Are you confused about IoT platforms?
These days, "platform" is the most overused word associated with the Internet of Things. Everyone uses it to qualify anything and everything that they aim to buy, that they try to sell or that they report about.
As a consequence, many enterprises or analysts end up comparing apples and oranges. Worse, some enterprises end up buying a product that brings little to no value to their business and eventually makes them lose time and money.
Apps ≠ Platform
In IT, a "platform" is a technology base on which "apps" are built and run. This is perfectly applicable to IoT.
Managing the connectivity of assets or IoT devices (e.g. activate/deactivate service, test performance, change subscription plan, etc.) is a capability that most enterprises need. However, the software which delivers this capability is NOT a platform, it actually is an app.
Similarly, managing connected assets or IoT devices (e.g. collect & store data, control assets or devices remotely, update configuration & firmware, etc.) is a must in any type of connected business. However, here again, the software which delivers this "Device Management" capability is NOT a platform, it actually is an app, sometimes called "Device Cloud".
Device Cloud ≠ AEP
Enterprises who use a "Device Cloud" still have to build with general purpose development tools (Visual Studio, Java, etc.) low-level services around security, database schemas for time-series, structured and unstructured data, high-level application logic and user experience, event processing, etc. All this requires significant efforts, almost equivalent to DYI'ing a bespoke solution. No wonder why Device Clouds are slowly adopted.
A true, complete IoT "Application Enablement Platform" (AEP) is not just a "Device Cloud". It provides and abstracts all the foundational platform services (device communication, data storage, device management, application building and enablement, user interface, security, analytics) so that enterprises can build their apps at a much higher level. This allows more people in the enterprise to participate in the development of apps while increasing the app development efficiency by an order of magnitude.
To conclude, I warn everyone who is in the market for an IoT platform not to be fooled by some analyst reports nor marketing terms that would make them buy an orange whereas they actually want an apple.
More info about the market leading IoT Application Enablement Platform: www.thingworx.com
Director of Product Management - Transforming ideas into market-ready products I Skilled in Product Development, Marketing, and Operations I Ex-Vodafone
7 年Jeeten Fakir (MBA)
Operational Excellence | Change Management | Servant Leader
7 年I hope you're not Mike Comber?!
Business Development Manager @ Vodafone | IoT, LPWAN, Smart Metering Expert
7 年Not confused but I hate the term. "Iot platform" is the most abused buzzword in the industry. Should be banned.
See your software in a whole new light
7 年Love this definition of what a Platform is NOT! A lot of people make the mistake of conflating a platform with an app or a website, but a platform isn’t just a piece of software. It’s a holistic BUSINESS MODEL that creates value by bringing together consumers and producers. The most common misuse of the term “platform” is when it’s used to describe an integrated suite of software products. This is especially common among SaaS companies, WHICH LOVE TO CLAIM THEY HAVE A COMPLETE "PLATFORM" FOR X. In such cases, the word “platform” really is just being used as a marketing term. These SaaS companies are building products, not networks. They create value in the form of goods or services and then sell them to someone downstream in their supply chain. https://www.applicoinc.com/blog/what-is-a-platform-business-model/
MasterOfThings, Smart City IoT AEP.
7 年A true AEP (Application Enablement Platform) has to offer main 4 functionalities. 1- Sensor profile definition through GUI that helps the solution provider to define new devices, define the type of data the device is generating (temperature, speed, etc.) and how the their data will be interpreted (Which data acquisition protocol is used and how the data is mapped). 2- Data acquisition with support for many protocols (I.e MQTT, CoAp, ModBus, HTTP, etc.) as well as monitored events or threshold that investigate the data, generated from the device, on the fly once it reaches the AEP with triggers for certain actions based on rules set as thresholds. 3- Visual development environment that is really simple to use (by a programmer as well as by business/application aware person) to faster the application development and faster the integration to other applications already used inside the customer/corporate organization. This includes drag-gable plugins or widgets (i.e. various charts, maps, data input output, etc.), includes wizards to define rules and logic, colors, etc. 4- An easy way to define and manage user groups and their access Rights to the developed application and their access rights to the sensors/devices data.