In a digitized world, connected devices open up possibilities for many industries, and provide an excellent opportunity to be monetized through subscription billing. But there are issues need to be sorted out before taking advantage of the Internet of Things market. Read to know new problems in IoT devices.

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Software Glitches:
A New Problem in
IoT Devices
© 2015 Vindicia, Inc. All rights reserved. Vindicia Confidential.

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Software Glitches: A New Problem in IoT Devices
© 2015 Vindicia, Inc. All rights reserved. Vindicia Confidential.
Connected devices open up possibilities for many industries, and provide a great
opportunity to be monetized through subscription billing. However, there are a few issues
that brands will need to sort out before they can truly take advantage of the budding
Internet of Things market.
Security is the main fear where the IoT is concerned, but there are other issues as well.
For instance, what happens when all of these newly digitized and connected devices
experience errors that prevent them from performing optimally?
Unexpected glitches
While it's difficult for a traditional key to malfunction, a glitch in a digital locking
mechanism could prevent owners from entering their homes. When multiple objects in a
home function through their connection to the cloud, going offline can cause serious
issues.
A recent article from The New York Times highlighted an issue with Nest thermostats,
where the devices went offline unexpectedly and caused the temperatures in some
homes to drop dramatically. Matt Rogers, co-founder and vice president of engineering at
Nest, told the Times the bug arrived in a December software update and started to affect
customers early in the new year.

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Errors and glitches negatively affect smart homes.

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Other IoT businesses have faced similar issues. Wink, a hub that connects multiple
devices, encountered a service interruption that impacted multiple devices, Fox News
reported. For some customers, everything connected to the hub went offline, which
meant smart locks and lights could not be accessed remotely. The issue affected roughly
one-quarter of all Wink customers.
Overcoming IoT obstacles
On the other hand, when smart homes function optimally, they can help you save time,
energy and money, and look cool while doing it. For example, in the future, your smart
irrigation system can work with your smart thermostat to automatically water the plants
when it reaches a specific temperature outside. The benefits of connected devices
outweigh the downfalls, but the key for companies is to focus on improving their devices
over time and to implement great service and engagement to keep
customer satisfaction high.
In one regard, IoT device-makers have a leg up on other industries because they have
access to so much data about how customers use their products. This enables them to
more effectively target new customers and use marketing techniques to retain current
subscribers. This information also gives device-makers insight into how customers use
the product. This information is crucial because it allows brands to continue to improve
on their product.

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One major benefit of using a subscription billing platform is gaining access to even more
robust customer data, such as the average customer lifetime value of subscribers.
Another advantage that comes from harnessing subscriber data is the ability to send out
promotions and upsells to specific customers based on their preferences. Being able to
create new promotions and send them out quickly can have great customer service
advantages.
More devices are being connected each day. The best way for companies to maximize
their potential is to implement the right subscription billing partner.

6. 6© 2015 Vindicia, Inc. All rights reserved. Vindicia Confidential.
About the Author: Bryta Schulz
Bryta joined Vindicia in 2013 and serves as Senior Vice
President of Marketing. She is responsible for building brand
awareness, creating go-to-market strategy and promotion, and
driving growth. With over a decade of executive level marketing,
product management and PR experience, Bryta has led
marketing teams in enterprise technology and SaaS companies.
Her experience includes heading product marketing at GoGrid,
PGP, RSA and Symantec and business development and
product management positions at Xcert, Thales, and
Persistence Software. Bryta holds a MA in Translation from the
Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and an MBA from the
University of Reutlingen.
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© 2015 Vindicia, Inc. All rights reserved. Vindicia Confidential.