IoT Mobile Apps - Benefits, Challenges And Everything You Need To Know

Science fiction around us: smart homes and digital cities, devices for diagnosing health conditions and detecting COVID-19 without the help of a doctor, monitoring the work of employees and paying for their work without the intervention of an employer, digital portraits of the audience for an accurate representation of consumer preferences, correct diagnosis of disease with connected IoT mobile apps. New technologies make our life more convenient and safer, and our businesses more successful. 

According to statistics, last year about 60% of consumers around the world wanted to connect their home appliances to the global network. And according to the publication McKinsey Digital, by 2025 the Internet of Things (IoT) will bring the world economy $ 11 trillion a year.

Giant corporations have long identified the potential of IoT and have been actively investing in the development of IoT mobile apps. Companies that invested in the development of IoT applications include the likes of IBM, which invested $3 billion in IoT development, and Microsoft corporation’s Azure IoT platform, which is actively used by 5 million businesses worldwide. Even Apple Inc introduced the HomeKit platform.

For those who might be wondering what is the Internet of Things (IoT)? It is a complex system consisting of three levels namely: infrastructure, smart gadgets, and applications.

• Infrastructure - IoT on the infrastructure level is a computer program running on a corporate server to analyze and process data received from connected devices.
• Smart Gadgets - These devices contain sensors and are connected in a network to applications and other sensors.
• IoT Mobile Apps - IoT mobile applications (mobile, web, and hybrid) allow users to connect and control the connected objects.

Among these, IoT mobile application development is considered the main technology trend today. Developing Internet of Things mobile and web applications to control and interact with multiple connected devices is becoming more and more popular.

IoT mobile apps can transmit information to the center device where data is processed, and based on the analysis received they can take action without human involvement.

A good example is an IoT health application that sends a quick signal in case of fainting or a stroke at a medical center or calling an ambulance. These connected IoT solutions can even save lives. Imagine the impact of the widespread adoption of such applications in the healthcare sector.

In this article, we’ll highlight some benefits of investing in mobile and web IoT apps, and will also discuss challenges that need to be addressed.

Explore our smart technology insights on IoT to build better customer experiences.

Benefits Of Developing IoT Mobile Apps

Integrating IoT with mobile applications can give a competitive edge to your business to thrive in any dynamic market.

• IoT Apps Can Increase Work Efficiency

Although there are numerous benefits of developing web and mobile IoT applications for solving multiple business problems, the main goal that businesses are trying to achieve with the help of IoT is the optimization and automation of business processes. For example, IoT-connected apps that can send, receive, and analyze data to deliver results without human involvement from operations will certainly increase work efficiency.

• IoT Mobile And Web Apps Can Revolutionize Healthcare

The healthcare sector can leverage IoT in multiple ways. Wearable devices and mobile apps that monitor health including heartbeat, SPO2 level, etc. Applications that simplify decision-making. Mobile and web solutions that process and analyze information to suggest the most likely diagnosis options. We can talk a lot about the potential of the IoT in healthcare, particularly about the development of IoT mobile and web applications.  

• IoT Applications Can Change Educational Landscape

Yes, That’s right! IoT has the potential to change the way education is offered today. IoT applications are predicted to have a significant impact on the educational sector.  High-tech IoT enterprise solutions are becoming increasingly popular among schools, colleges, and universities and are playing an important role in changing the approach to learning and teaching. 

Today, digital devices are widely used by educational institutions to provide an effective educational environment. These mobile devices are interconnected and can help analyze user activity and process the results for each student. Moreover, teachers can evaluate the performance of every student based on their usage. This will help tutors to understand the problems faced by students.

• IoT Mobile Apps Can Innovate Retail Trade

Developing an IoT application in the retail trade sector will increase the chances of the company’s success. The best example of IoT in retail trade is beacons. Beacons are IoT devices that communicate with mobile devices using a Bluetooth connection. They can perform various tasks: collect data on the behavior of visitors, direct them inside the building, automatically send push notifications to their smartphones, and much more. Shopping malls and supermarkets are already adopting beacons to analyze their customer behaviors and, in turn, increase sales.

Challenges For IoT App Development

IoT platforms are normally cloud-based and are connected to a central hub that acts as a service provider for smart devices. This makes the flow of data easy but some problems arise during this process, which is basically due to the centralized nature of these solutions.

• IoT Apps Lack Security

Security is the major concern when it comes to the challenges of IoT mobile app development. With so many connected devices, it becomes difficult to secure every node in the network and protect usage patterns. In short, the more the devices are connected, more the vulnerabilities and security threats.

Most of these security threats include attacks on cloud services. These servers often store large and confidential data which becomes an attractive target for sophisticated hackers. These attacks often lead to financial losses ranging from $50 billion to $120 billion.

• Data Stored on IoT Apps can’t be Trusted Completely

Data stored on IoT platforms can’t be trusted completely, since we can’t confirm whether the data is changed or altered before sending. For example, major car-sharing companies such as Uber don’t have an app that allows them to share map or travel data. They have to collect and store such datasets independently.

• IoT doesn’t Offer User Privacy

Another topical issue of IoT is the violation of consumer privacy. A lot of surveys conducted by multiple organizations worldwide show that consumers are largely concerned about the lack of privacy when interacting with IoT mobile apps.

Summing Up

Mobile apps will be the point of connection for IoT devices in the future. They offer numerous benefits across multiple industries. But some serious challenges need to be addressed to fully explore the potential of IoT mobile applications. If you want to develop IoT applications for your organization that is secure and fulfill all the regulations, contact our representative today and discuss your requirements.