A device is not field-ready until it can report its health
A prototype that works on the bench can become invisible in the field. Heartbeat telemetry, firmware version, error states, logs, uptime, and last-seen timestamps tell the team whether the device is actually alive.
OTA reduces avoidable field visits
Remote updates are not only a convenience. They let teams fix bugs, tune thresholds, add diagnostics, and recover from early pilot issues without physically touching every device.
Security and rollback should be scoped early
Prototype OTA can be simple, but real deployments need access control, signing or provenance, rollback thinking, release notes, and a way to know which devices accepted the update.