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Organizations now want to offer the best customer experience for their IoT systems when it
comes to the app development sector. IoT teams are developing many applications to support
their services, and development teams are able to gain better granular control over their
preferred applications while building IoT app development. While building an IoT app, you can
either develop it internally or hire a third-party expert. Having control over each and every
aspect of the process will lead to a better quality of the app, however app development is a
constantly growing area where organizations may find it very challenging to be in pace with this
change. Many organizations tend to develop their IoT applications internally; however, there
are many challenges for them to overcome while thinking of it.
What are the major components of IoT?
Sensors are the key components of any IoT application, which capture data as electrical or
analogue signals and send these through the system. Based on the purpose of the application, the
sensors may gather data about environmental factors like temperature, humidity, moisture
level, etc., and send all this information for further analysis and action.
Network layer or connectivity
– data from the IoT systems are assigned to the cloud or another
dedicated interface for analysis and processing. The connectivity of the network layer
transports this information to the destination through routers or ethernet cables. Some of the
latest IoT applications also rely on Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or cellular networks for connectivity.
Software –
This part processes the data that comes through the network from the sensors
while it reaches the cloud storage. It can also verify and factor in other related data, ensure that
the sensors’ data are within specific parameters, and categorize it into preset specifications.
User interface –
The users who access IoT applications tend to interact with this system
through the UI to receive and feed personal data. Users may set the applications for certain
levels based on the IoT sensors to give alerts and notifications while the temperature rises or if
there is a power supply failure. This application should also have the features to do analytics,
which can interpret the data gathered and make it easily understandable for the users. The
output of this data processing can also be set to instantly act based on the insights. As per a
survey conducted by Gartner, about 63 % of the consumers now expect personalization as a
basic service of IoT.
The proper database is also an essential element in order to ensure optimum performance of
IoT applications, for which you can explore RemoteDBA.com services
Challenges in IoT app development
All development projects come with some challenges and technology-based considerations to
make. When it comes to IoT app development, many such challenges basically come from the
differences between traditional technologies and new-age technologies like IoT and AI. You can
see the challenge everywhere, from personal computers versus smartphones to web and
mobile apps and so on. IoT devices feature less computing power and storage than other
technologies as a major challenge. App developers may also consider this limitation when they
plan to build IoT apps, which may influence the interactions between different applications and
devices. For example, latency in connectivity may increase because data is transferred from
time to time from remote devices to the central IoT applications.
Often, developers tend to consider IoT security as the last requirement when they think of
application development, which will further increase the problem after the application is used.
Such instances may also put the users at risk of information security. User authentication and
data encryption, along with testing, will help ensure that the apps are highly secured. Along
with app security, developers should also consider data security as an important aspect of IoT
apps For example, the developers need to know when the applications collect the data and all
this information.
If the content of the app requires the submission of critical or confidential business data, then it
is important to keep it safe from any unauthorized access. The developers should also ensure
that the app is user-friendly. For example, the user-facing areas of the applications must be
easy to understand based on what information it collects through the sensors like temperature
monitor at a machine or an industrial freezer, etc.
Another important consideration is the compatibility of the app with different other
equipment. Suppose an organization needs to build an app like a smart home hub for its
consumers. In that case, developers must consider how it functions well with the Android and
iOS ecosystem to ensure the app can work seamlessly.
More things to consider
While developing an IoT application, you need to follow the below steps to make it is optimally
functional.
1. The first step is the planning phase, where you have to draw out the project objectives
and goals.
2. Selecting the app development platform – there are various platforms to choose
including low-code and no-code development platforms. Most of the developers tend to
choose the platform for development based on the requirements at hand.
3. Choosing the right hardware components – IoT application developers may not deal
with the hardware, but they must consider the hardware to ensure that their apps
function well in line with the requirements of these hardware components.
4. Connectivity and reliability are a couple of major concerns while developing IoT apps to
ensure that it works as described.
5. Developers must also consider the performance and speed of the app they build during
the design phase of IoT applications. The apps should be able to collect and process the
data in real-time, and a delay of even a few seconds may end up in a big loss.
Making apps that meet all these requirements is very important when it comes to IoT
application development. The developers also should test the prototype in various real-time
use cases and tweak the design based on the test outputs. By following these steps genuinely,
you will be able to come up with the best IoT apps with optimum functionality.