Most IoT platform RFPs fail before the vendor even reads them. Not because the buyer doesn’t know what they want, but because the document asks the wrong questions. Generic RFPs get generic answers. You end up comparing vendor marketing copy instead of actual capabilities.
Here is what to ask instead.
Why Most IoT RFPs Miss the Mark
The typical IoT RFP focuses on features. Does the platform support MQTT? Does it have dashboards? Can it send alerts? Every platform will say yes to all of those.
The questions that actually matter are harder to answer: What happens to my data when I need to leave? What does the pricing look like at 5,000 devices? Can my client log into a branded portal without seeing your company name?
Three failure patterns show up in weak IoT RFPs:
- Too generic. Questions that any vendor can answer affirmatively without revealing anything useful.
- No total cost of ownership view. Evaluating monthly platform fees without accounting for device onboarding time, support costs, and engineering overhead.
- Missing operational questions. What works in a demo may not work under real production conditions. Most RFPs do not test for that.
The five categories below fix all three.
Category 1: Connectivity
This is where most platforms diverge quickly. Ask:
- Which protocols are natively supported? LoRaWAN, MQTT, HTTP, NB-IoT, satellite?
- Do you support major LoRaWAN network servers (TTN, ChirpStack, Actility)?
- How many pre-built device parsers do you ship? Can I build my own?
- What happens if my device uses a custom payload format?
- Is there a list of officially supported hardware integrations?
A platform claiming “broad connectivity support” means nothing. Ask for the specific list. If a vendor supports 500+ device types out of the box, that is a concrete, verifiable answer.
Category 2: Data
Data portability is often ignored until someone needs to switch platforms or run an audit. Ask:
- Where is data stored? Which geographic regions?
- What is the default data retention period? Can I extend it?
- How do I export my data? Is there a bulk export API?
- Is raw payload data stored or only parsed values?
- What happens to my data if I cancel my subscription?
These questions reveal whether a vendor treats your data as yours or as theirs. If the answers are vague, that is a signal.
Category 3: Scalability
The right question is not “can you scale?” It is “what does scaling actually cost and require?”
- What is the pricing model at 100 devices, 1,000 devices, and 10,000 devices?
- Are there limits on data points per month, or API calls per second?
- How does the platform handle a spike in device messages?
- Is there a dedicated environment for each client, or is it shared?
- Where can I find pricing documentation?
Look for platforms that publish their pricing publicly. Transparent pricing at https://tago.io/pricing is a good benchmark for what this looks like in practice.
Category 4: White-Labeling
If you are a system integrator or building a product for clients, white-labeling is not optional. Ask:
- Can I deploy a client-facing portal under my own domain?
- Does your mobile app support custom branding? Is it available on iOS and Android?
- Will my clients ever see your company’s name or logo?
- Is white-labeling included in the base plan or a paid add-on?
- Can I control what each end user can see and do?
A platform that cannot give clients a branded experience means you are building your product on top of someone else’s brand. That is a risk worth quantifying before you sign.
Category 5: Support
Support quality is impossible to evaluate from marketing pages. Ask for specifics:
- What is the SLA for critical incidents?
- What is the average response time for support tickets?
- Is there a public documentation site and a developer community?
- Do you offer onboarding assistance for new accounts?
- Are there training resources available (academy, video tutorials)?
Check whether the vendor has a public knowledge base and community forum. Resources like https://docs.tago.io and https://tago.io/academy give you a sense of how seriously a vendor invests in self-serve support.
Turning These into a Working Document
These five categories give you the structure. The next step is to turn them into a scored evaluation rubric: assign weights to each category based on your project priorities, then score each vendor’s answers from 1-5. That removes gut-feel from the decision.
A full downloadable version of this RFP template is available on request. Reach out at https://tago.io/contact-us and include “RFP template” in your message.
Next Steps
- Review platform capabilities: https://docs.tago.io
- Explore real-world use cases: https://tago.io/use-cases
- Contact the team: https://tago.io/contact-us
