The hidden cost of fragmented IoT development [Sponsored]

A device ships but collects field data at only 60% of the target rate. The hardware vendor blames firmware. The firmware contractor faults the RF environment. The RF consultant cites power management. No one modeled how modem power use, battery discharge, and packet retransmission interact as a system because no single team owned all of them. This ownership gap stalls IoT projects.

This issue frequently delays and inflates budgets for many European device projects, especially for companies new to connected products or established manufacturers adding connectivity without a full redesign.

ACRIOS Systems, a Czech technology company known for its large-scale smart metering deployments, built its custom development practice specifically to offer end-to-end solutions. Instead of fragmented service delivery, ACRIOS provides clients with full project ownership, handling every stage of the product lifecycle from embedded hardware design through OEM production to long-term field maintenance. Clients gain a single accountable partner who streamlines management and minimises integration risk for reliable results.

The fragmentation problem in IoT product development

Connected device creation spans circuit design, PCB layout, firmware, radio protocols, antenna tuning, power management, application software, backend systems, and cybersecurity. Each is specialised.

Commonly, hardware, firmware, and cloud layers are split among separate teams. This may work initially, but integration often reveals gaps at these boundaries, with no single supplier accountable for resolving them. These gaps cause delays and rework. Hardware, firmware, antenna, or protocol issues often arise from split development. Single-team ownership avoids predictable failures.

Full-stack ownership across the product lifecycle

ACRIOS provides in-house hardware, firmware, embedded software, protocols, applications, backend services, and OEM production, all managed by a 25-person team without outsourcing core engineering.

ACRIOS can manage end-to-end development or join an existing team for specific phases, such as optimisation, audit, or certification, without disrupting existing work. Prototypes are delivered within 2-3 months thanks to reusable tools, past architectures, and minimal coordination overhead when one team owns the full context.

Communication expertise as a foundation

IoT communication is the bedrock of ACRIOS’s engineering practice. Clients benefit directly. Robust device communication is critical for real-world performance, while mistakes in this domain have immediate, visible consequences. ACRIOS’s proven strength here is a decisive differentiator.

The protocol stack includes bare-metal implementations of CoAP, MQTT, LWM2M, and UDP. It encompasses wM-Bus bidirectional communication and NB-IoT integration. A multi-chipset standardisation layer gives clients flexibility in hardware selection. FUOTA enables reliable, large-scale, over-the-air updates to deployed devices. Protocol validation occurs on active networks in several countries, not only in laboratories.

Clients thus receive products tested in real-world environments, protecting their deployments from unexpected field issues. Radio behaviour in dense cities differs from that in the lab. Products not validated in real networks carry risks into production.

ACRIOS is an official Quectel design house for Central and Eastern Europe. This status shows deep engineering skill in Quectel module integration and direct access to manufacturer support. For NB-IoT or smart module products, this relationship shortens integration challenges. It removes long back-and-forth with component vendors.

Designing for demanding environments

Industrial, utility, and public infrastructure deployments face demanding conditions that typical consumer IoT development overlooks. With portfolio highlights such as a converter certified to ATEX Zone 2 for explosive environments, ACRIOS ensures devices meet stringent requirements for enclosure design, power management, and component selection. The company’s hands-on experience translates to robust, field-ready solutions.

ATEX-certified hardware experience directly informs every aspect of device designs. Power budgets are conservatively calculated. Environmental tolerances are guided by field conditions, not lab scenarios. Mechanical design accounts for real-world technician use, not just engineers in controlled settings. This approach guarantees reliability where others falter.

Discipline applies beyond utilities. For Lokni, a smart water vending machine, ACRIOS delivered control systems, a mobile app for users, an admin web interface, and a secure backend. The device is maintenance-free, using remote diagnostics for long uptime and reliable management. Cross-sector experience strengthens solutions.

“A device that works in a lab is a prototype. After three years in the field, two firmware updates, and a radio regulation change, it is a product. That distinction shapes every architectural decision we make from day one,” says Marek Novák, Chief Technology Officer at ACRIOS Systems.

Cybersecurity compliance as an engineering discipline

Europe’s regulatory environment for connected devices is changing fast. The Cyber Resilience Act took effect in 2024, with compliance due by 2027. It enforces cybersecurity for the full lifecycle: secure development, vulnerability management, encrypted communication, OTA updates, and certification documentation.

CRA compliance is not a late-stage add-on. It requires strategically planned architectural choices from the start. This means robust authentication, sound encryption key management, and prepared responses to post-deployment vulnerabilities. Retrofitting these features later is costly and inefficient. With a development team prepared for these challenges from the start, compliance becomes simple and cost-effective.

ACRIOS takes part in applied research funded by the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic. This research focuses on practical CRA requirements to help clients benefit from firsthand regulatory expertise. The company designs device architectures and prepares certification documentation, ensuring clients receive products that are not only operational but also ready for European certification.

The Radio Equipment Directive (RED) and its delegated acts add cybersecurity and privacy rules for radio devices. ACRIOS aligns both CRA and RED requirements from the architecture stage. This ensures compliance through design, not last-minute fixes.

From embedded device to data layer

For clients needing more than devices, ACRIOS manages network connectivity, backend infrastructure (Dockerised Linux), and data export through various interfaces (REST API, CSV via SFTP, etc.).

The practical consequence for product teams is the ability to work directly with business-relevant data rather than managing an IoT infrastructure. The device collects. The backend processes. The client’s systems receive clean, structured output, reducing internal technical workload. For companies new to connected products, this approach eliminates the burden of building and maintaining their own IoT backend, delivering a turnkey solution with a lower barrier to entry and reduced operational overhead.

The same architecture supports remote monitoring and OTA updates, making long-term deployments viable and CRA-compliant. Devices can be updated, rolled back, and managed remotely as requirements evolve.

The case for single-partner development

A single engineering partner across the full stack ensures clear accountability, fast fixes, and swift regulatory adaptation when requirements change.

For European companies bringing connected products to market under increasing regulatory pressure and with limited tolerance for extended development cycles, that accountability structure is a material advantage. The alternative, distributing development across multiple suppliers and managing the integration, is not cheaper. It transfers integration risk to the client, who is typically least equipped to absorb it.

ACRIOS has validated this model across metering infrastructure deployments, public environment hardware, and hospital communication systems. The technical domains differ. The underlying engineering discipline does not.

About ACRIOS Systems

ACRIOS Systems is a Czech technology company specialising in hardware and software development for smart metering, IoT, and energy management. An official Quectel design house for Central and Eastern Europe, the company designs and manufactures its own hardware and firmware in-house, and delivers full-stack custom development and OEM production for clients across Europe.

For more information, visit ACRIOS Systems.