Selecting Right IoT Platform for your IoT Solution

An Internet of Things (IoT) platform is the support software that binds edge hardware, access points and data networks to other parts of the value chain (that are generally the end-user applications). IoT platforms generally handle ongoing management tasks and data visualization, which enable users to automate their environment. We can say that these platforms are act as a middle way between the data gathered at the edge and the mobile application.

One of the main co-coordinator of this balanced growth in terms of number of connected devices is IoT platform. They give a series of coherent services and infrastructure (data storage, connectivity etc.) that required to connect “things” to the internet.

They handle most of the project’s heavy lifting, minimizing the amount of work and investments required for locating solutions and been one of the main reasons beyond some of the successful IoT solutions around.

That made them an essential part of the distribution of any IoT solution. However, the IoT platform market has been on hike. As per report of IoT-Analytics, the number of IoT platforms has increased to 450 in the year of 2017.

This huge amount of options makes a unique set of challenges for developers to select the perfect platform. In this article we will look at the various types of IoT platforms and the factors that need to consider when making a choice between them. IoT platforms are frequently referred to as middle way solutions, which are the “plumbing” of the IoT.

IoT Platform Types

Types of IoT platforms

1. Hardware Platforms

There are many essential platforms that are used for the design and development of the “things” in IoT. They involve a vast range of microcontrollers and microprocessors which have special features that make them suitable for several IoT use cases. It also provides all the controlled integrations you need — Over the Air firmware updates, device management, cloud connection, cellular modem, etc — to attach and analyze a fleet of devices online.

2. Connectivity Platforms

These are the platforms concentrated mainly on how devices are connected to the internet using various low powers, low-cost telecommunication mediums from NB-IoT to LoRa. These platforms provide low power and low cost connectivity management solutions through Wi-Fi and cellular technologies. 

3. Device Cloud Platforms

These platforms exist in many different forms and it’s where you probably have the greatest number of players. They conventionally give the network foundation and storage space for device data with the Capacity to attach various thousand to millions of devices. Some of these platforms come with additional and transforming features for data analytics and visualization, device management etc. Good examples include; AWS, ThingsWrox, Thingspeak, Azure, etc.

Learn how to start with Azure for IoT.

Cloud platforms focus to get out of the complexity of building your own complex network stack and offer the backend services (plus other services) to analyze and fix millions of simultaneous device connections.

4. End to End Platforms

These platforms technically integrate all the efforts of the other platforms referred above. They provide the hardware (directly or through partnerships), device cloud, the connectivity, security and every other thing that required to attach devices to the internet. The combined nature of their service makes device management an effortless task with them.

These platforms are the best to utilize when locating your first IoT solution as they help you to eliminate the complexity included with combining different IoT stack and platforms.

IoT Platform Verticals

Classifying these IoT platforms under a single category is likely to present it simply. All these platforms bend to offer more solutions and that can’t be shattered into a single category. So you need to inspect what they are offering and who they are offering it to.

IoT Platform Verticals

Hobbyists

  • Prototyping Solutions
  • Development Kits
  • DIY solutions

Consumer Electronics

  • Utilities
  • Home automations
  • Wearables
  • Anything with Alexa-involved

Industrial IoT Solutions

  • Smart factory warehousing applications
  • Predictive and remote maintenance
  • Industrial security systems
  • Asset tracking and smart logistics
  • Energy optimization
  • Transportation monitoring
  • Connected logistics

Industry-Driven

  • Agriculture
  • Healthcare
  • Transportation
  • Smart Cities
  • Energy

What you should look for when examining platforms

As per a report of engineering.com, 90% of data produced by IoT devices are presently not being utilized. For IoT platforms, there is no “one size fits all” for any project. Careful factors have to be made to ensure the platform being utilize is the best for the project.

1. Type of Service / Model

The first thing to observe when choosing a platform is the kind of services they offer. It is important to recognize if they are a true end to end platform or just a connectivity platform. It is important to truly understand the contributions of platforms and regulate how it fits into the goals of your project.

2. Compatibility

Compatibility is another important factor when you are not using an end to end platform. It is needed to ensure that the Architecture (network, connectivity) and technology stack (e,g supported protocols) of the platform to be utilized, would suitable your use case, your existing product IP and the future goals of your project.

You should ensure interoperability exists (one way or the other) between the platforms to be used for any part of your project. For example, if your “things” were based on the MQTT communication protocol, it is necessary to ensure the platform you are choosing as the device cloud supports the protocol.

3. Domain Expertise

Domain expertise could be in terms of service being provided or expertise within a specific IoT vertical. As referred above, certain IoT platforms are evolved with a certain section of the IoT market in mind, if developing around that vertical, it may be then smart enough to select platforms within that space. For expertise in the service being supplied, it is necessary to ensure the platform provider has spent a maximum number of years within that space.

4. Connectivity

Connectivity is one of the important aspects when selecting a connectivity platform. Aspects like the method of connection, coverage, plan that need to be taken into consideration. Compatibility of the answers to this question with your solution’s use case and your hardware are more important.

The communication mode must be one that works within your device’s power budget and location constraint, while the data plan must be one that is cost effective depends on the rate at which devices upload and download data.

5. Reliability

The questions that comes with reliability are like how reliable is the IoT Platform? What happens when platform fails? Can data be retrieved? Get as many details as required about the offerings of the platform around production level effectively before making a decision.

6. Scalability

Bandwidth and Latency are two important factors to keep in mind when choosing an IoT device cloud platform. You must ensure that the platform of choice has the required infrastructure to accomplish the scale you predict for your project.

7. Security

When selecting a platform, Security is no doubt a very important factor to consider. You should be aware of the measures the platform providers take to ensure the security of the platform, from efficient updates to authentication and data encryption. The connected nature of IoT solutions makes them possible targets for different kind of attacks that could understands your data and the overall reality of your project. This factor should be one of the first that need to consider.

8. Device management and monitoring features

IoT implementations generally include the deployment of devices in places with limited access. This makes having a medium of analyzing and controlling device health and status through an IoT platform an important attribute.

Some platforms are so strong for device management that they include characteristics to push OTA firmware updates to devices. Ensure the platform is capable to support all the analyzing and management attributes your device could require.

9. Integrations and Data handling

Device cloud platforms are require for the collection of data, but most of those platforms have gone beside that, applying various features that empowers data analysis and generation of actionable insights. For some platforms, this comes as an added cost while for others it is free. Apart from data analysis, most of the data produced by IoT is utilized to serve various processes.

Ensure the platform is responsible to create the kind of insights your project needs and the processes that will benefit directly from your IoT solution, can be combined easily before making a decision.

10. Cost

Various billing models exist for IoT platforms and cost tends to be the essential factor for platform selection. You first need to assess the billing model of the platform, place it side by side with the number of devices your solution will involve, the amount and frequency of data that will be produced and decide if that particular platform is best for you. Most IoT platforms provide some kind of free service, but different platforms will have different pros and cons.

Some may give huge amounts of data storage, but they might limit the number of messages per minute that can be sent, while others may have a limitless data stream rate, but they cap the maximum number of data points that can be reserved. These same services will also provide paid services, which empower for higher bandwidth and messaging rates, but these prices may vary radically. This is something that we should keep in mind, while selecting a platform.

Choosing an IoT Platform is not easy task, but taking the time to research analysis and compare various services could be a game-changer.