Running it over years.
WHAT ONGOING OPERATION INVOLVES
Monitoring the fleet Supporting customers Maintaining the platform Issuing updates Managing connectivity contracts Replacing failed devices
WHAT TO STAFF FOR
Support volume, which scales with devices.
WHAT DRIVES SUPPORT VOLUME
Setup difficulty Connectivity problems Battery questions Data that customers do not understand
WHAT REDUCES IT
Better setup Clearer status indication Self-diagnosis Proactive contact before customers notice
WHY PROACTIVE CONTACT HELPS
A customer told their device failed trusts more than one who discovered it.
WHAT TO AUTOMATE
Detection of failed devices Replacement dispatch Update rollouts Billing
WHAT TO REVIEW PERIODICALLY
Failure rates by batch and age Connectivity cost against usage Platform cost against device count Support cost per device
WHAT TO PLAN
Hardware revisions, since components become unavailable.
WHY THAT IS INEVITABLE
Component lifetimes are shorter than deployment lifetimes.
WHAT TO MAINTAIN
Firmware support for every version in the field.
WHAT TO COMMUNICATE
Support periods, and end-of-life dates, well in advance.
