HiQ offers companies customized solutions for reliable device management and over-the-air firmware updates.

How to optimize your time to market with FOTA

Firmware Over-the-Air updates offer an outstanding opportunity to significantly accelerate the time to market of products – whether in the development phase, when solving problems or after the product launch. We explain how to benefit from FOTA updates as a company.

Time to market (TTM) is a key factor in the product development process. It describes the time span from the initial idea through product development to market launch. The length or brevity of the time to market can give companies a decisive competitive advantage: The faster a product reaches the market, the faster it generates sales and establishes itself before the competition can catch up.

FOTA (Firmware Over-the-Air) updates offer an excellent opportunity to speed up this process considerably – whether in the development phase of a product, when solving problems or after the product launch.

Faster market launch with just in time software updates

Launching an unfinished product on the market? Doesn’t sound very smart at first, but it can actually be a clever strategy!

In an ideal world, the hardware and software of a device are always ready at the same time and products can be launched directly onto the market without expensive intermediate storage or waiting times. Is this the case in your company? Then congratulations, you have established highly optimized processes.

If not, I still have good news: The software does not have to be finalized at the same time as the hardware: While the finished device is already packaged and on its way to the customer, developers can still finalize the last lines of code or the QA department can use additional time to thoroughly test all software functions.

All that matters is that the product receives a wireless firmware update when it is first switched on to provide all the required functions.

This allows you to start production and delivery of your product early, saving valuable time and costs. Missing features can be added at market launch (or at a later stage). It is important that the FOTA system is able to orchestrate and process all updates smoothly so that the launch day is a complete success.

Reducing risks: Bugs, security, compliance

In addition to the fundamental reduction in time to market through F-OTA updates, it is crucial to recognize potential complications at an early stage and react accordingly in order to avoid unnecessary delays and stay ahead of the competition.

Such complications can arise as a result of changed framework conditions, for example new security standards that are not met. Or serious problems discovered by the QA department, like a feature not working properly or even spyware in purchased hardware.

If a company does not have a FOTA system, software problems can be updated manually by hand and plug – provided that the devices are not on the market or with the customer. However, if this is no longer possible, you hopefully have a competent marketing team to cushion a recall – or a really well-functioning FOTA system.

Such a FOTA system must not only be highly scalable in order to update a very large number of devices simultaneously (and later be scalable down again to save costs). It should also offer various rollout strategies and backup plans in order to carry out all updates efficiently and risk-free in an urgent situation. This ensures that bug fixes, security and compliance updates are applied quickly and without unnecessary costs.

Interested in learning more about FOTA in the context of IoT?

Then read part 1 of our article series: Firmware Over-the-Air: We explain FOTA.

Flexible feature updates to match the market situation

Months and years often pass between the planning, development and final release of a product. In the days before the Internet and FOTA updates, companies were forced to plan a product from start to finish and bring it to market completely ready. Today, it is possible to deliver new features as and when required.

If your company’s product is a market leader and customer satisfaction is high, it can make strategic sense to save resources and development costs. If your competitor suddenly surprises you with an innovative feature, you can reinvest in development or roll out a reserved update.
Unforeseeable events, such as a pandemic or an economic crisis, can also lead to your company having to reassess its priorities. In such cases, it may be advisable to reduce development costs, gather valuable customer feedback and data or attract investors.

Thanks to wireless firmware updates, it is possible to flexibly develop, roll out or hold back new functions after the market launch. This allows you to adapt your product strategy to changing company and market situations in the optimum way.

Conclusion

Whether it’s a product launch, solving problems during use or updating devices that have already been delivered: Updates over the air are an effective way to shorten the time to market of your product in various phases.

For this, it is crucial to have a robust FOTA system. A good firmware-over-the- air-system must be scalable, customizable and reliable. This allows you to meet the dynamic requirements of today’s markets.

Firmware Over The Air: We explain FOTA

Firmware Over The Air updates are a crucial tool in the context of IoT and smart homes. We explain the term in an easy-to-understand way. We also provide an insight into why FOTA is not only relevant for software developers, security managers and device manufacturers, but also for end users.

In the dynamic landscape of industrial manufacturing, digitization plays a key role for success. Terms such as Industry 4.0 or IoT (Internet of Things) are no longer concepts for the future, but have been firmly established worldwide — both for modern production and for a smartly connected everyday life. Almost everyone uses technologies that are attributed to these terms, whether directly or indirectly.

Firmware over the air (FOTA) updates are a key tool in this constantly growing digital repertoire. They make it possible to comply with the latest (security) standards, bring features to market faster and even help protect the environment.

In this article, we explain the various terms associated with FOTA updates in an easy-to-understand way.

We also provide a concise overview of why FOTA is so essential not only for software developers, security managers and device manufacturers, but also for end users.

Key terms around FOTA

Internet of Things

The Internet of Things, or IoT for short, refers to the communication between different machines, systems and devices. The technology used for communication is irrelevant. From Bluetooth to 5G to the classic Internet, everything is included.

This type of communication allows automatic workflows to be defined and executed between different devices at different locations without the need for human intervention.

One example: Many homes now have smart devices that communicate with each other. Sensors measure the position of the sun, for example, and automatically close the shutters. This automatic shading allows the amount of light and heat to be directed into the various rooms. If there is also a link to an intelligent heating installation, the result is an extremely sustainable and energy-efficient system.

Hardware/Firmware/Software

IoT devices usually consist of several parts, which are assigned to three categories: Hardware, software and firmware.

Hardware refers to the physical component, the body of a device, so to speak. This can be touched, but can also be broken.

Firmware, on the other hand, describes the ‘invisible’ part (to be imagined as the electrical impulses of the brain) — so the code that communicates directly with the hardware and orchestrates which part performs which task and when.

Software describes the part of the code that no longer interacts directly with the hardware, but only with the firmware. Firmware is generally also referred to as embedded software.

Cyber Security

The (embedded) software described above is usually extremely complex and consists of thousands of lines of code written by different developers. This makes it almost impossible to keep firmware or software completely free of security vulnerabilities. These can be exploited to access the data stored on a device or to render the device unusable by hackers.

According to a recent report by Cybersecurity Ventures, the consequential costs of cyber crime amounted to just under USD 8 trillion in 2023 and will rise to USD 9.5 trillion in 2024. The trend is rising, even for 2025.

FOTA

To stay in the context of cyber security: If a security gap is found, it must be closed as quickly as possible to prevent criminals from exploiting it (if this is not already the case).

In the best case scenario, the gap will be closed in a few hours. However, the latest, secure version of the firmware still needs to be installed on the end device. This is known as an update. If the device is not connected to another device, such as a computer, this is known as a wireless update or OTA update (over the air update).

FOTA update therefore means nothing other than Firmware Over The Air Update and describes the wireless update of the firmware.

As described, these can be updates to solve security issues, but also other firmware adjustments; for example, to add current functions or to optimize device performance and service life.

FOTA updates are essential for modern IoT and enterprise environments as they ensure security, efficiency and scalability in device management.

Curious why OTA Firmware Updates and device management are essential for modern IoT and enterprise environments?

Here you can read more insights and download our free 1-pager on Device Management.

What’s next?

Now that the terminology has been clarified, our upcoming blog posts will focus on the F-OTA process:

What added value does the FOTA process have for companies and end users?
What technologies and processes are behind the term?
What can an XXL FOTA system look like?
What is the Cyber Resilience Act?
And above all: how do you get such a system?

We answer these and other questions in the Scandio article series Revolution in the IoT age: Firmware over the Air.