How to Select the Best IoT Platform

Choosing the right enterprise IoT platform can be a complex endeavor. Each vendor has unique features and strengths, and each claims to be superior to the other. 

IoT platform comparisons are complicated enough on their own. When you add the additional complication of the many IoT devices out there, it can get even harder to decide which IoT platform is best suited for your business. With that in mind, we’ve done some research and put together this quick and easy-to-read guide to help you choose the right one for your specific needs.

Some Facts About IoT Platforms

• The IoT platform is the middleman between various devices on the one hand and the end application on the other. The IoT platform communicates between the sensor, controller, device, gateway, and the app. It also handles the data coming from the sensors and translates it into something meaningful to the end-user.
• IoT cloud platforms can manage massive data volume from devices, customers, applications, websites, and sensors and take actions to give a real-time response.
• Selecting the best Internet of Things platform depends on the company’s requirements for hardware, real-time access, custom reports, budget, development skills, and the business model.

How to Choose The Right IoT Platform for Your Project

It’s a question that has no definitive answer. No single tool can be called the right solution for any digital project. 

Much of this depends upon your business model, how you intend to profit from it, what you can afford, and what skills you have at your disposal. These are all essential factors in choosing the best IoT platform. When it comes to selecting an IoT platform, there are nine factors to consider

1. Market Longevity

As with other industries, experience is essential when choosing an IoT platform. The longer the vendor has been in the business, the more experience they will have, and the better the chances are that they will deliver exactly what you need and not what they think you want.

However, as mentioned above, you still need to ensure that you have customers and a business model to help you get a return on your investment of connecting your operations and assets.

2. Hardware 

Finding the right IoT platform for your product or operation is critical. The available hardware varies from platform to platform, and each has its limitations. To connect to the internet, you will need some IoT hardware to bridge the gap.

IoT solutions typically combine many components to make up the entire solution. As such, while it is tempting to try to use as many of those components in one IoT technology, it can be a real challenge to get all the components to interact together as you’d like.

3. Connectivity

Are you looking to create a truly global IoT strategy? Does the IoT platform you’re evaluating cover your region and region-specific requirements? If not, this is likely a deal-breaker for you. It should, however, be a requirement for the best IoT strategy for you.

As you examine a network model, these are questions that you should ask yourself. Are they good questions? If not, why? Is there something you can do to improve the situation?

4. Device Management 

The growing number of Internet of Things (IoT) products has created a need for a reliable way to manage and monitor these devices. Platforms that can do so are in high demand now, and the vendor needs to give the customer access to tools for monitoring and configuration.

5. IoT Data 

How can I be sure that the vendor stores my data in a safe, secure way? Will they let me store and process that data no matter what? And, how do they handle data analysis and routing tools?

It’s essential to understand what your company makes its money from and where that money comes from before deciding which company to use. For example, the data your company collects may be used in several different ways depending on the type of device you use, but how those data are used might change over time.

6. Security / Privacy

When choosing your IoT solution, you want to make sure that it is up to date and meets all current requirements. The security of your IoT solution can be hard to maintain, so you must make sure that the vendor has the skills necessary to protect your investment. Your vendor will tell you what needs to be done to certify your solution.

7. Integrations 

The software that helps companies build IoT devices is generally relatively complicated and complex to integrate with existing systems. The solution for many companies is to hire an IT partner that specializes in IoT and has the know-how and experience to handle the complex integration required for IoT devices.

8. Domain expertise 

Building an IoT solution is complicated, and at times, you need an expert who can help you build it. To help you choose the right IoT platform, look into what kind of technical support is available to help you develop your solution. In addition to this, also look at what kind of technical expertise you have available to help you build your solution and how easy it will be to use the platform in the first place.

9. Developer Community 

There are four types of IoT platforms – (1) Public listed IoT platforms that are robust, rich features but expensive (2) End-to-End connectivity IoT platforms that are designed based on the hardware and solution but remained to be closed platform (3) Open Source IoT platforms that are being managed and contribute by developer community (4) Developer friendly IoT platform that being manged as Platform-as-as-Service that allows developers to create their own IoT applications easily.

Giant enterprises like Amazon and Microsoft dominate the market, and their products are also the most well-known. However, small businesses can find low-cost options that still match the functionality of their needs.

Below are examples of the best IoT platforms in 2022 for small businesses:

1. Fogwing IIoT Platform
2. Particle IoT Platform
3. Favoriot IoT Platform
4. Blynk IoT Platform
5. Ubidots IoT Platform
6. Kaa IoT Platform
7. Thingsboard IoT Platform
8. ThingSpeak IoT Platform

Finally, choosing an IoT platform requires you to evaluate the pros and cons of the various providers to determine which will best fit your needs, such as its partner ecosystem, industry-specific features, developer-friendly platform, and, in general, the provider’s reputation. All these parameters should comply with your company strategy and budget.

You can start your IoT journey with the free trial offered by the Favoriot IoT platform and explore the cool features. It is undoubtedly one of the best platforms for small and medium businesses. It helps in making the right decision.