5 Key Insights into the Evolving IoT Platform Landscape

In 2015 the fastest‑growing area of the Internet of Things was the IoT platform. The IoT Analytics market research team conducted an annual insight study, which is compiled below.

Original source: 5 Things To Know About The IoT Platform ecosystem

Continuous Survey Insights on IoT Platforms

We are witnessing an explosion of IoT solutions and their global deployment. The IoT platform is the core of IoT solution deployment and is projected to reach a market share of $10 billion by 2019.

The IoT platform is essential for building scalable IoT services that connect objects, systems, and people across the physical and virtual worlds. The market is still new, highly complex, and evolving rapidly.

1. Not every so‑called IoT platform is an IoT platform

Many companies claim to offer an IoT platform, but the reality varies widely. Some provide a full, mature cloud platform, while others offer only a single component or merely a brand name.

Figure 1: Apples and oranges – not all IoT platforms are the same.

When discussing IoT platforms, they usually refer to the support platform for IoT applications and should contain at least eight technical components. The common types are:

Connection/M2M platform: Focuses on device connectivity with little data processing (e.g., Sierra Wireless AirVantage).

IaaS backend: Provides hosted space and compute for IoT services (e.g., IBM Bluemix). Not to be confused with IBM IoT Foundation.

Dedicated hardware/software platform: Vendor‑specific backends for selected customers (e.g., Google Nest).

Consumer or enterprise software extensions: Existing OS or enterprise software adding IoT capabilities (e.g., Windows 10). Not yet a full platform.

This diversity creates confusion, especially when companies like IBM combine Bluemix IaaS with IoT Foundation, or when Jasper and Telit expand from M2M to broader IoT enablement.

2. IoT Platform Architecture

The simplest form supports device connectivity. More complex architectures may include a software platform, an application‑development platform, or an analytics platform. A complete end‑to‑end IoT solution is typically divided into eight functional blocks:

Connectivity & Standardization: Unifies protocols and data formats into a common interface.

Device Management: Ensures devices operate correctly and supports patching and version upgrades.

Database: Handles the growing volume, variety, and velocity of device data.

Processing & Operations Management: Transforms sensor data into actionable commands.

Analytics: Performs clustering, machine learning, and predictive analysis to extract value.

Visualization: Provides dashboards and 2D/3D models to display trends.

Tools: Enables developers to prototype, test, and market IoT use cases, fostering an ecosystem.

External Interfaces: Offers APIs/SDKs and gateways for integration with third‑party systems.

Note: Security is a mandatory component of every building block, and the overall architecture must be designed to minimize network‑attack threats.

Figure 2: An E2E IoT application support platform’s eight components.

3. Strategies for Entering the IoT Platform Market

More than 300 IoT platforms exist and the number keeps growing. Companies adopt five main strategies to compete:

Bottom‑up: Start with connectivity and build upward (e.g., Ayla Networks).

Top‑down: Begin with data analytics and work downward (e.g., IBM IoT Foundation).

Collaboration: Form alliances to create a complete platform (e.g., GE Predix & PTC ThingWorx).

Mergers & Acquisitions: Targeted purchases (e.g., Amazon’s 2lemetry, Nokia‑Alcatel merger).

Investment: Ecosystem‑focused investments (e.g., Cisco’s investment in Microsoft Azure IoT).

Figure 3: TOP12 IoT platforms.

4. Open‑Source Drives IoT Platform Interoperability

Interoperability is crucial for a true IoT ecosystem. Open‑source projects like Vorto (from the Eclipse community) provide a common information‑modeling framework that simplifies integration across platforms.

PTC and Bosch’s innovation alliance exemplifies this approach, using Vorto to enable their IoT platforms to work together.

5. The Real Value of IoT Platforms Lies in Data and Connectivity

IoT platforms connect billions of physical objects, aggregate data, and unlock new business scenarios, echoing Metcalfe’s law: the value of a network grows with the square of its connected users.

Transforming raw information into insightful data is the key to unlocking value; data becomes the product, driving new IoT‑centric business models across industries.

The platform’s role is to collect and understand data, acting as a catalyst for IoT value creation.

Ultimately, the true worth of IoT lies in converting collected information into data, then into knowledge and wisdom, such as predictive maintenance in IIoT.