How to Choose the Right IoT Platform
With the increasing digitization of businesses, more and more enterprises are adopting IoT to achieve higher work efficiency. From establishing smart factories to connecting the healthcare system, Industrial IoT is quickly penetrating every industry. Thousands of enterprises are using IoT software platforms to connect, manage, and analyze their devices via the cloud. IIoT offers limitless possibilities but choosing the right IIoT platform can be tricky. The availability of hundreds of IoT platforms makes it difficult to choose the right one for your business. So, in this post, we will find out what an IoT platform is and how to select the best one.
What is an IoT Platform?
An IoT platform is a fully integrated service that allows users to connect and manage their devices on a network. It enables simultaneous connection of thousands of devices so that you can bring physical objects online. An IoT platform helps in configuring your devices for machine-to-machine communication. This IoT infrastructure is used to perform tasks like Device Management, Data Analytics, and more. Ideally, a good IoT platform should allow aggregating and analyzing data from sensors and deliver real-time insights. It is noteworthy that there are different types of IoT platforms such as consumer, hobbyist, and Industrial IoT platforms.
How to Choose the Right IoT Platform?
Now that you know what an IoT platform is, here are some factors to consider when choosing a platform.
- Connectivity and Integration
Make sure the platform you choose allows easy connectivity and integration. There is no straight answer to choosing the best platform. However, the right platform for your business can function seamlessly with other components. It is best to look for vendors that develop industry-specific IIoT platforms to ensure that your IoT platform operates seamlessly with a variety of components. Also, consider that if you plan to expand your operations in the future, you will need a platform that can be compatible with your operations. Moreover, look for security mechanisms for end-to-end data protection. A reliable IIoT platform will have features like TLS support, client authentication, and security certificates, besides flexible integration with third-party solutions.
- Device Management
The platform should allow you to manage and monitor your IoT devices wirelessly. Rather than just simply connecting a device to the cloud, the platform should become with device management feature that helps in tracking your devices, inventory, as well as stage software updates, and perform other functions. Even a basic IoT platform should have features like sending software updates to remote devices and diagnosing disconnected devices to ensure efficient asset management.
- Data Visualization
Next, you need to find out how the collected data is stored and processed by the platform. The main purpose of using an IIoT platform is to gather and visualize data. The platform you choose should allow you to store and process the data. Check all the meters and other tools it offers for visualizing and analyzing your data. The dashboard of an IoT platform should represent device data on different types of charts depending on the type of data.
- Data Analytics
The collected data is of no use if it is not analyzed. Businesses are leveraging their IIoT infrastructure to get access to their device data. So, the platform should come with analytics tools that can help you gauge your KPIs, performance issues, and customer behavior patterns. With the help of IoT data, enterprises can keep up with their data trends over time and set up rule-based alerts and notifications to identify any issue.
- Reliability
It can be a waste of time, energy, and resources to choose a platform that is unstable or prone to glitches. It is important to ensure that the platform is secure and has the latest security certifications.
