Industrial Internet of Things (Industrial IoT or IIoT) devices – such as smart sensors and actuators – help to enhance manufacturing and industrial processes. These devices are connected and networked together, often through an industrial Internet of Things platform, to offer data collection, data exchange, and data analysis. Any insights gained from these findings are hugely beneficial in enhancing a company’s efficiency, reliability, and performance.
As well as enabling organizations to connect their IIoT devices, IIoT platforms collect and analyze data from IIoT devices and offer visibility into exactly how a company’s production process actually works, what aspects are successful, and what aspects need improvement. They can also help organizations secure and manage the security of IIoT devices much more effectively. IIoT devices and IIoT platforms can aid in decision making, maximize revenue growth, and drive down operational costs.
Below is a list of some of the best industrial IoT platforms available on the market currently with a background to the company and the product’s key features. Read on further for an in-depth FAQ covering some of the biggest questions surrounding IIoT platforms.
AWS IoT Core facilitates the connection of IoT devices to AWS services, managing the routing of a large number of messages without the need for infrastructure maintenance. The platform comprises various components—including the AWS IoT Device SDK, Device Advisor, Device Gateway, and Message Broker—that collectively aid in the seamless and secure connection, authentication, and message exchange between IoT devices and the AWS IoT Core.
AWS IoT Core’s Device Advisor offers a cloud-based testing service for IoT devices during their development phase, helping identify and resolve software issues before production. The Device Gateway manages the connections between devices and AWS IoT Core, ensuring secure and efficient communication. The Message Broker allows for the secure transmission of messages between IoT devices and applications with low latency, adapting to different messaging patterns and ensuring data security through fine-grained access controls. AWS IoT Core also facilitates the building of IoT applications with its Rules Engine; this processes and analyzes data from connected devices on a global scale without infrastructure management.
The platform supports different programming languages including C, JavaScript, and Arduino, assisting in the swift integration of both hardware devices and mobile apps. It also supports Constrained Application Protocol (CoAP), which is ideal for constrained devices such as battery-powered IoT sensors. Finally, AWS IoT Core offers mutual authentication and encryption at every connection point, and the registry feature maintains a consistent identity and tracks metadata of each connected device.
Akenza is a user-friendly, low-code IoT solution that facilitates streamlined development and management of IoT projects. It provides a self-service environment that simplifies the complexity usually associated with the integration and deployment of IoT devices. The platform allows users to effectively manage their device fleet and establish data paths without the need for coding.
Akenza offers lifecycle reports to monitor the status of IoT deployments continuously. Users can organize their device fleet using tags and custom fields, and manage devices at scale efficiently through functionalities such as CSV import and bulk edit. It offers connectivity integrations with existing LPWAN accounts, along with SIM-card account linkage for consolidated device management. The platform also comes equipped with a device simulator for instances where a physical device is unavailable. Akenza helps improve data flows with an in-built rule engine that enables the implementation of business logic and the triggering of custom actions based on real-time data.
The platform also offers role-based access controls and supports integration with several private cloud services. It emphasizes data ownership (ensuring that the user retains control over their data) and operates on an elastic infrastructure capable of handling millions of messages and scaling according to user needs. It is developer-friendly, offering APIs for easy integration into various projects, and supports secure collaboration through comprehensive access controls and OAuth2-based authentication.
IBM Watson IoT Platform is a web-based dashboard designed to facilitate streamlined and secure management of IoT services. It provides a clean and intuitive user interface where individuals can effortlessly add and manage devices, monitor service usage, and control access to their IoT network. The platform’s dashboard offers a centralized area where users can view vital metrics and manage various aspects of their IoT ecosystem with ease, promoting efficient operations and data management.
The IBM Watson IoT Platform’s key features include robust device management capabilities that allow users to execute actions such as device rebooting or firmware updating, along with the reception of device diagnostics and metadata. It also supports bulk device addition and removal, making it easier to manage large-scale deployments. The product utilizes the industry-standard MQTT protocol, ratified by OASIS, to foster responsive and scalable connectivity, facilitating efficient data exchanges with devices in real-time. It also employs MQTT with TLS to safeguard all communications between devices and the service. Finally, the platform provides data lifecycle management, granting users the flexibility to access both real-time and historical data, based on their preference for data storage duration. This feature ensures a comprehensive approach to data management, catering to both immediate and future analytical needs.
Microsoft’s Azure IoT is a comprehensive suite that helps organizations to craft and deploy cloud IoT solutions, with specialized features for specific industries. The platform integrates intelligent edge-to-cloud technologies, safeguarded by robust security, privacy, and compliance features, all backed by Microsoft Cloud. Azure IoT is engineered to help organizations streamline their processes by creating intelligent environments where they can seamlessly connect, monitor, and automate devices and applications, helping them to meet specific business goals.
Key features of Azure IoT include several sub-products that, together, create a cohesive IoT ecosystem. The IoT Hub is designed to connect, manage, and scale a vast number of IoT devices from the edge to the cloud. IoT Central aims to expedite the creation of IoT solutions while minimizing the hassle and expenditure associated with IoT management, operations, and development. The Digital Twins feature allows for the development of advanced IoT spatial intelligence solutions, capable of replicating physical spaces and fostering connected environments. IoT Edge extends cloud intelligence and analytics, delegating workloads and business logic from the cloud to edge devices, thereby optimizing operational efficiency. Other notable components are Azure Sphere, which provides secure connections for MCU-powered devices, and Azure RTOS, which simplifies embedded IoT development and connectivity.
The Oracle Internet of Things Cloud Service operates as a managed Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) that is hosted on the cloud. It is designed to facilitate critical business decision-making by enabling the connection of devices to the cloud. This platform can analyze data from connected devices in real time and integrate this data with a variety of platforms including enterprise applications, web services, and other offerings from Oracle Cloud Services such as the Oracle Business Intelligence Cloud Service.
Oracle Internet of Things Cloud Service offers simplified IoT integration, aiming to speed up the assimilation of IoT into digital strategies while minimizing risk. To manage and analyze the extensive volume of real-time data generated by IoT-connected devices, the platform offers real-time analysis tools that can correlate, aggregate, and filter incoming data streams. Additionally, it facilitates automatic synchronization of data streams with the Oracle Business Intelligence Cloud Service. Oracle Internet of Things Cloud Service also ensures secure and reliable bidirectional communication between IoT devices and the cloud, accommodating direct or indirect connections through a gateway. Every device is assigned a unique digital identity to foster trust and facilitate authentication and authorization processes. The cross-protocol functionality promises reliable communication even in the context of unstable networks or intermittently connecting devices.
With ThingsBoard, users can craft custom dashboards using over 30 configurable widgets, enabling them to visualize telemetry data dynamically and share insights with their customer base. The platform facilitates the development of complex rule chains to process device data, tailored to specific application use cases. These chains have the ability to trigger alarms or forward data to external systems based on custom logic and configurations. ThingsBoard automatically detects node failures and can allow for seamless replacement without downtime, thanks to the utilization of a reliable NoSQL database. A significant emphasis is also placed on security, with the platform offering transport encryption and device authentication. Users can take advantage of its multi-tenancy support, horizontal scalability, and customization options, with the platform accommodating an expanding number of server-side requests and devices as additional servers are integrated.
ThingWorx facilitates the streamlined implementation of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) solutions. Its primary goal is to remove technical barriers commonly associated with IIoT integrations, offering users practical tools and resources to gain value from their operations. By centralizing various processes, it assists in enhancing connectivity across a range of devices and applications, paving the way for a more cohesive data analysis and management system.
ThingWorx hosts a series of key features aimed at optimizing industrial processes. Firstly, it offers extended connectivity options that standardize the communication between different devices and applications, making the integration of multiple data sources smoother. Secondly, it provides a toolkit of pre-built applications, assisting users in the rapid development and scaling of IIoT solutions and Augmented Reality (AR) experiences. Additionally, the platform is equipped with analytical tools capable of extracting real-time insights from intricate IIoT data, aiding in the proactive optimization of operations and the prevention of potential issues. Management functionalities grant users greater control over connected devices and systems, enhancing overall performance and operational visibility. Lastly, the platform fosters an enriched user experience by offering safer and more efficient methods for employees to interact with physical objects and systems through digital and AR interfaces, which contextualize data and provide guided assistance.
Everything You Need To Know About Industrial IoT Platforms (FAQs)
What Are Industrial IoT Platforms?
IIoT devices are smart devices that are connected with delivered for industrial settings, rather than the home or office. This can include industrial robots, sensors, utilities equipment, and transformers. Industrial IoT platforms (or IIoT platforms) aggregate data in real-time from all of your IoT devices, including hardware, software, sensors, and any other devices. Data pulled from these devices is pooled into a consolidated and centralized system where it can be closely tracked and managed. IIoT platforms tend to be cloud or edge-based, though on-premises solutions are also available.
IIoT platforms are useful as they allow manufacturers to quickly and easily access data from production processes. Once they have this data, companies can analyze it and improve business processes. For example, IIoT platforms can offer insights on downtime, production, waste, and quality control. This information allows organizations to optimize their production processes and forecasting. Ultimately, this can help drive faster business decisions, increase efficiency, maximize revenue growth, and even lower operational costs. Additionally, companies can use this data to ensure operations are running smoothly, securely, and efficiently as possible.
How Do Industrial IoT Platforms Work?
An IIoT platform is comprised of a network of intelligent devices that are connected to form a system that can aggregate, monitor, exchange, and analyze data. Data is aggregated in real-time from hardware, software systems, sensors, and any other data point into the platform, where businesses can easily access and analyze it.
IIoT platforms also utilize a public and private data communications infrastructure, use analytics and applications to generate actionable insights from raw data, and store any data produced by the IIoT devices. IoT devices effectively act as edge devices, sending information directly to the platform to be turned into actionable and business-driven insights.
Industrial IoT Platform Features
Below are some key features to consider when choosing an IIoT platform:
- Connectivity: The connection between your IIoT devices and your platform should be effective, thereby allowing an effective stream of data to be analyzed.
- Data Analytics: IIoT platforms should have strong data analytics capabilities and generate helpful and actionable insights to help further drive business and enhance operations, while highlighting any inefficiencies.
- Data Processing: Data processing for your IIoT platform should be fast, robust, and reliable. It should be able to process large amounts of data quickly.
- Integration: Your chosen solution should integrate well with your existing environment.
- Automation: Automation allows industries to respond quickly to data-driven insights without the need for intervention.
- Encrypted Communications: As data is sent from a device to the platform, it should be encrypted to prevent data from being accessed by unauthorized users.
- Secure Device Authentication: Authentication is a critical part of ensuring security on devices and within systems. IIoT devices and IIoT platforms tend to be used by a large volume of users, and it can be hard to track who is accessing the system. Implementing authentication ensures that users trying to gain access are who they say they are.
- Continuous Threat Monitoring: Your chosen platform should perform continuous threat monitoring to detect any potential or developing threats.
