Augmenting the value proposition of a large hardware manufacturer from Southeast Asia with data management software

At the outset, the client operated primarily as a hardware manufacturer. Their equipment was typically purchased for IoT deployment projects by third-party consultants or directly by the end customer’s team, who would integrate it with selected software and networking components on-site. The client had little to no engagement with end customers.

This strategy had proven successful for over 10 years. However, the client’s board of directors decided to upgrade it after representatives conducted market research and attended various conferences to better understand the real needs of businesses and what competitors were offering.

Research results indicated that one way to enhance their business strategy was to offer a data management solution in addition to hardware. They expected this move to:

• extend the customer journey by retaining existing customers with new services
• attract more customers by providing their software together with hardware or as a standalone solution compatible with the most popular hardware in the market
• increase revenue with regular payments from subscription-based solution purchasing
• enhance their market positions and cover more IoT project needs across domains

However, the company lacked the necessary expertise to build such a solution on its own. Opting for an in-house development team would have required spending a significant amount of time due to:

• a lengthy hiring process, leading to a postponed project kick-off
• a prolonged time to market, risking the loss of valuable resources and competitive advantages

That’s why the client decided to outsource this project and, after evaluating various third-party software development vendors, approached Yalantis. We offered a ready-made IoT platform accelerator that had the potential to reduce the time to market for the client and came highly recommended by one of our existing clients.

Before presenting their requirements, the client analyzed similar existing solutions in the market and surveyed their own customers on the capabilities they sought in a data management platform. As a result, they identified high-priority functionalities, including:

• device onboarding schemes for a single deployment (including adding and configuring devices, mapping devices to blueprint plans, and so on)
• an analytics module with key reports on measurements, premises, utility use, energy efficiency, and more
• dashboards and visualizations for monitoring key goals and enabling data-driven decision-making in smart building management
• alerts for key metrics exceeding the acceptable range and abnormal deviations in energy consumption and other utility use
• flexible user roles and target user group schemes, which we designed in collaboration with the client

Yalantis designed a development and implementation roadmap that consisted of:

Stage #1: Integrating a ready-made IoT data management system as the basis for the client’s required software system

With the Yalantis IoT data management platform, we enabled the following functionality within two sprints:

• Dashboards with visualized statistics and trends, as well as real-time monitoring of key metrics and events
• Reports for custom scenarios from the client based on hardware specifics and customers’ business processes (the client’s future plans include adding more customized reports to cover unique business needs and retain customer loyalty)
• Alerts on exceeding baseline measures for internal conditions (for example, air quality, parking lot and premise occupancy, and real-time energy consumption)
• AI module for monitoring utility consumption patterns and use of premises as well as for forecasting occupancy based on patterns, seasonality, and real-time anomaly detection

Stage #2: Building additional functionality to cover unique business needs

In addition to features built into our data management platform, the team developed:

• electronic blueprint plan management. This feature enables utility managers to upload and map equipment in a drag-and-drop mode, allowing them to consider all available equipment when creating reports and analytics.
• integration with third-party vendors providing real-time data on electricity prices. To generate customized and extensive reports on energy consumption, the Yalantis team integrated our platform with third-party services that provide local electricity prices. For the beta version, we chose a few European countries. With real-time pricing data, we augmented energy consumption reports with forecasted expenditures.

Stage #3: Enabling energy consumption forecasting

To unleash the full potential of the system, the Yalantis team additionally integrated its ML-based solution for energy consumption forecasting. The predictive ML model was pre-built and is capable of learning within a specific customer’s deployment to make sure it’s accurate and tailored to the customer’s unique processes. With this model, our clients’ end customers can:

• augment their sustainability strategy and contribute to reducing the carbon footprint
• reduce their utility expenditures due to extensive forecasting of potential energy use throughout various seasons, temperature conditions, and working hours (for office buildings)
• optimize their financial strategy and rethink how they allocate their finances

Stage #4: Thinking through a new monetization strategy

The newly developed software system required a proper monetization strategy that would:

• be financially attractive so customers would try the system, assess its true potential, and recommend our client’s software to other businesses
• generate revenue for years following the release
• be suitable for businesses of various sizes regardless of the number of sensors they use in their business processes, their building automation stage, and the extent of their services

Our business analysts, in collaboration with the client’s subject matter experts, came up with the following features for the new monetization model:

1. An extended service offer for big companies. For companies purchasing 5K+ sensors and enrolling in an enterprise-level subscription plan, the client offers a fixed annual price (regardless of the number of additional sensors acquired), free consultations on system deployment and device installation, and an exclusive right to request development of custom features and reports. If the end customer opts for a three-year subscription, the client includes a specific number of devices for free.
2. Subscription-based software purchasing by number of devices for small and midsize companies. Our client decided to reach small and midsize companies while expanding their target audience by setting affordable prices and offering seasonal discounts to maintain loyalty.

Stage #5: Developing a mobile application

One of the client’s goals in terms of developing a software solution was creating a mobile application for end users to:

• book empty office premises, office equipment, and parking spots
• monitor real-time office occupancy
• get reports on office conditions (air quality, indoor temperature, etc.)