{"id":11543,"date":"2019-03-11T08:27:43","date_gmt":"2019-03-11T08:27:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.happiestminds.com\/blogs\/?p=6902"},"modified":"2026-03-17T07:06:22","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T07:06:22","slug":"iot-platform-engineering-capitalizing-on-the-massive-potential-of-iot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.happiestminds.com\/blogs\/iot-platform-engineering-capitalizing-on-the-massive-potential-of-iot\/","title":{"rendered":"IoT platform engineering: Capitalizing on the massive potential of IoT"},"content":{"rendered":"
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While\u00a0IoT has been all the rage<\/a>\u00a0in the past half a decade, the last couple of years have seen frenetic activity in the development of IoT platforms by almost all recognizable players. While the debate continues about which of these platforms will emerge as the first among equals, there is a very real need to tap into the massive amounts of data floating about in an ocean of connected devices.<\/p>\n

Just to provide some context, Gartner predicted that there will be 11.19 billion connected devices in 2018, with this number expected to rise to 20.4 billion by 2020. At the same time, IHS forecasted that the IoT market will grow from an installed base of 15.4 billion devices in 2015 to 30.7 billion devices in 2020 and 75.4 billion in 2025.<\/p>\n

Not surprisingly, the talk of\u00a0building an IoT platform<\/a>\u00a0has been reaching a fever pitch, and it would be very useful to understand what an IoT platform is, who needs it and how does one go about building it.<\/p>\n

What is an IoT platform?<\/h2>\n

An IoT platform is essentially a suite of libraries, services or components with which an IoT system can be built and deployed to monitor and manage connected devices and systems.<\/p>\n

IoT platforms enable the building of highly scalable and performant\u00a0IoT applications<\/a>\u00a0for monitoring and managing devices or systems remotely by collecting and processing data.<\/p>\n

Why do you need an IoT platform?<\/h2>\n

There is clearly a need to integrate multiple systems to achieve efficiencies by continuous data collection from multiple sensors. This data can later be consumed by applications to make intelligent business decisions and carry out\u00a0real-time analytics<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As there are heterogeneous subsystems used by different business units of the same organization, an IoT platform facilitates interaction among connected devices and business applications. The absence of a consolidated view of the entire system may create difficulties in reporting and monitoring, which drives up the cost of maintenance.<\/p>\n

Tell-tale signs you need an IoT platform<\/h2>\n

An IoT platform is crucial to a business if it relates to at least one of the following scenarios:<\/p>\n

Varied technologies that address similar needs:<\/strong>\u00a0If you have similar connected system requirements from different business units within the organization but are currently using different technologies, an IoT platform would facilitate interaction between the connected devices and different business applications.<\/p>\n

Legacy connected systems:<\/strong>\u00a0Connected systems built over decades with disparate technologies can create challenges in bringing about\u00a0standardized connectivity and control<\/a>. An IoT platform resolves these issues by providing the right connectivity and control.<\/p>\n

Configure and get connected:<\/strong>\u00a0Why invest time in constructing a platform when you can just configure it to your use? This results in less development and engineering effort and more of configuration for connected systems.<\/p>\n

Ease of monitoring and operations:<\/strong>\u00a0With businesses increasingly moving towards automation, it is imperative to easily monitor and operate a connected system. This allows for\u00a0predictive analysis<\/a>\u00a0and determining where a machine is\u00a0likely to fail\u00a0or turning it off after it has delivered the required output.<\/p>\n

All of this contributes significantly toward an easy integration of systems while ensuring an accelerated time to market.<\/p>\n

Three approaches to building an IoT platform<\/h2>\n

There are multiple approaches to building an IoT platform<\/span>, and it is important to understand the one that best complements your situation. For ease of understanding, let\u2019s look at the three most widely accepted ways of building an IoT platform along with their associated benefits and challenges.<\/p>\n

Integrate and transform<\/strong>
\nFor businesses that have made significant investments in technology over long periods of time, it is quite common to have multiple connected legacy systems. In such scenarios, it would be optimal to ensure the coexistence of legacy and modern systems. New features and capabilities can be developed on the new IoT platform and integrated with the legacy system over time.<\/p>\n

Key benefits:<\/p>\n