Try thinking of a better solution than IoT to drive contactless communications in the wake of the ongoing pandemic. Device-to-device communication and digital transformation are growing rapidly and could possibly adorn a mainstream utility very soon. In the wake of such an emergency, the demand for developing new IoT solutions and for professionals who can build such IoT products ought to increase. However, the industry may not be prepared to absorb this demand-side pressure. Apart from the shortage of IoT talent, there’s also a shortage of channels to resolve this issue.
Here’s a quick run through the best platforms to find IoT product development partners.
LinkedIn – Social Network Community
Discussing project engagements over the internet and not including LinkedIn is an incomplete assessment. For IoT, LinkedIn is a goldmine of resources that includes industry experts, hardware engineers, prototyping consultants, solution architects and trainers from all over the world. Over the years, the ecosystem has propelled with hundreds of new IoT communities that provide peer-2-peer access to on-demand resources. As a traditional social networking platform for professionals, LinkedIn may not provide standard RFP templates and filter criteria to bid for projects, it is still the largest of all communities.
Businesses can still search for relevant professionals through conventional search help, community forums and references from direct posting. Moreover, the profiles on the social network provide past experience details and common connections to verify the correctness of the info posted on other project bidding platforms. Therefore, In fact, users on many other networks use LinkedIn as a trusted proof of validation for their skills and profiles.
XPlace.com – Software Freelance Marketplace
IoT freelancers are in huge demand. This is because the technology caters to multiple disciplines such as hardware, electronics and software development. On-demand access to all of them at the same time is still difficult and that’s what X Place aims to resolve. Like a typical bidding platform, X Place allows software services providers to filter projects based on budget and a range of technologies to choose from. Started as a bidding platform for internet services, the platform has gained popularity within the IoT community for Raspberry Pi, embedded systems designs and other professionals.
The platform allows bidding for extended services such as marketing and designing.
As of now, X Place provides project bidding for software services only. It doesn’t provide procurement support. For IoT hardware development, businesses can explore alternatives.
Ioterra – Complete IoT Marketplace
There are only a few public platforms that provide a convenient ecosystem to conduct business within the IoT community. Even there, they do not cover all aspects needed for full-stack IoT development. While some don’t cater to more critical service areas like hardware and prototyping, others lack in the range of engagement criteria such as budget, low-level skill sets and industry.
Ioterra enables the total landscape of developing an IoT product from idea stage & design to prototyping, hardware designing, software development and mass production. Covering all major sectors, the marketplace allows customers and professionals to engage for a comprehensive range of services such as:
- Strategy – Risk Analysis, ROI Assessment, Sector Analysis etc.
- Design – UI/UX, Blueprint Architecture, Prototyping etc.
- Development – Hardware, Software, Embedded etc.
- Certification – Security & Compliance
- Integration – Installation, Maintenance, Device & Data Management etc.
Since hybrid solutions with IoT and other domains are gaining momentum, Ioterra aims to expand its services to other technologies too.
IoTprojects.io – Lead Generation
IoTProjects is a growing marketplace that brings together IoT development services providers looking for leads and businesses looking for like-minded professionals. With a line-up of pricing and subscription models to pick, the marketplace acts as an intermediary in assigning leads. Unlike other platforms, here the technology partners receive leads based on their skill set. Furthermore, manufacturers get to register and market their devices on the platform. For businesses looking for a specific solution could pick either from a team for a custom build or many of these ready-to-deploy pre-build products.
Users can associate with IoT Projects based on 3 different capacities:-
- “Become a partner” if you want to receive leads and prepare proposals for End-customers
- “Give me a proposal” if you have a special request for a Project you would like to initiate
- “Register your Device” for the Manufacturers which can list their value proposition in the directory of our Marketplace.
IoT – Not just a nice to have technology
It is quintessential to implement contemporary technology solutions that deliver faster, accurate and distant communications. In the current scenario, IoT, in association with other technologies such as AI and Blockchain can efficiently deliver a robust digital experience. Device-to-device communication is growing explosively and could possibly adorn a mainstream utility very soon. In the wake of such an emergency, it is unlikely that the demand for IoT solutions and professionals could slow.
