The Internet of Things (IoT) at a high level is relatively simple – you have sensors in IoT devices that take readings and communicate that data through the internet and into the cloud, to another device, or to some type of analytics user interface. Essentially, data is collected and can then be interpreted into actionable insights. If you have a piece of equipment on the production line in a manufacturing plant with a sensor-based IoT device attached. This device is monitoring the health of that machine to make sure that the needs of the machine are met before damage or downtime occurs. Unplanned downtime is one of the biggest cost drivers in industrial manufacturing posing a US$50 billion annual threat to manufacturers.
These industrial IoT (IIoT) devices are a critical factor in a successful production run, so it stands to reason that manufacturers rely heavily on the ecosystem of these devices to work. It is increasingly likely that modern, cost-efficient IoT devices are replacing older technologies to measure all types of information within an industrial plant, such as temperature to avoid overheating and damage to equipment and products, pressure in tanks that hold liquids, and so forth.
This is what KORE refers to as the visible part of the iceberg when it comes to IoT. The end user, which in this example is the manufacturer, is overseeing, managing and benefitting from their IoT-enabled solution represented by the part of the iceberg above the water line. But underneath the surface is so much more that supports what is seen above the surface. And this is where all the complexity comes in.
The rest of the iceberg
What is under the surface – the other 80-90% of the iceberg – are all the intricate complexities of IoT that drive an IoT ecosystem’s operations and successes. It begins with the device itself. That device needs a SIM card – whether that is a traditional SIM or an embedded SIM (eSIM) – which needs to be activated on a carrier network and the device needs to be configured to the network. This process allows devices to work out of the box when they arrive as part of a deployment. Then a gateway or router is required, which needs to be device and network compatible.
All hardware needs to be kitted and shipped in a manner that is aligned with the organisation’s deployment, which if devices or hardware are coming from multiple original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) or wholesalers, can get relatively complicated rapidly. As the IoT infrastructure is built, composed of device, networks and applications, more and more touchpoints are added, and each requires a certain number of tasks and considerations so that everything works properly.
What has just described is mostly concerned with the initial deployment of an IoT solution. The management of IoT can be just as complex. Imagine that you are an OEM, and you have 1,000 IoT devices on your manufacturing floor helping you manage operations for five different product lines or devices. Each line has 200 devices helping to monitor the health of the production line, and each group has its own lifecycle, which might be anywhere between two and ten years.
What happens when one group of devices reaches the end of a lifecycle? Suddenly, the carousel of device management and logistics never stops turning, and it is a constant effort. You must deploy new devices using the same process of ordering, activating, configuring, kitting and shipping as before. It starts to get complicated just running the logistics of keeping the right number of devices online and working.
We could further complicate this scenario by including any regulatory compliance to which this OEM must adhere when introducing devices into operations or data collection and storage. This is certainly true when you consider IoT in connected health deployments, which have regulatory compliance intricately weaved into the many aspects of patient data collection and transmission. Or, if you want to deploy solutions globally, devices, network communications, data storage and so on fall under different regulations and compliance as your IoT deployment of origin. And of course, different connectivity protocols – or even if the deployment is entirely in LTE – different MNOs are required for resilient, high-quality local connectivity.
All of this demonstrates how IoT solutions can get very complicated, and that can hinder success because, as I previously stated, the end user is interested in the tip of the iceberg and might not have the time, resources, or finances to manage the under-the-surface details that support success. Further, one might argue that they should not need to worry about these details – their concern should be driving their desired outcomes, not putting the Lego pieces together – and finding a partner that can do many of these pieces for an enterprise end user is increasingly a critical success factor in IoT.
Tackling complexities below the surface
Beecham Research famously published a study a few years ago, ‘Why IoT Projects Fail’. In the survey, only 26% of those surveyed reported being successful with their IoT initiatives. That amounts to a pretty high failure rate. While there are many factors at play, including some objectivity on what might be considered a success, a lot of the struggles and issues listed in the study fall under the umbrella of IoT managed services.
The whole picture of IoT is made up of those smaller, yet critical pieces, such as lifecycle management, logistics, configuration, and so forth. That is what drives success and what drives return on investment. But it can be incredibly difficult to bring all those pieces of the puzzle under a single roof while trying to prove the value of the IoT solution. It gets to be time-consuming, expensive and hard to justify.
One growing segment in the medical industry is using IoT to digitise healthcare and treatment delivery. On one side of this emerging segment called connected health is remote patient monitoring (RPM), which utilises patientcontrolled devices that collect data that is then sent to a medical provider to monitor. For example, if a patient has chronic cardiac disease, it could be important for a provider to monitor the blood pressure of that patient and watch for trends proactively instead of it becoming a crisis that leads to patient hospitalisation. The patient takes their own blood pressure and that data is sent directly to an interface that the provider can access. This can lead to improved outcomes for the patient, since they are proactively managing a chronic disease, and it also can lead to growth opportunities for providers without the overhead of expanding a physical location.
On the other side of the segment are decentralised clinical trials (DCTs). When creating new treatments, the traditional in-clinic approach to clinical trials can have challenges, including inaccurate data collection, patient participation throughout the trial, as well as recruiting patients that are able to make frequent trips to the clinic for data collection. These hurdles can slow time to market and be costly to the contract research organisations (CROs) and pharmaceutical companies running the trials. By using the same type of patient-driven medical devices to collect patient data, as well as digital diaries, data collection and discovery can run much smoother. The benefits of connected health solutions can be clear, but the path to launching these solutions can be difficult.
The logistical and management side of an IoT infrastructure is not something to overlook when building out solutions. Effective and efficient configuration, kitting, shipping and returns management are crucial in connected health solutions. Whether it’s equipping hospitals, medical practices, clinics or direct to patient, getting solutions deployed and running out-of-the-box is incredibly important. Mobile device management (MDM) is also a significant task and working through a fragmented ecosystem can be an overwhelming burden.
Hardware procurement, logistics and lifecycle management are all another significant slice of the pie that require a lot of attention and detail. Many healthcare solution providers do not have the internal resources to manage the wide and complex hardware and product lifecycle required in connected health solutions.
Finally, regulatory compliance is, of course, vital to any healthcare ecosystem. CROs and pharmaceutical sponsors can go two routes with the hardware procurement and kitting of devices. The first path is using light-touch managed services by having a third-party source, test and ship the individual device and hardware pieces. Then the CRO can assemble the entire hardware kit in-house through their own regulatory compliance.
The second path is to use a full managed services provider that includes MDM, deployment and logistics, and project management all through FDA- and ISO-certified facilities. The opportunity to enter the market in DCTs is expansive, but implementation is complex, and requires the careful orchestration with CROs and experienced IoT managed service providers.
KORE is an expert provider of managed services for IoT both for general applications, as well as connected health applications. For deployments that require light-touch managed services, the KORE team in Westbury, New York, allows organisations to quickly receive devices and hardware while supporting regulatory compliance.
The KORE Westbury office has a track record of success including providing services for:
A US-based a medical company that leads the way in digital transformation of life sciences, was in urgent need of 5,000 global iPhone devices with established connectivity shipped to Europe and the USA within a two-to-three-week timeframe. With a robust ecosystem of partners to acquire hardware, KORE was able to provide the company with the supplies it needed by linking KORE’s global vendors to secure the Apple units required and delivered the products in the timeframe needed by the customer.
A leading provider that issues technology solutions and clinical research services, needed to bring connected devices and SIMs to South America – a region that had previously not been shipped to due to strict importation rules. KORE quickly collaborated to resolve the importation matter. KORE served as a one-stop-shop for the company’s global sourcing in the connectivity and device management space.
Another example is a government programme that provides funding to schools and libraries across the US for those in need of remote learning protocols due to COVID 19. In 2021, T-Mobile contributed a large portion of donations to fund these services, as well as enabled primary agents, such as KORE BMP and its registered partners, like OmniPro to deliver connected laptops, tablets and equipment to schools and libraries for students. For full-scale managed services, KORE has a state-of-the-art facility in Pittsford, New York, that can manage comprehensive staging, kitting and logistics, both forward and reverse, under one roof all while meeting regulatory compliance.
KORE has also been instrumental in helping solutions delivery for a top-three global supplier of cardiac rhythm management devices. This multinational company creates solutions where patient transmitted data is uploaded to a proprietary, safe, and secure web-based data management system that is protected with industry standard safety protocols. The ability to do this is a difficult feat, and the company needed help, so it turned to KORE.
KORE provides the company with a comprehensive service model that includes hardware selection and sourcing, wireless connectivity, and ongoing device management and support. With this customer relationship, the company can essentially place an order with KORE to roll out more solutions. KORE takes care of the complexities in hardware procurement, connectivity and management. This, in a way, makes KORE a valuable extension of the company, almost as an independent IoT department.
Success in IoT
Harking back to the statistic mentioned before about the success rates for IoT and how slim the chances appear to be for organisations to enjoy the optimisation and efficiency benefits of IoT. That number is going to grow larger and larger because of IoT enablement solutions that overcome those complexities.
The benefits of IoT – whether that’s in an industrial or clinical setting or in fleet, automotive, and transportation, assets, utilities, and on – are too great to be ignored because it seems too challenging and IoT managed services are designed to help.
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