There is no overstatement in the saying that that Internet of Things (IoT) is reshaping business processes and workplaces in a never-before way. Connected devices are increasingly pushing the boundary of innovation for the enterprises and industries of all niches. Thanks to these connected devices and a huge upsurge of IOT mobile app development, consumers are being benefited most through frictionless user experience.
No wonder in the fact that the IoT software development is exploding with all possibilities and promises. Just like ever before, the market is brimming with a whole array of scalable, feature-rich, secure and user-optimized connected solutions that are transforming the way we interact with devices and use software solutions at the workplace.
In spite of such huge promise and possibilities, IOT software and app development faces some hefty and crucial challenges that developers of the present-day need to be aware of. Here we are going to explain some of these challenges in brief.
- Operating System (OS) Considerations
The first technical challenge and pulling factor that IOT app development companies need to deal with is the consideration of the operating system of the devices. Since IOT devices have mostly shorter memory capacity and a single track operational capacity, developers need to approach the development challenges for such devices in a different way than with the desktop solutions. The developers need to pick an OS that perfectly fits the device capability and the objective of the application.
As of now, most of the IOT developers surveyed for their OS preferences have clearly chosen Linux. Linux according to most IOT developers, offers the perfect OS for IOT devices with a lot of memory constraints, microcontrollers, and IOT gateways.
- Selecting the Gateways
The gateways in the IOT landscape plays the most critical role by connecting almost all the constituent elements ranging from connectivity protocols like Wi-Fi or Bluetooth, ports, IOT sensors, cloud systems, etc. Naturally, for the whole IOT ecosystem gateways really play the mission-critical role.
When it comes to the choice of appropriate gateways for your IOT application, you have several well-known choices from renowned technology companies like Dell, Nexcom, Intel, etc. These gateway providers as if now are proved to be highly effective for end number of applications. Some of the key aspects that you need to consider in gateways include the particular specifications for the network, supporting development environment, power rating, memory capacity, etc.
- Security & Privacy
One of the key aspects that IOT app developers should give utmost priority is the app security and privacy. The security here not just refers to the network security but practically security of every different component. As IOT devices penetrate the personal spaces of the users, they are often vulnerable to misuse and breaching of data security through cyber-attacks.
Maintaining optimum data security and safeguarding privacy are two aspects that always remained to be the contentious areas for the IOT app developers worldwide. Let us have a closer look at various security aspects of an IOT app.
- Data Exchange Security: The data generated through an IOT app through the IoT sensors and devices pass through the gateway and is finally stored at the cloud server. To ensure optimum security to this data it is important to use encryption for safeguarding the data.
- Physical Security: The IoT devices unlike other computing devices are normally used in private and remain unattended most of the times. This is why they remain vulnerable to a lot of security threats from hackers at the device level.
- Cloud Storage Security: A cloud storage solution normally remains secure from threats and intrusions. Even then, the developers of the IOT apps need to make sure that the data in cloud storage remain safe and secure.
- Privacy Updates: To protect the privacy of the user data processed and fetched by IoT devices, there need to be certain compliance rules. For instance, all fitness tracker devices collect user data on the basis of HIPAA guidelines. Such regulations and compliance standards basically safeguard the privacy of the user data.
- Network Connectivity
The quintessential aspect of IOT app development is the fast and real-time data transmission between the device and the IOT gateway and the gateway to the cloud server. Poor connectivity will only render most of the critical app features to be ineffective. The connectivity issues and server breakdown still remain to be the major problems for too many IOT devices.
Actually, connectivity remains to be the first and foremost area of importance for connected devices that work hand in hand with gateways and cloud platforms. For meeting this challenge corresponding to connectivity with appropriate measures, the app design and device app environment play an important role. The connectivity solution should be considered as per the device constraints and capacities.
- User-Optimized App Design
Another major focus area for IOT app development should be on the app design. The app design should be thoroughly intuitive and user-focused so that the users do not need to study manuals for using an IOT device. Even for industrial IOT devices, simple and clean design is extremely important to ensure faster decision making and visualization of the data. In this respect, close and mutually reciprocating cooperation between the developers and designers is a must for building IOT apps. Some of the key attributes that design inputs should ensure include the following.
- Safe and secure user authentication
- Frictionless transition across devices and applications
- Personalized user experience based on user behavior and preferences
- A consolidated IOT environment comprising all the elements in the pipeline.
- Cross-Platform Deployment
Last but not least of all the major challenges that IOT app developers must deal with is deploying the app across multiple OS platforms. Since the IOT ecosystem comprises of a variety of device architectures, protocols, and operating systems, the app should be built to fit with all these variables for a seamless and efficient performance. This is why experts of international organizations such as the Engineering Task Force (IETF) and the Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) have already come up with explicit cross-platform development standards and architecture models to help smooth deployment across multiple OS platforms.
Conclusion
In spite of the overwhelming growth of the IOT applications and the ecosystem of connected devices, there is a multitude of challenges that the IOT app developers need to encounter regularly. By focusing on these challenges beforehand, they can at least take appropriate precautionary steps to ensure optimum quality and efficient output.
