Whereas many focuses on the need for technological development, we see in this present research on IoT a clear call for a greater consideration of the business and the social issues around developing IoT. There is still a need of technological development, but to a lower extent, as this part has gotten quite mature and IoT developers report that they already feel capable of delivering.

The challenge is finding the right partners to cooperate with when developing IoT solutions. And especially when it comes to IoT systems there are a lot of partners and systems involved, because you need to think of everything from back- and front-end sensors, platforms and networks. If you choose a network, you involuntarily also choose a limited range of partners and products, that are compatible with that specific network. Therefore, the choices you make should be determined by your strategy for your solution, and not who you speak to first.

A majority of the informants we talked to for our whitepaper formulated a need for more strategic and structured matchmaking services. Potential clients need to meet the developers. Developers need a showcasing platform for getting their products out to customers. Developers need to meet other sub suppliers or partners who can solve specific needs and close the gaps.

As one small software and hardware developer put it: “It would be nice to have a platform for getting in contact with new sub suppliers of software competences, which we could use to make our solutions even better”.

Municipalities, organizations and companies who have IoT-related challenges to solve need a platform for exposing their challenges to the suppliers who can design the solutions. And last but not least, such a platform could also gather and expose all the different challenges and competitions such as Accelerace, CBS Growth, DTU Tech Challenge, the EIT Climate-KIC’s global CleanTech Competition, and the IoT-related competitions organized by universities.

One of the informants we talked to for our whitepaper even mentioned that it would be nice to have an idea marketplace where one could propose good ideas for systems or solutions one would like to be a part of without having to take the lead. Many of the informants also mentioned the need for continuous informal networking. There are a lot of IoT-related networking events. However, there is a need for a ‘safe space’ where stakeholders can meet to discuss common challenges and potential answers.

One software and hardware developer even mentioned that “we are starting to see companies hiring consultant to help them find the right collaborators”.

So, matchmaking initiatives should involve independent and technology agnostic advisors who can help clients find the right developers and partners to collaborate with. And that is basically what we offer at the Nordic IoT centre – we are your independent advisor in the field of IoT and can help you make the right choices right from the start. On our website you can explore different opportunities and see a list of the partners you can team up with. At the moment we are adding the finishing touches to a new search function which will make it even easier to find the right partners for your specific tasks – we’ll let you know here on the blog, when we are up and running.

This post is written by Lea Schick.