceptionally.

• Superiorly infused innovation: When you develop an IoT product on your own, you might miss a lot of drawbacks due to lack of experienced experts’ feedback. Outsourcing offers you a trained and competent team, which delivers genuine assessment in hardware development. This bolsters the creativity and scope of your product in an affordable manner.

• Widens your business’s scope: Handing over the IoT development tasks will offer you full-time access to a dexterous team that will fine-tune your product on a regular basis, increasing your organization’s capacity.

So, all charged up to outsource your next IoT project to a competent BPO services provider? Wait – do you know what to outsource in IoT projects? Take a look:

How to outsource IoT?

You can delegate the entire IoT project to a business process outsourcing company or you can do it in bits & pieces too. The choice should be taken in strict accordance with what your business demands.

Here are some common IoT tasks that you can delegate:

1.    Research and development

Maybe you aren’t ready to hand over the most crucial department of your business, R&D, to an outsourcing company. But are you aware of the benefit that it yields?

In real-life scenarios, outsourcing R&D means you are ensuring that the developed product fits the market demographic perfectly. Yes, you can handle the R&D department on your own, but doing so can chain you with limited ideas and approvals. By contracting with an efficient team that already possesses extensive hands-on experience in IoT product development, you open yourself to a wider array of innovative ideas.

2.    Engineering expertise

While you are on the quest to develop an unparalleled IoT product to implement the inventive idea you had, you can face a hard time finding the professionals with relevant experience and skill sets.

Professionals who have amalgamated proficiencies like AI, UX/UI, mobile, hardware interfacing, and IT networking are not easy to find. Just contact a reputable BPO company, sit back, and let the magic happen.

3.    Cloud assistance

It makes absolutely no sense to manage the cloud on your own when experienced, adept, and more able vendors are already available in the market. You don’t want to bear the high-cost associated with the handling and maintenance of a cloud server on your own when you have enough on your plate.

4.    UX/UI tasks

As said in the beginning, IoT products are all about offering an excellent experience to the customers. Better is the user experience, higher goes the sales figure, bigger becomes the conversion rate, and more prosperous becomes your relationship with customers. Imagine if you end up developing a product that is arduous to use – will it sell? Of course not! So, it is always wise to delegate the UX/UI division of your IoT product.

5.    Security

One of the biggest drawbacks in IoT projects is the lower trust of business owners on products. Do you think you can have holistic control over your IoT offering? Due to the soaring security issues and hefty countercoup of a data breach, it is always smart to outsource comprehensively to a trusted vendor.

Ending Statement

It is critical to keep in mind that the crux of IoT is the ecosystem, as it isn’t rational to develop a product in a vacuum. Another factor to be considered –outsourced IoT means that a considerable change in the SLA (service level agreement) is on the cards. All in all, the alliance of IoT and outsourcing presents an excellent opportunity for you to not just sow innovation in your endeavors but also do so without spending a large sum.

What are your perceptions of IoT outsourcing now? Do you think it will work for you? Suggestions and disagreements are welcome. Reach us in the comment section below. Thanks!