The world of machine-to-machine (M2M) communication is gradually moving from vertical and single purpose solutions to multi-purpose and collaborative applications interacting across industry verticals, organisations and people – a world of Internet of Things (IoT).
Whereas M2M often represents highly customised solutions deployed within single industry verticals or companies to improve existing business operations, IoT puts more emphasis on integration of sensors, devices and information systems across industries and organisations to transform operations and enable creation of new business models.
Increasingly complex IoT solutions require more advanced communication platforms and middleware that facilitate seamless integration of devices, networks and applications. There is a wide range of software platforms developed for the purpose of enabling IoT solutions. The intention is to enable rapid development and lower costs by offering standardised components that can be shared across multiple solutions in many industry verticals. Third party IoT platforms are relatively new in the market and display great diversity in terms of functionality and application areas. Broadly speaking, most IoT platforms fall into one of the following three categories: connectivity management platforms, device management platforms and application enablement platforms (AEPs). By adopting AEPs, companies can focus on creating differentiation through unique capabilities and insights from data, rather than spending resources on duplicating non-differentiating but necessary functionality such as device integration, data collection, data storage and analytics. A growing number of AEPs now also offer drag-and-drop build tools for creating applications that include real-time dashboards, data visualisation and user interfaces with little or no need for coding.
Author: André Malm, senior analyst, Berg Insight
