Speed-to-market is a big competitive advantage for IoT startups, but it comes with some tradeoffs: rushing to launch a minimum viable product (MVP) without solid foundations for scalability can lead to technical debt that’s expensive to fix later. The risk is even more pronounced in IoT, where firmware, hardware, and cloud infrastructure are all tightly coupled.
At DO OK, we encourage a lean but intentional approach to IoT MVP development, one that prioritizes early-stage experimentation while still addressing critical architectural decisions from the outset. Defining core user needs, creating basic product-market alignment, and avoiding premature scalability traps helps teams mitigate issues like technical debt and vendor lock-in while still getting to market quickly.
Traditional software MVPs benefit from quick iteration cycles, centralised deployments, and established automation pipelines. IoT MVPs, however, must account for the unpredictability of hardware in the field, distributed device management, and complex networking environments.
IoT systems are harder to update, test, and debug once deployed, and shortcuts made during the MVP stage can become difficult (not to mention expensive) to unwind. Many IoT projects over-optimise for scalability too early, assuming future growth that may never materialise. As funding tightens, projects sometimes stall under the weight of early decisions.
Instead, architecture should reflect the actual problem being solved, not generic market patterns or trendy buzzwords. Device failure, environmental variation, and user unpredictability all create real-world consequences that software-only teams sometimes overlook.
Defining and planning for these fragilities early can help teams to build smarter, leaner MVPs that scale naturally, once the business proves it needs to.
Tech debt in IoT projects goes beyond messy code; it can also mean architectural lock-in, brittle firmware, and/or costly infrastructure decisions. While some debt is inevitable during fast MVP development, recognising the common sources of technical debt in IoT startups can help teams avoid major pitfalls.
One major risk is early reliance on a specific cloud vendor, such as AWS or Azure. While indisputably convenient, these platforms create long-term cost and flexibility issues if all your infrastructure is designed around a single ecosystem. Migrating away from a tightly coupled platform later can be complex and expensive.
Another issue is underestimating the long-term cost of hardware decisions. Choosing cheaper microcontrollers or inflexible firmware may save costs upfront, but can limit memory, processing power, or updatability. This might mean that adding new features to older devices breaks firmware pipelines or forces duplicated codebases.
Manual provisioning and maintenance also become liabilities at scale. Tasks like manual installation or debugging may seem harmless at first but grow expensive as device volume increases.
Other common sources of technical debt that we see all the time include:
- Using legacy or exotic protocols that require costly translation layers
- Avoiding automation in build and testing pipelines
- Neglecting support for OTA (over-the-air) updates
- Failing to align supply chain expectations with software delivery timelines
- Poor IoT MVP cost estimation, such as edge constraints and cloud scaling fees
Each of these may seem minor at launch, but together, they can cripple future progress.
To build a resilient IoT MVP, make deliberate, scalable choices from the outset. Drawing on DO OK’s firsthand experience, the following IoT architecture best practices can provide startups with a roadmap to balance speed with sustainability, laying a strong foundation for both early success and future growth.
Start by growing your architecture alongside your business needs. Premature optimisation, especially around scalability, can lock you into costly infrastructure before the product has proven itself. Instead, use flexible technologies (like containerisation and modular frameworks) that let you scale only when needed.
Establishing a CI/CD pipeline early enables continuous testing, faster delivery, and reduced manual errors. Centralised monitoring helps detect faults across distributed systems before they become widespread failures.
Security and maintainability go hand in hand. Zero-touch provisioning, OTA firmware updates, and standardised device onboarding help hardware remain functional and safe over time.
Always track your tradeoffs. Maintain a technical debt register for tagging fast hacks, documenting decisions, and scheduling triage sessions. This turns ad hoc decisions into manageable risks.
IoT projects span cloud, firmware, electronics, and supply chains. Cross-disciplinary teams aligned from day one reduce communication gaps, prevent duplicative work, and view the entire system as a whole.
Consider using open-source protocols as a strategic hedge for modular IoT design. When vendors discontinue support (as seen with the Google Nest debacle), open communication interfaces can prevent devices from becoming obsolete.
Overall, startups should focus on building modular, updateable, and testable components, not just launching quickly. Leveraging these IoT startup development tips and avoiding technical debt in MVP development helps turn an initial launch into a long-term success.
Startups tend to feel torn between building something fast and building something well. But experienced teams understand that the two are not mutually exclusive, if you know where to place your focus.
The key is constraint. Instead of trying to match every feature your competitors offer, focus on solving a core user problem with maximum efficiency. Experienced teams know that overloading the MVP with “nice-to-haves” creates delivery delays, inflated costs, and tech debt from under-tested features.
Use open-source tools when possible. Frameworks, OTA tooling, and integration libraries can cut development time. Community-vetted tools offer reliable, faster iteration.
Avoid perfectionism. Chasing an ideal product can block launch. A solid MVP solving 80% of user needs with 20% of its functionality is far better than one that never ships.
The best MVPs aren’t overbuilt; they’re thoughtfully focused, testable, and aligned with a real market need.
One of DO OK’s notable IoT projects involved collaboration with BEHA, a Norwegian manufacturer of smart electric heaters. The project aimed to help BEHA develop and launch a remotely managed, connected product line while enabling remote diagnostics, updates, and control via mobile applications.
BEHA’s existing product infrastructure presented significant technical debt challenges, especially in providing long-term firmware maintainability and support across multiple generations of devices. There was no contractual agreement in place to support firmware updates for legacy hardware, and the devices used different communication protocols, making integration and rollout far more complex.
DO OK’s solution included building a scalable, modular cloud platform that supported both the legacy and new generation heaters. The team created an abstraction layer to unify how different devices communicated with the platform, and implemented secure, over-the-air update mechanisms to reduce the risk of future obsolescence.
Through prioritising modularity, backwards compatibility, and transparent fault reporting, the team constructed a smoother long-term maintenance strategy; one that balanced immediate delivery needs with sustainability.
The main takeaways from our work with BEHA were the importance of (1) planning for lifecycle support in hardware MVPs and (2) investing early in IoT product scalability. Early architectural foresight and strong vendor collaboration can minimise technical debt without compromising speed to market.
Applying proven best practices for launching a successful IoT MVP will help teams make smart, forward-looking decisions that balance speed with sustainability. Technical debt is real and not always obvious, but with the right architectural choices, testing strategies, and inter-departmental alignment, it can be managed from day one.
At DO OK, we help startups and product-led companies overcome these challenges, avoiding traps, accelerating delivery, and laying a solid foundation for the long run.
Ready to build your IoT MVP the right way? Contact us for a consultation or to learn more about how DO OK can help you move fast without sacrificing future success.
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