4/9/2019 Strategies for Implementing IoT | Examining the Business of IoT | DEV296x Courseware | edX

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Strategies for Implementing IoT

In this topic, you'll learn:

How businesses are rolling out IoT implementations

Di erences in vertical market implementations

How businesses are using solution accelerators to get started

In the last lesson, we looked at some how IoT can o er advantages for businesses that implement the
technology. We took a look at a case study on how BaxEnergy was able to leverage IoT technology to improve
data collection and analytics for their customers. In this lesson, we'll look at speci c strategies businesses are
using to deploy IoT solutions.

Getting Started
As with most technology, an enterprise may adopt IoT to solve speci c business problems or to take
advantage of new opportunities. In either case, the process starts with a project plan that de nes how the
technology will be used to meet the goals of the business.

Stephanie Jernigan and Sam Ransbotham in an article for MITSloan Management Review o er the following
guidance for getting an IoT solution o the ground.

1. Keep the initial scope small. Since an IoT solution involves devices as well as cloud services, doing small
experiments with an initially low-cost investment gives business the ability to try things and adjust quickly
without spending too much capital on the front side. They write, “The result of such an approach is that

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future phases aren’t saddled with large compatibility requirements from the rst phase. Low investments
mean lower sunk costs for replacement (if necessary). And fewer relationships mean fewer a ected systems
in other organizations.”

2. Think about the short- and long-term value of IoT. Companies may have an initial set of metrics they
want to meet or goals they want to achieve with an IoT solution. But the authors advise that businesses
should stay open to possibilities that they may not conceive of at the beginning of a project. In other words,
it may be best to think of implementing an IoT solution and think of IoT as an on-going experiment.

3. Consider Alternatives. A good way to gure out what an IoT implementation ought to do is to think about
other ways you might get the data you need. If implementing IoT is the best way to get that data, then its
more likely that the project will be successful.

IoT Governance
As you plan an IoT solution, engineering and deploying the solution are just the beginning of the solution as a
whole. Given the complexities of an IoT solution, planning for how an IoT solution will be maintained and
monitored is essential to make the project successful. This topic is often referred to as IoT Governance, and is
a topic that Microsoft and others have worked on to provide guidance.

Microsoft's cloud o ering, Azure, has been built from the ground up to align with the needs of the Enterprise
and has created a documentation hub, the Azure Architecture Center, which provides access to resources that
provide general guidelines and best practices for governance strategies.

Let's look at the major aspects of IoT governance in turn.

Develop an IoT technical strategy

Similar to the MIT Sloan Review guidance, a successful IoT deployment will include a robust planning phase
that will de ne all aspects of the solution. IBM recommends focusing on business objectives and the team
members you'll need to not only build and deploy the solution but to maintain the hardware, software, and
cloud services as well as analyze and act on the data.

Microsoft's guidance stresses the importance of identifying the key stakeholders and managing cross-team
buy-in at this early stage. This helps to ensure that the essential business goals are identi ed and on-going
sponsorship is maintained though the project lifecycle. Of course, prototyping and experimentation are
important in this “Proof of Value” phase as are the operational aspects of the deployment including
automation and ne-tuning the solution.

In order to accelerate the Proof of Value phase, Microsoft has provided Azure IoT Central - a “Software as a
Service” IoT O ering, as well as a number of precon gured solution accelerators that can be used as the basis
of custom solutions:

Remote Monitoring

Connected Factory

Predictive Maintenance

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Device Simulation

De ne an IoT reference architecture

A reference architecture is a guide against which all IoT implementations will be based. By using a reference
architecture, you can ensure that when an IoT solution is being developed for your organization, each
implementation is doing things in generally the same way. It also helps ensure that best practices are being
followed and that reusable elements are being shared across implementations. The governance policy should
enforce that the reference architecture includes all the elements and best practices that you want to be used
across IoT implementations. To support the development of a governance strategy, Microsoft has a dedicated
documentation hub for governance that provides a collection of concepts and services that are designed to
enable management of various Azure resources at scale.

Throughout this course, we'll be referring to Microsoft's own reference architecture document as a guide for
how to implement an IoT solution based on Microsoft's software and services. As the Azure IoT Reference
Architecture document states:

Every organization has unique skills and experience and every IoT application has unique needs
and considerations.

So while the reference document can be a good start for your own reference architecture document, the
reference architecture and technology choices recommended should be modi ed as needed for each.

A key aspect of any reference architecture is security. As Microsoft states:

When designing a system, it is important to understand the potential threats to that system, and
add appropriate defenses accordingly, as the system is designed and architected. It is important to
design the product from the start with security in mind because understanding how an attacker
might be able to compromise a system helps make sure appropriate mitigations are in place from
the beginning.

The Azure IoT Reference Architecture has been designed to incorporate many of the foundational governance
and security guiding principals:

Governance Design

Prescriptive subscription governance

Internet of Things (IoT) security architecture

Acquire the right roles or skills on the development team

Because of the complexity of developing and maintaining IoT solutions, IBM recommends speci c roles for
building the team you'll need for the entire development and support life cycle of the solution. Speci cally,
they recommend the solution include:

IoT architect role that de nes the entire solution including the strategy, integration approach, and best
practices.

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IoT developer who is focused on implementation and de nition for the technical implementation of the
solution.

Data analyst role which focuses on all aspects of the data collection, modeling, and analysis and reporting
strategy.

IoT tester who manages quality control for the entire solution and ensures the system is secure.

Device SME (subject matter expert) who de nes the device speci cations and works with the other roles to
ensure the right devices are in place and how those devices should be managed over the life cycle of the
solution.

Security Architect. IBM calls this out as a distinct role for good reason. Security should be thought of as a
solution, according to IBM, and not merely a feature of the system. The security architect de nes all aspects
of the security of the solution including data collection and analysis, network operation, and governance
practices (among others).

In addition to the development team, IBM recommends forming an IoT “Center of Excellence” which
essentially is a governance board (or person depending on the size of the project) that is responsible for
de ning and governing everything from the business side of the solution to the operational side. The CoE
would work with the solution architect (who most likely would be a key member) and help create the
reference architecture. IBM de nes a number of other roles for the CoE including analyzing the solution for
reuse opportunities, promoting the adoption of best practices, and working with vendors device and platform
vendors that will develop key aspects of the solution.

De ne your IoT governance processes and policies

All of the above would fall under IoT governance and requires written policies and processes that should be
“followed, applied, and enforced” to make the IoT solution successful and secure.

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