Weighing up whether to build or buy a managed connectivity solution was Chris Baird, CEO of OptConnect who joined IoT Insider Editor Caitlin Gittins on the latest season of IoT Unplugged to share his insight.
As a connectivity provider focused on delivering easy-to-use and accessible connectivity to customers, OptConnect’s position in the market operating across sectors ranging from healthcare to digital signage and smart energy has allowed it to gain a good understanding of what can go wrong when deploying IoT devices.
“In the last five years, coverage [has become] more available, more ubiquitous … Hardware is getting more and more efficient. We’re seeing a broad adoption of standards that make it easy for multiple countries to play nice together,” explained Baird. “But within that also comes fragmentation. Every carrier, every module, every geography brings a new layer of complexity.”
This complexity makes having a connectivity partner a necessity, said Baird. There are three common misconceptions when looking at the build versus buy argument: the cost of downtime, the internal resources required to support devices in the field at scale, and the challenges of scaling.
The point being, that when looking at this argument, companies can underestimate the time and expense associated with deploying devices in the field – especially when they are scaled up.
“We think buying a fully managed solution gives you that speed, it gives you that scale, it gives you that accountability,” summarised Baird.
Instances where a company might be better off for choosing to build their own solution could include one that has competency around cellular modules, building complex networks, and managing monitoring tools – in which case OptConnect can support them as well.
“We can work our customers or prospects through that, we can consult together and come to those conclusions, should you build the network? Should you buy the network? Should you go with a semi-managed service, or should you go with a fully managed service?”
Industries embracing managed services
One industry which has openly embraced managed connectivity services was the self-service retail space, said Baird, who realised during the pandemic and the implementation of self-service machines to replace people the importance of reliable, dependable connectivity.
“There are a lot of industries that are moving in that direction,” said Baird. “These industries are businesses where they understand that downtime is expensive, that IT teams are stretched really thin right now. They don’t want to be the connectivity business, they want to be in [the] plug and play always-on experience, and that’s what we deliver.”
These industries include healthcare, EV charging, security, and even utilities.
Sharing a customer case study, Baird detailed one fintech company who were initially set on building their own solution – until they lost connectivity in a key market for four days because of a carrier change which they were not notified about beforehand, resulting in lost revenue, upset customers, and lost credibility.
“That’s the value of managed [services],” Baird stressed. “You don’t just avoid the problems. You never see them to begin with, and that’s something we do behind the scenes.”
In another case study, a company whose budgets had been slashed and a team managing remote cellular deployments had been cut from 12 people to 1 approached OptConnect for help. While conducting an audit, they realised that every deployment installed over a couple of years by the company was unique, and nothing was standardised.
“Every single deployment had been … accidentally unique. They had allowed the technician doing the installation to place antennas wherever they wanted, to configure the router however they wanted, to install the device wherever it looked best.”
Build vs buy argument: key takeaways
Baird was keen to conclude the podcast episode by emphasising that the misconceptions revolving around buying a solution weren’t always founded.
“One of the key takeaways is that going to the managed service is perceived as giving up control, and in reality, a platform like ours gives you more control and more visibility into device health, into the network performance, and more tools to take a proactive approach,” he said.
Another myth – that buying a managed service is more expensive – may appear so on the surface level, but associated costs such as downtime, lost revenue, and failed deployments mean that buying a service can be more cost-effective in the long run.
“It’s important to make sure that we don’t underestimate the human factor in IoT. Connectivity is a technical problem, but solving it is a people business.
“And whether you’re deploying 100,000 units or 100 units, having the right people, having the right systems, having the right support, I think that makes all the difference.”
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