How to Choose the Right IoT Device Management Platform?

The advent of IoT has revolutionized the industrial sector. However, to fully leverage the power of IoT, businesses need to be backed with the right tools. One of those tools is an IoT Device Management Platform that is crucial for every business. Find out how it is beneficial and how you can choose the best one.

Gone are the days when industrial machines in remote areas were repaired days after the breakdown. Not anymore! These machines can be repaired in a few minutes today, thanks to the IoT. Not only this but industrial machines can also be prevented from breaking down with the help of IoT. How? The practice is known as predictive maintenance. It enables industry experts to find out the malfunctioning pattern way ahead of time and repair it in advance.

Now, nothing of the above is possible if you don’t have the means to monitor IoT devices. IoT devices like sensors installed in remote locations must be monitored all the time to ensure smooth operations. To do that, an IoT Device Management Platform is a must. With an IoT device management platform, you can not only monitor devices but also deploy and maintain them.

What is an IoT Device Management Platform?

Based on a brief idea, let’s understand what IoT platforms are. IoT is a network of devices connected to the internet. It can be a small network in a home or one across numerous locations like a telecom network. The devices in this network are usually sensors connected to the internet.

An IoT device management platform enables businesses to manage and monitor these devices from a central location. For example, suppose a telecom company has installed communication towers with IoT sensors in 4–5 districts far away from each other. In that case, they can monitor their devices remotely via the sensor data acquired by the IoT platform.

The IoT platform is connected to the central IoT gateway that collects and sends this data to the platform.

Why are IoT Device Management Platforms Important?

An IoT device management platform has numerous applications and benefits. Let’s read ahead to find out!

• Easy Device Installation and Authentication

IoT device management platforms are super important. Why? The number one benefit of an IoT device management platform is device registration and authentication. You can easily register and authenticate one or more devices without going anywhere. Further, you can also automate the device registration and configuration process, reducing time and effort.

• Seamless monitoring

With the help of an IoT device management platform, you can seamlessly monitor devices in real-time. The platform provides numerous device parameters, including performance, connectivity, data transfer, uptime, and resource usage. Based on these parameters, you can make repair or maintenance plans.

• Configuration management

An IoT network may have devices with different configurations and software versions. But this will not be an issue for you. The IoT device management platform permits you to manage device configurations, firmware updates, network configurations, and security policies from one screen.

• Security

As all the devices are linked to the internet, it is possible that someone may hack into the network to tamper with the data. This can lead to false alarms, extended downtime, and low productivity. An IoT device management platform can help here. An IoT device management platform provides various features like encryption, access control, and authentication that ensure data safety and security.

The AWS IoT device management platform ensures security with the help of secure tunneling.

• Allows Remote access

Unlike traditional devices, IoT devices can be accessed and managed remotely. With the help of an IoT device management platform, you can push software, firmware, and security updates remotely. This helps in fixing vulnerabilities and enhancing device functionality. You can even send device reboot signals to fix issues remotely. FreeRTOS is an Amazon OS that allows OTA updates.

How to Select the Right IoT Device Management Platform?

As an IoT device management platform has numerous important functions and benefits, it is imperative to get the best one along with your IoT sensors. Here are some of the prime factors to consider when choosing the right IoT device management platform.

• Customizable dashboard: When choosing the right IoT device management platform, ensure it has a customizable dashboard. You should be able to change and view the aspects that are important to you. Some IoT device management platforms allow you to have several personal dashboards.
• Complex monitoring and reporting: An IoT network is complex. Therefore, your IoT device management platform needs to have complex monitoring and reporting features like predictive analytics, real-time alerts, customized reports, etc.
• Easy access to edge devices: Do check that the device management platform provides seamless access to edge devices like temperature sensors, vibration sensors, and more. It eases device monitoring and management.
• Out-of-band management: It is possible that the network may be down sometimes or that the device is powered off. In such a scenario, out-of-band management allows network administrators to manage devices remotely via a secondary network. Make sure that your device management platform has that.
• Security and privacy: Sensor data in the hands of a cybercriminal can lead to serious issues. Therefore, when you choose an IoT device management platform, check if it has security features like multi-factor authentication, role-based access control, asymmetric key authentication, and data encryption.
• Longevity: Along with functionality, it is also crucial to check if the vendor has been in the market for a significant amount of time. For example, AWS IoT Device Management, Microsoft Azure IoT Central, Watson IoT Platform, etc. are some of the reliable names.
• Scalability: The future of your business will demand an increase in the number of devices. Hence, it is important for you to choose a scalable platform. It should be able to handle additional devices and large volumes of data in the future.
• Device Support: Your chosen IoT device management platform should support a wide range of IoT devices from multiple brands. Further, ensure it is also compatible with different hardware and firmware versions.
• Integration: An IoT architecture has numerous other systems your business might need, such as data analytics, cloud services, business intelligence, etc. Hence, ensure that your chosen platform is compatible with these systems.

Examples of Deployment of IoT Device Management Platforms

IoT device management platforms can be used in various scenarios. Here is an overview of some of them!

1. Healthcare: Smart sensors can be fitted inside wearable devices worn by patients in the hospital, which can be monitored from a central location. When any abnormality is observed, the required medical support can be provided to the patients, saving time and the hassle of checking everything manually.
2. Smart city: In a city, multiple sensors, like air quality sensors, traffic sensors, parking sensors, and pollution sensors, can be fitted at multiple locations and monitored using a device management platform. Further, required countermeasures can be deployed in case of any mismatch in the data.
3. Agriculture: The agricultural sector can also leverage the power of IoT device management platforms. Smart devices like crop monitoring devices, soil sensors, water level sensors, and weather sensors can be equipped and monitored with the help of a device management platform to get supreme crop yields in the end.

Conclusion

Choosing the right IoT device management platform is a tricky and critical job. As your entire IoT network depends on it, you have to be super careful while making your choice. Hence, consider all the described aspects to make an informed choice. However, if you need IoT consulting of any type, including how to choose an IoT device management platform, you can rely on Intuz.