The ever-growing internet of things (IoT) is disrupting and transforming many industries, with companies investing heavily in machine-to-machine (M2M) technology, LPWAN (low-power wide area network) infrastructure and mobile applications. In fact, projections from a 2017 IoT report from Business Insider have companies investing nearly $5 trillion into the IoT from the start of 2017 through the end of 2021. The same report also predicts that 2021 will see 22.5 billion IoT devices in use—a tremendous jump from the 6.6 billion devices online in 2016. Others are predicting IoT technology will account for $19 trillion in economic activity in the coming decade.
Developers are seeing a rapid rise in the number of mobile apps for IoT management, as companies seek greater control and improved flexibility when it comes to monitoring and managing their machines, equipment, devices, vehicles or parcels. What’s more, 5G networks are already undergoing wide-scale beta testing, so companies can expect a formal 5G rollout in the coming months. This will significantly impact the tech landscape as a whole, improving speed and increasing network capability. To give an idea of how dramatic this change will be, consider this: a modern 4G network base station can support approximately 1,000 concurrent connections, whereas a 5G base station can accommodate 1,000,000 connections. That’s a major bandwidth increase and as a result, the IoT will grow in remarkable ways.
These advances have many company leaders asking an important question: how can you leverage mobile technology and the IoT to take your business to the next level? Many businesses are falling short of their true potential because they aren’t aware of the high-tech possibilities that exist. By taking advantage of mobile apps for IoT management and monitoring, you can improve efficiency, reduce costs and gain new capabilities.
Using Mobile Apps for IoT Management
The IoT is constantly evolving, with companies continually developing new uses for mobile and M2M technology. In fact, there are many ways to use mobile apps in conjunction with your IoT:
- Remote Monitoring – The IoT is clever; it gives you the ability to monitor in real-time, so equipment and machines can “tell you” when human intervention is required. You can configure your app so it issues notifications and alerts if a specific threshold is reached or if a certain event occurs. This allows you to remotely oversee operations and, in some circumstances, even perform issue over-the-air (OTA) repairs.
- Preventative Maintenance – Companies can configure their machines and equipment to beam out performance/operating data. An experienced mobile app developer may create an application to monitor that data, looking for key indicators signaling a need for maintenance, servicing or parts replacement.
- Fleet Monitoring and Maintenance – The IoT generates real-time data on precisely where your vehicles are located at a given moment, which is great for route planning. It’s also possible to build an application that monitors data beamed out by the vehicles to determine if and when maintenance or repairs will be needed. This could prevent some costly vehicle breakdowns. So in addition to making preventative maintenance a viable option, mobile apps will improve fleet management capabilities and ultimately, increase your company’s efficiency and productivity.
- RFID Tags and Tracking – Logistics can be challenging. This is an area where the IoT is useful, whether you’re tracking parcels or re-routing a piece of company-owned equipment. A well-crafted mobile app allows you to track and pinpoint the location of an item, and you could also configure the interface to include other capabilities. For instance, many companies use parcel ”picker” machines that collect merchandise and bring it to a packaging area. As a result, you may need a feature that lets you locate an autonomous vehicle in your warehouse and then send it to a different location for a new task.
Choosing the Right Mobile App Development Company
When choosing a developer to create a mobile app for IoT management and monitoring, be sure you select a company with extensive experience building secure, scalable applications. At 7T, one area of specialty is mobile app security, as we include military-grade security features in each and every app that we build. Measures such as 4096-bit SSL encryption and geofencing capabilities are vital since security is a chief concern when building and managing a company’s IoT.
It’s also important that your IoT mobile app developer can craft a customized solution and is willing to work in conjunction with other tech service providers. This includes companies that provide an IoT hardware infrastructure and establish the services required to maintain a robust IoT.
7T is an app development company headquartered in Dallas, with regional offices in Houston and Austin. We work with clients on a local and national scale, designing apps for manufacturers, insurance companies, social media platforms, the healthcare industry and the financial sector (amongst many others). Contact us today if you’re ready to maximize the usefulness of your internet of things by pursuing IoT mobile app development.