OEDC vs In-House vs Traditional IoT Platforms: Decoding Effectiveness for OEMs

Choosing the most preferable solution for IoT adoption is the most hectic process for OEMs as they have been discussing the build vs buy dilemma for a long time. There are majorly 3 options in 2024 — building your own in-house IoT platform, buying a pre-built platform and tweak your business requirement around it, or taking customizable with pre-implemented modules OEM Enterprise Domain Cloud (OEDC).

There are many options with different pros and cons, so which one should you choose?

Before we jump to the analysis and various pros and cons of every IoT solution option, let’s understand the needs of OEMs for successful business transformation.

Factors to Consider:

You are right that every business has different goals and needs, but almost 50% of the needs in the OEM’s list are similar. Other than that, there are just some ideas to make the process easy in their organizations.

So, here is a list of factors that OEMs must evaluate against factors crucial to their success regardless of the approach:

• Available Budget: Consider the financial implications of each approach, factoring in development costs, licensing fees, and ongoing maintenance expenses.
• Differentiation from Competition: Assess how each option enables differentiation, whether through unique features, faster time-to-market, or enhanced user experiences.
• Break-Even/ROI Goals: Evaluate the potential return on investment and the time it takes to break even for each approach.
• Use Cases at Hand: Consider the specific use cases relevant to the OEM’s industry and assess how each platform addresses these requirements.

Let’s decode the best solution by understanding every option in detail with their pros and cons. So, let’s get started.

Traditional IoT Platforms

Have you ever considered a pre-built IoT solution for your platform development? Do you know the various benefits and limitations they offer?

A traditional IoT solution is a pre-built IoT platform with various features and functionalities available for OEMs to use for their business objective. It does not offer a customization option, which means you can add or eliminate any feature as per your requirement. You can only use the limited functionalities incorporated within your platform. Here are some pros and cons that you face with a traditional pre-built IoT platform.

Pros:

• Takes Lesser Time: You can achieve speedy IoT platform development that gives you the time to market. They have a pre-built structure ready where you have to log your processing and preferences to get started, which takes less time than others.
• Broad Feature Set: You can get a broad range of in-built features and capabilities. These platforms typically offer various basic functionalities that can be helpful to fulfill at least all the basic needs of an organization for IoT adoption.

Cons:

• Limited Customization: Traditional platforms may have limitations in adapting to the specific needs of OEMs. You can not add any feature or module other than what you have been provided in your platform. So, it limits you from creating a more business-specific solution for your audiences.
• Security: If you choose a pre-built or low-code platform, you have to face critical concerns with cyber security. IoT ecosystem provides insufficient security measures that lead to the risk of data breaches, potentially leading to unauthorized access to confidential data, impacting their functionality, and potentially causing disruptions.
• Data Privacy Concerns: IoT and low-code platforms usually have strict data privacy regulations to ensure user data protection and compliance with regulatory frameworks. It may create new challenges for OEMs, such as mishandling of user data. Organizations can face trust eroding and reputation damage, especially industries that keep data privacy as a top concern.

So, OEMs try to avoid buying and creating their own IoT platform, which comes with more challenges than they face with a pre-built solution.

In-House IoT Platform Development

Developing an application on your own may sound easy. Still, it is a very critical process that requires a longer time and a huge amount of investment even after the deployment.

When OEMs choose to develop, they have to hire a team of IoT specialists who can create the apps, integrating various features and modules they need. But it cost them more than anything.

It may sound easy on paper, but implementing such a platform is complex in real life.

Pros:

• Tailored to Specific Needs: You can add and eliminate various features and functionalities as per your business needs and upgrade functionalities as per the evolving technologies at the time. In-house development allows customization, ensuring the platform aligns precisely with OEM requirements.
• Complete Control: OEMs have full control over the development process, ensuring alignment with internal standards and practices. So, you just have to create a team of skilled developers and cloud administrators. Then, you are all set to have complete control over the integrations, deployment, upgrades, and additional features.

Cons:

• Resource Intensive: You have to spend time and money in order to develop an in-house platform with significant resources. An organization opting for an in-house application can not think of saving in terms of time, expertise, and costs.
• Longer Time-to-Market: Developing an IoT solution takes longer than usual, which may lead to longer time-to-market. The delay in the deployment of IoT solutions is the biggest reason why most organizations do not choose to take the path of development from scratch.

Then what is the way? Is there any solution that can help OEMs save some time and provide freedom to customize?

OEDC is the solution if you are asking the same questions.

OEM Enterprise Domain Cloud (OEDC):

OEM Enterprise Domain Cloud (OEDC) is an upgraded Application Enablement Platform solution that offers the best market features and customization options.

So, OEDC is a platform with built-in features and the power to add on various functionalities you want in your bespoke IoT applications.

Pros:

• Comprehensive Solution: OEDC offers an all-encompassing solution covering engineering, operations, and revenue development, streamlining the entire process for OEMs. You just have to share your needs and the functionalities you would like to integrate into your platform and then just wait for the process to complete within a quarter.
• Scalable and Flexible: Designed to be scalable, OEDC stands out as a platform that adapts seamlessly to the changing needs and growth trajectories of OEMs as they grow. OEDC scales proportionally with the expanding operations and the larger & complex projects, ensuring that the platform remains robust and capable of handling increased demands.
• IP Ownership: OEMs can retain complete control over proprietary technologies and solutions with OEDC’s commitment to ensuring full intellectual property ownership (IP). OEDC empowers OEMs by safeguarding their IP and preventing unauthorized usage or replication by external entities. It not only fosters a sense of security but also positions OEMs to confidently innovate and differentiate themselves in the market. The assurance of IP ownership is a strategic advantage that contributes significantly to the long-term success and sustainability of OEMs leveraging the OEDC platform.

Cons:

• Dependency on Provider: The success of OEDC relies on the capabilities and reliability of the chosen provider.
• Learning Curve: Transitioning to a new platform may require time for the team to familiarize themselves with the features and functionalities.

If you want to avoid the cons of OEDC, it is essential to check various aspects while choosing an AEP or OEDC, like Flex83.

Yes, you can get various in-built features like IAM, Notification, Blues, Payment, Storage, Transformation, Device, Dashboard, Connector, FaaS, Key Detection, ML Object Detection, ML Model Transformation, ML Face Classification, ML Feature Engineering, ML Feature Selection and more.

Just keep in mind that you have to understand your business requirements first and then only choose between the build vs. buy vs. OEDC to make a more appropriate choice for your organization.

In conclusion, choosing between Traditional IoT Platforms, In-House Development, and OEDC involves a careful evaluation of the pros and cons against the unique needs and goals of the OEM. By aligning the decision with available budgets, differentiation strategies, break-even goals, and specific use cases, OEMs can make a strategic choice that propels them toward success in the IoT-driven manufacturing landscape.