🔄 Value in connected products comes from things that can change

In the realm of industrial connected devices, the era of “develop, lock it down, and ship it forever” is largely behind us. I’ve observed there is always another improvement that will add value to the system. And because modern platforms (like Linux or Zephyr) typically have plenty of memory, a capable processor, and flexible I/O, it is possible to add functionality after the system ships. Increasingly, the things that can change as needs and opportunities shift define the value in modern products:

• Software: the most flexible; it can be updated at any time.
• Hardware: changing or replacing a PCB (printed circuit board) in a machine is relatively cheap and easy with the right design and the infrastructure to support change.
• Mechanical: cost varies depending on the component. 3D printing and other technologies are changing some of this.

In industrial systems, there is a huge opportunity to deliver value in the future after the sale. The installation and maintenance costs usually swamp the equipment costs, so making it easy to deploy new software and swap PCBs or other components pays off for both the builder and the customer for years.