Internet of Things (IoT)

Bringing your apps and data to life

Nextware provides the complete set of hardware design and software development services to clients looking to develop IoT platforms and solutions. Being one of the top Internet of Things companies in Los Angeles, our specialists can build just about anything you need for an IoT enablement, including embedded software, mobile apps, and cloud databases to store and manage data.

Are you in the industrial business?
We can help optimize your factory operations by implementing Industrial Internet of Things or IIoT solutions for industries such as manufacturing and utilities. Industrial Internet of Things enable your plant managers to remotely monitor machinery, exercise predictive maintenance for better asset management, and make informed decisions to enhance operational efficiency.

Here are the main factors that come into play while implementing any IoT solution.

Product Design

Customers choose an IoT product based on many different factors – the look and feel of the device, its user interface, the design of its software, the quality of its sensors, its power usage profile, and so on. Prioritizing these complex choices can be difficult, given the role they will ultimately play in the product’s success.

Nextware provides a comprehensive suite of product design services specifically geared towards IoT devices, including the physical form, user interface, advanced microcontrollers, sensors, and embedded software design. Our experts provide grounded, evidence-based advice derived from working with a variety of companies, products, and markets.

Mobile App Design

The Internet of Things is inherently mobile. Connected devices are tied to apps through their very nature – the better the app, the more useful the IoT device will be.

At Nextware, we develop mobile apps that set your business apart. Our integrated approach to application development helps build robust solutions that collect data from connected devices and communicate with cloud servers. The IoT solutions enable you to efficiently manage connected devices through remote monitoring. Advanced analytics can be built into the application to allow predictive maintenance of these devices.

The success of any IoT implementation depends on the capabilities of the complementary application. Nextware leverages its years of experience in mobile and web application development to build efficient, easy-to-use applications for the Internet of Things.

Cloud Architecture

As the number of connected devices continues to increase, many businesses and organizations are drowning in data. Corralling and making sense of that data can be critical to understanding both the tactical reality of your business and progress towards strategic goals.

Nextware develops scalable hosted solutions, which empower clients to analyze and utilize data flows of any size and complexity. Using time-tested platforms, Nextware brings the latest in data analytics to its clients, customizing the user interface to allow for ease of use and adjustments as priorities shift.

Our IoT Product Development Approach

Our phased approach is based on a fail fast methodology aimed to quickly determine if an idea has value. The objective of this approach is to minimize the initial investment required to determine if a product idea is worth pursuing. Issues are also detected as early as possible in the development process and modifications to design are made as early as possible without requiring major investments in product redesign.

Discovery Phase

The discovery process typically takes between one to three weeks during which Nextware will evaluate the merits of the project and provides recommendations on next steps. The activities in this phase include:

  • High level requirements gathering
  • Competitive analysis
  • Patent research

The findings and recommendations on next steps will be documented in a white paper. The white paper is the deliverable associated with the discovery phase.

Proof of Concept Phase

In this phase, we will build a basic prototype, using as much as possible off the shelf components to help quickly find and correct any issues before the actual product design has started. This prototype may not be fully integrated, i.e. the components may not yet be driven by a single controller unit, or through a single app. This phase will help us better understand system and component requirements and allows us to detect and correct any design flaws early on.

The findings and recommendations on next steps will be compiled into the Proof of Concept report. The prototype unit and the Proof of Concept report will be the deliverables associated with this phase of the project.

Feasibility Study Phase

In this phase, we normally build a few (less than 10) fully integrated units along with any required apps that interact with the product. These units will be used to gather user feedback, i.e. “voice of customer”. The user feedback will be used to drive design decisions for the next phase of product development.

The user feedback and recommendations on the next steps will be documented as part of the Feasibility Study Report. The fully integrated units and the Feasibility Study report will be the deliverables coming out of this phase.

Beta Units Phase

This is the ramp up phase before going into production. The recommendations from the previous phase are used to refine the hardware and software design. We normally build a few hundred (200-300) units as part of this phase and collect more feedback.

User feedback and recommendations for the next phase are documented in the Beta Units report. This report along with the few hundred units that are built are the deliverables associated with this phase.

Production Phase

This is the mass production phase. At this point in the development process the design has been finalized. Depending on the expected volume of production, Nextware will use local or offshore facilities to optimize your production and shipment costs.

Maintenance and Support

Nextware has now delivered the core of your solution, and – in this phase – we help you provide the highest level of support for your products and solutions. Our services in this phase include:

  • 24/7 monitoring of servers (if any) supporting our client’s solutions
  • Server maintenance
  • Addressing any issues submitted through our Support Portal
  • Software and/or firmware updates if needed