The Internet of Things (IoT) is currently one of the most popular concepts in the digital world. Cloud IoT platforms are no longer just media hype.
They have real applications and can become important for your business. In this article, we’ll take a look at IoT cloud platforms running without too much technical information, and then we’ll discuss how to choose an IoT cloud platform.
How Do IoT Objects Interact?
The IoT without going into detail connects physical objects in a single network using the Internet.
These objects may have sensors that measure various metrics and send data over the Internet, typically back to a remote or “edge” server located in the same geographic area.
IoT objects can also receive instructions over the Internet and react to them.
For example, a smart Internet-connected sensor for selective irrigation of the driest fields can periodically report its metrics, and whenever the soil in the field becomes too dry, it can turn on the irrigation system’s Internet-connected water valve. When soil moisture is sufficient, the valve will close.
The sensor and valve may be connected to the same edge computing solution or node that has a connection with the Internet, or they may be connected to different nodes as many soil moisture sensors are likely to be used for a large field, while only one centralized irrigation system would be required for each area.
How Does IoT Use the Cloud?
The Internet isn’t an endpoint, you can imagine it as a collection of interconnected networks by which users can exchange data.
Speaking of the Internet of Things, remote endpoints are usually located on a cloud server rather than a separate server inside a private data center.
Thus, you may not require a cloud solution just to measure soil moisture in different locations. However, such an approach can be very useful because sensors measure not only soil moisture, but also soil temperature, air temperature, and air humidity.
Let’s assume that the server receives data from thousands of sensors and also reads the weather forecast from weather services.
Running a server in the cloud allows you to send all this data to cloud storage and use it to predict machine learning for optimal water use. This model can be as complex and scalable as you want.
In addition, running IoT in the cloud offers savings. If data is received once per hour, the server should not be active for the remaining hour.
In a “serverless” cloud configuration, incoming data will cause the data storage function to speed up and then free up its resources.
Another function is activated after a delay to aggregate and process the new data and change the irrigation setpoint if necessary.
Then it, too, will free up his resources. Your personal “local” server is forced to work around the clock, consuming electricity and wearing out its hardware resource.
How to Choose a Cloud IoT platform
Instead of just starting to use an attractive cloud-based IoT platform, you should first define your own requirements and outline different monitoring, analysis, management, and application architectures that could satisfy them.
Before delving into the technical issues, find out the customers’ expectations, the structure of the data received and processed, and the business decisions.
Don’t Design for a Specific Device
Don’t think about designing for a specific technology, OS, platform, network, or protocol. It’s recommended to find out which features are most important to your application and use this list to look for the best platform.
It’s difficult to predict cloud IoT costs but it’s easy to depreciate. Part of the problem is that cloud pricing is inherently difficult.
Sometimes, the best way to estimate fees is to run a cloud solution for a month and then just check the bill. You also should remember that IoT cloud platforms provide new users with special discount offers.
If you rely on promotional prices, you may be unpleasantly surprised when prices will rise. Finally, it is easy to neglect the cost of storing data and it is difficult to implement a long-term strategy for deleting old non-essential data.
Define the Options You Need
Do you have enough experience in controlling IoT devices and sensors? Do you know how different protocols and communication networks work?
Are you going to manage IoT apps by yourself or attract employees to do some work? At least these questions can help you to understand the type of IoT cloud platform you need for your business.
For example, some vendors offer robust, near-complete platforms that are easily customizable to suit your application’s needs.
Other vendors supply some of the parts you’ll need but require much more integration and customization from you, either in-house or using consultants.
As with any other software development project, you need to plan well so that your first attempt doesn’t fail.
Many people fail in order to learn from their mistakes and build the project right next time. Only after the concept of your project has received positive practical confirmation, you can start scaling it up.
2smart Cloud Platform is Ready to Use Tool to Develop IoT Solutions
2smart cloud platform provides users with simple tools to create, test, and maintain IoT devices. To bring the idea into the life you need access to our platform and the Internet connection. We also provide our users with:
- a set of development tools;
- an app builder;
- a solution to update IoT devices over the air;
- post-launch assistance;
- secure cloud services;
- a possibility to add the solution to the 2smart cloud catalog.
Conclusion
The development of the IT market has led to the emergence of the IoT concept. The principle of the IoT implies the interaction of objects familiar to us in everyday life using high-speed computer networks.
The desire of many users to feel like IoT creators has pushed some companies to develop special platforms.
As a result, it turned out that such developments made it possible to cope with various tasks, from the solution of infrastructure concepts to the creation of interactive objects. 2smart cloud platform is one of the best solutions to create and support reliable IoT devices.
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