Business case considerations

The TCO is further divided among the various parties in the ecosystem, based on their expected returns. The organization should also consider its potential performance without initiating the project and how it will share the costs of the generic, or common, capabilities. 

Business cases need to consider how the project will impact the individual parties, stakeholders, departments, and so on the as well as the wider business impact, including operations and competitiveness. IIoT projects have the potential to create reusable assets that should be considered in the cost/benefits. 

It is important not to underestimate the costs. Cost calculations need to consider integration costs with existing systems, design, prototyping, testing, and certification. Another consideration in IIoT is the continuing operating costs of the infrastructure.

Since business cases and value projections generally make certain assumptions, which should be documented for each business case calculation; this will facilitate calculating changes to the ROI in the event of changing parameters.

A thorough risk assessment should be performed, considering technology, implementation, execution, and operational risks, in addition to business risks.