What Do Customers Want From An IoT Platform?

Customers want much more than data collection from an end-to-end Internet of Things platform. Microsoft and AWS' platforms contain different components for collecting, storing and analyzing data – topped by the capability to transfer data in a bi-directional manner.

A successful IoT platform will have various functions, including a software development kit that can be used as firmware in connected devices, device management capabilities, support for multiple standard protocols, security, archiving and large-scale data storage, and the potential for plug-and-play global connectivity (including 3G, 4G and LTE).

Many of these features come to play in the gateway of an IoT solution – which for Microsoft is its Azure IoT Hub, and for AWS its AWS IoT gateway. These two gateways act as the door between the devices and cloud by simplifying the ingestion and communication of data.