Pitching Your IoT Project

Chapter 1. Pitching Your IoT Project

Many developers are chomping at the bit to become experts at current breakthrough technologies in sensors, embedded systems, mesh networking protocols, big data analytics—all the elements of what’s popularly known as the Internet of Things (IoT). Many CxO-level executives are also interested in the IoT and how they can broaden their grasp of its potential.

But if you’re a developer trying to get corporate buy-in for an IoT project, you need to understand that the pitch is somewhat different from one for a typical new product or technology buy. You will be implicitly (and perhaps explicitly) asking for new ways for departments within the company to communicate, new ways to make management decisions based on the data your project will generate, new forms of customer interaction, and possibly even major changes in staffing. Go in with your eyes open, and take the time to develop a compelling pitch that can lead to these outcomes.

Why is the IoT such a challenge to organizations that adopt its technologies? Consider a few example projects and their potential impact on a typical company.

One IoT project may connect sensors to machinery in your company’s factory so that engineers can tell when heat, stress, or normal degradation will cause a machine to fail. This is not particularly disruptive to the company. Even so, your company will have to:

• Find engineers who understand the causes of machine malfunctions, and who can recommend or create sensors ...