How to Monetize IoT Apps

The demand for IoT applications (Internet of Things) is always increasing, especially as more interconnected devices are introduced to the market. Currently, there are roughly 20 billion of these interconnected devices – not smartphones or computers, but specific purpose IoT solutions such as smart sensor networks used in wind farms, factories, etc. 

The development of 5G has resulted in the rise in popularity for smart home appliances and the adoption of smart-city enterprises around the world, IoT's future is going on at this very moment. And, its future looks to be quite profitable. 

How can IoT be monetized? Before you can look at how to monetize it, you must first consider who or what will want to spend money on IoT solutions development. These entities involve businesses, consumers and governments. 

Business' Use Of IoT

Smart sensors are used widely in industry 4.0 factories, with 35% of manufacturers currently using them and 18% of others looking to adopt the technology in the next couple of years. There are nearly 310 million smart sensors in use in the foodservice industry, 75 million used in the agriculture industry, 5.5 million used on oil rigs and roughly one billion smart sensors are watching the power lines. 

Consumers' Use of IoT

The consumer market has already seen the advantages IoT offers with self-driving cars and smart homes. There are currently about 220 million connected vehicles in 2020, and most American households will be interconnected by 2030. 

Governments' Use of IoT

Governments worldwide are investing big money into IoT applications, including smart city infrastructure, healthcare systems, automated defense systems, etc. In 2020 alone, governments deployed 7.7 billion smart interconnected sensors, spending roughly $133 billion in 2019. With the adoption of smart city infrastructure, these cities' monetary value has increased by $420 billion. 

In the healthcare industry, there are roughly 650 million interconnected IoT sensors already in place (according to Business Insider research), especially with the coronavirus pandemic increasing the use of telemedicine and remote healthcare. 

4 Primary Ways To Make IoT Work With Your Product 

There are many ways to monetize IoT to work with your product, but there are four key ways to benefit you.

• Interconnected Products – The simplest way to make money with IoT is to design and sell products with IoT sensors and can be remotely controlled via IoT apps. The addition of these features, either on new or currently available products, ensures companies market them as ground-breaking and create a sense of originality that speaks to consumers. 

• Service Subscription – After consumers buy your products, you can include IoT-based services through a subscription that will give you a steady stream of revenue and strengthen the relationship you have with them. You can extend this service to existing customers, giving them a chance to enable their devices' functionality for a price. 

• Data Collection – IoT solutions are designed to anonymously collect and store a plethora of information about users, helping businesses improve marketing campaigns and better target offers. If your product/service includes data collecting and processing, think of it as an IoT investment. If you depersonalize it, it can generate a stream of revenue. 

• Product Expansion – A good way to make money from your IoT investments is to produce products that can be expanded upon by other software and hardware developers. The development of clean integrating APIs ensures other hardware manufacturers can combine their products with the IoT apps you create. By doing this, other software developers, hardware merchants and end customers will pay you. 

There is little doubt about IoT's future, with new apps being seen every day and its use only increasing. If you have a product that could help a currently underserved niche, add IoT to it and see it flourish and make you money.