Do you sell a product, solution or software platform that runs unmanned in a public venue? Is the mission of your business to scale nationwide? If the answer is yes, you are also in the network business, and your future is ownership. Your business is not going to hit critical mass if you rely on a 3rd party or your customer for network connectivity and Internet access. Gone are the days of the shared enterprise connection. You’re living on sandy beaches if you think someone else will provide the backbone for your product or service.
You’re wrong. I’m not paying for network lines. I’m selling “the future”.
Unmanned hardware and certain enterprise software relies on connectivity to function properly. As technology becomes more complex and integrated into our daily lives, it requires a constant connection to the Internet, and probably other networks in order to access data, perform updates, and communicate with other systems. This is especially true for cloud-based software, which relies on a stable and reliable connection to the cloud in order to operate.
The proliferation of smart devices and the Internet of Things (IoT) is driving a need for connectivity on a scale that is only akin to the need for telephones during the latter half of the 20th century. As more and more devices become connected, the demand for connectivity increases. In order to support the communication between these devices you need to control and own what is making everything possible. This trend is only set to continue as the number of connected devices grows.
Unmanned hardware and software becomes useless, and drives lack of customers, when it doesn’t work. Nothing drives malfunction like the lack of a solid connection to the Internet, and 3rd party networks.
Who own’s your backbone?
Imagine relying on someone else’s spinal cord to communicate messages from your brain to your hands and feet. Do you trust they will always have it working? Do you trust they won’t deprioritize your demands? Do you feel comfortable being at the mercy of someone else for the success of your body?
This is the same philosophy as owning your own network. Only you and your team know how much bandwidth you’ll need, what contingency plans might include, how you plan to monitor and maintain your solution, or what the growth plan might look like as your solution matures. It is extremely tempting to use someone else’s network when the price is $0. But I am here to tell you nothing is free! Just like Facebook charges you in privacy vs. currency…if you’re using someone else’s connection you’re exchanging functionality and serviceability for currency.
I can’t afford it. Plain and simple…WRONG
As a solution provider or OEM, you cannot afford not to own your own success. Today your car has a dedicated connection and you are paying for it upfront as part of the vehicle. ATM’s have a dedicated connection and you’re paying for it as part of the transaction. Even certain parking lot sensors carry a dedicated connection and it’s given to you as part of the shopping experience.
It is going to be 2023. Dedicated connection does not mean dedicated residential Internet lines. If you have a technology person who isn’t familiar with LoRa, IoT, M2M, SDWAN, 5G, NarrowBand, and Short Burst Data, fire them.
I’m dead serious. Understanding options and being able to provide scalable connectivity in a technology company is nearly as important as the programming and hardware itself. Nothing is more important than being in control of your lane to success, and that means owning the way in which your solution communicates.
If you think you have the best solution and don’t own the way it connects and operates, you don’t have the best solution. Period.
Someone else is taking you for a ride and will dump you at the first sign of trouble.
A good partner will point you to companies that provide scalable, unique and creative methods of owning a connection that works for your budget, your bandwidth needs and your business model. Nothing is more important than connectivity in a cloud-based world. IPv6 was designed to provide a publicly routable IP to every device on the Internet, no NAT’ing. This was founded on the idea that every device will eventually be connected to the Internet, no sharing. Residential models for connectivity do not translate to enterprise offerings. Stop assuming someone else will pick up the tab on your solutions biggest value-add…connectivity!