The Internet of Things (IoT) changes how technology functions by linking everyday objects using specialized sensors and computer programs. This process generates a substantial amount of data that requires management, and cloud platforms assist in rapidly organizing and analyzing it. These cloud platforms resemble powerful computers accessible over the internet, eliminating the need for purchasing one’s own. Different methods exist for organizing IoT systems, like the “Three-layer” and “Five-Layer” models, as well as various system types, such as Cloud and Fog. In 2023, crucial cloud platforms like Amazon Web Services IoT Core, Microsoft Azure IoT Hub, Google Cloud IoT Platform, and IBM Watson IoT Cloud Platform will continue to hold significant importance in IoT technology.

What is IOT Platforms?

An IoT platform is like a bridge between the physical things around us and useful information. It’s a toolbox that lets you create special gadgets and programs for gathering, saving, studying, and handling all the data your devices produce. It’s like the brain behind making things work together.

Currently we used three types of cloud. These are infrastructure as a service (IaaS), platform as a service (PaaS) or software as a service (SaaS). We can choose type of cloud according to need.

Best Cloud Platforms for IOT

To make it easier for you to decide which IoT platform to choose for your project, we’ve compiled a list of the most popular Internet of Things platforms for this year, with detailed descriptions of each one.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) IoT Platform

There is another highly accessible Internet of Things (IoT) platform that stands out. Amazon blazed a trail in 2004 by being the first company to utilize cloud technology as an IoT platform. Since then, Amazon has dedicated considerable resources to developing Amazon Web Services into the foremost IoT platform. This platform not only provides users with the most cutting-edge and captivating features but also offers the most comprehensive toolkit in the market. Its user-friendliness and distinctive qualities have made it the go-to choice for countless global companies. Moreover, with IoT device management, you can effortlessly connect and expand your devices. Amazon’s experts have rigorously evaluated its versatility and adaptability, ensuring the platform’s safety and security for users.

IBM Watson IoT Platform

IBM Watson IoT Platform (Connection Service and Analytics Service) is a ready-to-run, pre-integrated SaaS managed service IoT platform with capabilities in connectivity, data management and advanced analytics.

Features:

• Device management: Using this service, it is possible to act remotely on the device such as rebooting or firmware update
• Responsive, scalability, connectivity: The platform uses industry standard protocol MQTT to exchange data
• Secure communication: Secure data exchange using MQQT and TLS
• Data lifecycle management.

Microsoft Azure IoT Cloud Platform

Microsoft Azure IoT solutions provide you with two main options: you can either use pre-made workflows or create customized ones that match your specific business needs. The Microsoft Azure IoT Suite is really flexible and has a bunch of features that cover everything you need for making IoT stuff – like connecting devices and giving important information to people who make decisions. One of the best things about it is how it takes security seriously.

Here are some services and things it can do:

1. Azure IoT Central: This makes it super easy to create regular IoT apps with templates, so you don’t have to start from scratch.
2. Azure IoT Hub: This helps you gather and watch over a ton of devices, and it lets them talk back and forth. You can also use it with Azure Stack Hub to build apps that use both the cloud and your own data centers.
3. Azure IoT Edge: With this, you can run parts of your apps on the devices themselves instead of sending everything to the cloud. That can help you save time and respond faster.
4. Azure Time Series Insights: This is all about looking at data right away with cool graphs and stuff. You can see if things are going weird, figure out how well your stuff is working, and connect it to other fancy tools.
5. Azure Digital Twins: This is really special because it lets you make virtual copies of real things. It’s awesome for making things run better, cost less, and make customers happy.

Google Cloud IoT Platform

The Google Cloud IoT platform is a toolbox that helps you connect, organize, store, and study data from IoT devices. You can do this both on the devices themselves and in the cloud. It comes with cloud services that can grow with your needs, and it also has a software package for computing on the devices, even if they’re not connected to the internet. Plus, it can do smart things with machine learning for all your IoT stuff.

This toolbox can work with different operating systems for IoT devices, and it even plays nice with some popular ones. It’s all set up for big device makers like Intel and Microchip. And it can also do clever stuff in response to things happening right now, thanks to workflows.

Here are some things it can do:

1. Predictive maintenance: It can tell you when your machines need fixing without you having to check all the time.
2. Real-time tracking: You can keep an eye on valuable stuff and do smart analysis and learning from the data you get.
3. Logistics and Supply Chain Management: It helps you manage your stuff better, like fleets of vehicles, keeping track of what’s in stock, and making sure things don’t get messed up during shipping.
4. Works with other Google services: It plays well with other Google tools, so you can mix and match to get even more done.

Cisco IoT Cloud Connect

Cisco IoT Cloud Connect is a fancy tool made mainly for mobile phone companies. It’s like software that lives in the cloud and helps with all sorts of things related to the Internet of Things (IoT). Think of IoT as a bunch of smart devices that can talk to each other and to the internet. Cisco also makes good hardware for these smart things, like switches, routers, and more.

Here are some examples of what Cisco’s IoT stuff can do:

1. Cisco IoT Control Center: This helps you manage all your smart devices that use mobile data. It’s like having a single app to control everything.
2. Extended Enterprise Solution: This helps you make special apps for IoT things and makes it easy to set them up and control them all from one place.
3. Edge Intelligence: It’s all about sorting out the data from smart devices. It can either keep the data close to where it’s made or send it up to the cloud, depending on what’s best.
4. Industrial Asset Vision: This uses sensors to watch over your important stuff all the time and sends you data to help you make good choices.
5. Cisco IoT Threat Defense: It’s like a bodyguard for your IoT things. It keeps them safe from hackers and lets you see what’s happening and analyze it to stay secure.

ThingsBoard Open-Source IoT Platform

Think of ThingsBoard as a super helpful tool for your IoT projects. It helps you with lots of things like handling your devices, getting data from them, and showing that data in a way that makes sense.

Here are some cool things it can do:

• It’s really good at collecting data from your devices and making sure it’s reliable.
• You can make your own fancy charts and graphs to see the data just how you like it.
• It has a smart engine that can follow rules you set up for your devices.
• You can manage your devices easily and also keep track of your assets.
• It can work for lots of different users or groups of users.
• If you need to handle lots and lots of data, it can grow with you.
• Even if something goes wrong, it doesn’t stop working.
• It’s safe and secure to keep your data protected.
• You can change and add things to make it work just right for you.
• It can let you know if something important happens with your devices.
• It’s built in a way that makes it work smoothly, whether you have a small project or a big one.
• It can work with different types of databases, which are like places to store data.

Salesforce IoT Cloud

Salesforce is really good at helping businesses manage their relationships with customers. They also use clever IoT solutions to make this even better.

The Salesforce IoT Cloud platform does something cool. It collects important info from devices that are connected to the internet and uses that info to give customers a more personalized experience. This helps build strong relationships with customers. And it works together with Salesforce CRM, which is like a super smart system for managing customer info.

Here’s an example: Let’s say there are sensors on a windmill, and they notice that something’s not working right. The IoT Cloud platform quickly tells the CRM system about the problem. Then, the CRM system can either fix things automatically or create a service request to get it fixed.

Some important things about Salesforce IoT Cloud are:

• It brings together info about customers, products, and all the customer info in one place.
• You don’t have to be a computer expert to set up rules and conditions for how it works – it’s easy to use.
• It can work with other websites, services, and products from different companies.
• It’s great at being proactive, which means it can spot issues and customer needs before they become big problems.

IRI Voracity

If you’re looking for a tool to handle all your data for IoT (Internet of Things) and manage it throughout your business, IRI Voracity is what you need.

This tool has two powerful parts, IRI CoSort and Hadoop, that can handle a lot of data at once. It can find, organize, combine, study, change, and move data from different places and in many forms, like files on different computer systems, databases, and more.

Here are some important things it can do:

• It has a Data Governance Portal that helps you find and organize your data. It can also keep your data safe and private to follow the rules.
• It can quickly work with big data, which is data that’s really, really huge, much faster than older tools.
• You can manage all your databases from one place with the DB Ops Environment.

In short, if you have lots of data from IoT stuff, IRI Voracity is a great tool to handle it all.

Particle

Particle is like a toolbox for the Internet of Things (IoT). They help you connect things like devices and gadgets to the internet and manage them. They also have the physical stuff you might need, like kits to build things and devices to keep track of stuff.

Here’s what’s cool about Particle:

• You can make your IoT things work with other services on the internet.
• They make sure your data stays safe in the cloud.
• If you like using Google or Microsoft, Particle can work with them too.
• You don’t need to be a tech genius to use it. It’s made so regular folks can use it too.

ThingWorx

The ThingWorx IoT platform is designed to make creating IoT solutions faster and more cost-effective. It offers a flexible and intelligent environment, reducing development time and costs. This platform helps businesses overcome challenges and improve their overall performance. It enables easy connectivity with various devices and platforms, enhancing scalability and adaptability in the tech world. With its built-in machine learning system, users can integrate their devices seamlessly. Moreover, it provides real-time insights from the industrial Internet of Things, allowing users to enhance their business processes effectively. ThingWorx empowers businesses to harness the potential of IoT efficiently.

Oracle IOT Platform

Oracle Internet of Things (IoT) Cloud Service serves as a managed Platform as a Service (PaaS) cloud-based offering. It aids in making critical business decisions and formulating strategies by enabling you to connect your devices to the cloud, analyze data from those devices in real-time, and seamlessly integrate your data with enterprise applications, web services, or other Oracle Cloud Services, including Oracle Business Intelligence Cloud Service. This service offers real-time Internet of Things data analysis, endpoint management, and high-speed messaging that delivers real-time notifications directly to user devices. Oracle IoT Cloud also facilitates integration through REST APIs.

Key Features:

• Business-ready SaaS applications.
• An open and integrated IoT platform.
• End-to-end security.
• Comprehensive support for IoT devices and protocols.
• Inclusion of built-in machine learning capabilities.

ThingSpeak IoT Platform

ThingSpeak stands as a robust IoT analytics platform service designed to empower users in aggregating, visualizing, and analyzing live data streams effortlessly within the cloud. It simplifies the process of sending data from your devices to ThingSpeak, enabling the creation of real-time data visualizations and the issuance of alerts through popular web services like Twitter® and Twilio®. With the integration of MATLAB® analytics, ThingSpeak further extends its capabilities by allowing users to write and execute MATLAB code for data preprocessing, visualization, and in-depth analysis. This platform serves as a valuable tool for engineers and scientists seeking to prototype and develop IoT systems without the need for server setup or web software development.

Notable Features Include:

• Real-time sensor data visualization.
• Data aggregation from third-party providers.
• Scheduled IoT analytics tasks for comprehensive data analysis.
• Event scheduling for precise data handling.
• The ability to trigger actions based on acquired data.

ThingSpeak is accessible as a free service for non-commercial small projects, accommodating up to 3 million messages per year or approximately 8,200 messages per day. For larger projects or commercial applications, annual licenses are available for your convenience.

Kaa Enterprise IoT platform

Kaa Enterprise offers an adaptable IoT platform that empowers seamless connectivity and efficient management of devices and IoT solutions. Notably, Kaa’s design is characterized by modularity, relying on microservices that can be readily tailored to meet specific requirements or seamlessly integrated with other solutions. Its rich array of features includes comprehensive hardware integrations, encompassing machines, trucks, wearables, sensors, and more. Moreover, Kaa excels in data management, ensuring the availability of device information even in an online mode through the use of digital twins. It further simplifies data collection with pre-integrated databases such as Cassandra and InfluxDB, while robust configuration management and wide-ranging integrations, including legacy systems and data analytics, enhance its versatility. Additionally, Kaa facilitates command execution and offers expansive connectivity options that extend beyond out-of-the-box protocols.

Kaa Enterprise finds valuable application across diverse use cases, such as cargo monitoring for logistics IoT, asset, energy, and inventory management for agriculture IoT, the development of smart toys for the baby tech IoT sector, and the creation of connected fitness wearables and sports gear within the sport and fitness IoT domain.

Suggested Reads!

• top-10-iot-cloud-platforms
• physical-and-logical-design-of-iot