Connecting numerous Internet of Things devices requires device management platforms. And when dealing with hundreds, thousands, or even millions of devices, the platform managing them becomes a crucial piece of the puzzle. It is not just about basic functionality and the ability to control devices remotely via over-the-air updates. It is also a decision-making dashboard that the user sees before them, on the basis of which they make important business decisions. Answering to question “Which cloud iot platforms to choose?” is key to maintaining a stable and predictable product lifecycle, whilst keeping production costs reasonable. In this article, we will present the most important IoT platform providers, comparing well-known giants such as AWS IoT Core and Microsoft Azure IoT Hub, as well as open-soruce solutions like ThingsBoard. We will also look at leading industrial IoT platforms and help you identify which connectivity management platform will work best for your project.
What is the IoT cloud platform?
IoT Cloud platform is simply a single dashboard for managing all your devices. Instead of connecting to each sensor individually, , you centralize your IoT connectivity through a single cloud service. This allows you to check what’s happening with your equipment from your desk, change its settings, or send out a new software update.
In practice, it works like this: if you have ten thousand devices scattered around the world and you find a fault in them, you don’t need to bring them in for servicing or send people out into the field. You fix the code, send the update via the cloud, and that’s it. The company saves on logistics, and the customer doesn’t have to return a faulty product.
Once the sensors have collected data from various locations within a smart building, they transmit it to the IoT cloud service. There, the information is analysed and forwarded to the user’s dashboard. To fully understand the role of cloud-based IoT platforms, it is worth highlighting at this stage the difference between them and edge processing. In the case of edge processing, the entire data analysis process takes place locally on the device, and only the most important information – such as details of a fault – is sent to the server.
Which IoT cloud providers are most widely used?
When analysing the cloud IoT platforms available on the market, one can see that there are a relatively large number of them. Each platform has its own strengths and weaknesses. Some are better suited to hobbyists, others to start-ups, and yet others to enterprises with dozens of devices in their portfolio.
AWS IoT Core
However, when asked to name the most widely used cloud solutions provider, Amazon Web Services is the clear leader. Its adoption is global, ranging from smart home solutions in private homes to Formula 1 racing, where the cloud analyses over a million data points per second from a single car, with a total of 22 cars on the grid. The scale of its ability to handle multiple sensors simultaneously clearly demonstrates its leading position among cloud applications. That is why at WizzDev we are keen to use the AWS solution, as we have seen its capabilities proven in many projects, both those carried out by us and Mill Norway, as well as globally.
Microsoft Azure IoT Hub
In second place is a competing solution Microsoft Azure IoT Hub. Like AWS IoT solution, this one is characterised by very extensive data point analysis capabilities. It is a great solution when creating a distributed network of devices. A good example of the platform’s capabilities is its use in the Spanish La Liga, where it collects over 3.5 million data points in a single match, whilst several matches can take place simultaneously.
Google Cloud Platform
The last of the top three IoT platform solution is Google Cloud Platform – which takes a slightly different approach to platform management compared to its two main rivals. This came about after Google decided to phase out its dedicated solution in 2023, meaning it is no longer a standalone platform. Since then, it has been based on a partnership model, where users can integrate third-party platforms with Google’s extensive data and analytics ecosystem.
Overview of top IoT cloud platforms
As we mentioned earlier, there is a vast array of iot platform providers available on the market, and each is suited to a different application and scale of operation. Depending on the stage – whether it is prototyping or a fleet of hundreds of thousands of devices – we should use a different IoT platform solution to better match market requirements. Platforms can be divided into four categories:
Hobbyist and educational
Designed for people working on DIY projects or just starting their journey into the world of IoT. They usually offer fairly simple interfaces with limited customisation options.
Arduino Cloud
It’s safe to say that there isn’t a person alive who hasn’t heard of Arduino and its capabilities. However, the platform itself also allows you to manage Espressif microcontrollers such as the ESP32. The idea behind the platform was to design a secure and easily scalable solution enabling real-time IoT data monitoring, OTA updates and an open REST API for third-party integration. Communication takes place via standard protocols such as MQTT or HTTPS. This allows for automation via Webhooks and Arduino Pro edge solutions.
Blynk
This is a low-code platform designed for rapid prototyping and developing IoT projects. Its main advantage is an intuitive ‘drag-and-drop’ interface. It is the ideal solution for DIY enthusiasts who want to create their own personalised app for monitoring home devices. The system supports a wide range of hardware: from Arduino boards and Raspberry Pi to ESP32 modules. However, the platform’s weaknesses include its complete reliance on cloud processing, the lack of hardware-level authentication, and limited integration with AI and machine learning solutions.
ThingSpeak
A solution designed for the academic community and scientific applications. It enables the collection, storage and visualisation of device data, with seamless integration with MathWorks as it is built on MATLAB. It works perfectly for prototyping devices based on Arduino, Particle and ESP. Using this platform may prove problematic in the future if our project grows to a commercial scale.
Startups and developers
Start-up projects are at a very interesting stage of development, as this is the time when a wealth of ideas for new solutions emerge. Cloud iot platforms must be able to meet the expectations of investors and shareholders. At the same time, they must be flexible enough to scale the project seamlessly right through to a market-ready device. Among the platforms that work well at this stage of development, we recommend:
Particle IoT Platform
This is a platform designed for the Particle extension board, which gives the boards cloud functionality and the ability to perform over-the-air updates. The platform allows for rapid project development. However, it has limitations in terms of compatibility with third-party hardware.
One of the most interesting solutions, combining a start-up ethos with scalability. An open-source platform designed for device management, data processing and visualisation on a dashboard. It is a highly versatile solution allowing the integration of any hardware using MQTT, HTTP, CoAP or LoRaWAN. It includes an API, an over-the-air update mechanism and the capability for edge computing via the ThingsBoard Edge component.
Enterprise-level deployments
At this stage, platforms are expected to be fully reliable and capable of operating on a global scale, with seamless integration into various ecosystems. Essentially, this category includes market leaders such as AWS IoT Core and Azure IoT Hub. Both platforms offer full scalability with built-in security and the ability to manage billions of devices simultaneously. Whether used in an industrial IoT platform, connected vehicle and smart home applications, these solutions provide ideal performance.
Industrial IoT platform and specialized applications
For industrial solutions, it is essential to use dashboards that are reliable. It is simply unacceptable for production to be halted due to a malfunctioning dashboard. Such cloud platforms are generally highly customisable to meet users’ requirements, with the ability to manage multiple system components.
Bosch IoT Suite
This platform is designed for “heavy-duty” applications: factories, logistics and urban infrastructure. Its greatest strength lies in its ability to handle industrial equipment – it allows devices to be securely connected (via MQTT or HTTP), configured and updated remotely without interrupting operations. Bosch focuses on data: it excels at real-time IoT data analysis and storing historical records. Thanks to the Edge Agent solution, it can also process information locally, on-site, rather than sending everything to the cloud.
Oracle IoT Cloud Service
This is a Platform-as-a-Service solution with one primary objective: to securely connect devices and extract data from them for analysis. It is mainly used by large companies in the medical or logistics sectors, for whom end-to-end data encryption is crucial. Oracle’s greatest strength is that it integrates seamlessly with the rest of their systems. If a company already uses Oracle databases or analytics, Oracle IoT Cloud integrates with them, allowing the existing infrastructure to be utilised.
Siemens Insights Hub
This is a tool for the digitalisation of heavy industry. Siemens focuses on securely extracting data directly from machines on the production floor. Its greatest strength is its integration with the entire Siemens automation ecosystem – thanks to MindConnect gateways and Edge solutions, the platform enables secure real-time iot data processing right next to the machine. This is the solution for those who want a complete overview of what is happening with their industrial assets on a global scale.
Cloud IoT platforms cost comparison
To make the cost comparison meaningful, we looked at a specific example: 100 devices operating round the clock, sending device data every 5 minutes. On a monthly basis, this amounts to nearly 864,000 messages and over 4 million minutes of connection time with the server.
Here’s what the monthly bills look like in this scenario:
How to choose an IoT connectivity platform
Choosing the right platform is a strategic decision that directly influences the shape of the entire project. Whether we want to create a simple DIY device or are prototyping with a view to full-scale development, we must carefully consider exactly what we need. Any subsequent changes to the platform will have a negative impact on time-to-market and, at the same time, significantly increase the cost of the project.
Bearing in mind the long-term lifecycle of the device, we should take four key factors into account. First and foremost, we need to define the scope of the project and its lifecycle. At this stage, we want to anticipate exactly what we are creating. Are we focusing more on a one-off student project, are we building an MVP for a start-up, or are we implementing a new version of a comprehensive smart home solution? Not every cloud-based iot platform is equally suited to this; some are ideal for rapid prototyping, whilst others meet the security requirements of the industrial sector.
We also need to determine the scale of the project and how many devices will ultimately be on the network. This is important because different platforms have different bandwidths and also different costs for data transmission. A solution optimised for sending small packets of device data once an hour will behave very differently under the load of thousands of devices streaming real-time telemetry every second.
A very important factor for many manufacturers will be the platform’s ability to perform OTA (Over-the-Air) updates, native AI/ML support, or edge processing. Ultimately, we cannot overlook the costs that will directly impact the final price of the product. And to summarise the above factors in a single sentence: clearly defining the design requirements and their cost will save us effort whilst avoiding technical issues.
Benefits of using IoT cloud platforms
In addition to obvious benefits such as the ability to support multiple devices and ongoing maintenance, these platforms also allow us to focus more on the product itself rather than the technical infrastructure. By utilising proven solutions available on the market, we gain access to ready-to-use tools that accelerate time-to-market and are capable of scaling from prototypes to fully-fledged, full-scale projects.
At the same time, given the well-established market position of many solutions, we can be confident in the security and reliability of our product. Clouds are capable of supporting hundreds of thousands of devices with millions of data points transmitted simultaneously. Furthermore, everything can be supported by dashboards updated in real-time data, which are essential for decision-making. Individual platforms natively support artificial intelligence, enabling not only data collection but also automated decision-making and the provision of valuable predictions.
Which IoT cloud service is best?
As is almost always the case, there is no single iot platform solution that will suit every situation, and the answer to which cloud-based iot platform is best is: it depends. The most important thing is to focus on clearly defining the project’s objectives and technical requirements. That way, the chosen solution will be best suited to your needs. The choice will also depend on the level of complexity; some platforms are better suited to simple DIY projects, whilst others are better for prototyping.
Ultimately, the whole system should provide the necessary information in the form of a clear dashboard, which will serve as the basis for decision-making. If you’re unsure which IoT platform provider to choose, get in touch with us below and we’ll help you find a platform that meets all your project’s needs.
