Cloud Platform is one of the main bases to store the data received from IoT devices. For instance, the data shared through the wireless sensors, stores in the cloud. The Internet of things itself is a platform for multiple devices connected through the wireless medium.
IoT platform and cloud platform is integrating as an end-to-end platform. Different gateways transfer the data of IoT devices to the cloud. Different cloud service providers are hosting wide range applications to support Cloud Platform for the Internet of Things.
Some important features for a cloud platform for the internet of things include Connectivity, Network Management, Device Management, and Data Acquisition. On the other hand feature such as Processing analysis, Visualization, integration, and storage also performs an important task in cloud connectivity.
The cloud architecture processes the data through two different architecture. The acquired data is not stored directly but through a different process.
Cloud-Centric format:
With available connected devices data center collects the data and processes the data as per the requirement. The gathered data is analyzed and stored in the cloud.
Device-Centric format:
The device which collects data processes itself and with only some minimum changes, interacts with the cloud for updates and provisioning. Above all, it simplifies the complexity
What is the Internet of things platform?
Internet of Things Platform is a multi-layered technology that enables communication between the connected devices. IoT platform connects the hardware components with the cloud platform and supports hardwareless storage.
The Internet of Things platform is the middleware for hardware devices and other service-oriented applications. IoT platform also provides developers with ready-to-use features that speed up the application development.
Some of the best Cloud Platforms for the Internet of Things discussed below:
Google Cloud Platform
It provides a secure infrastructure, which is a multi-layered cloud platform. Google services help in improving operational efficiency also provides predictive Maintainance for equipment. Google cloud platform for the Internet of Things allows real-time assets tracking for better security.
Features of Google Cloud Platform:
- Machine learning capabilities.
- Real-time asset tracking.
- Artificial intelligence capabilities.
- Location services.
- Support a wide range of operating systems.
- Huge location services.
Pros
• Integration with other Google services
• Faster input and output: less access time.Cons
• Programming languages are limited so the user has to learn a specific language.
• Almost all the components are google technologies.
IBM Watson IoT
IBM cloud platform allows the investigation of data through connected devices. Having a hybrid cloud platform PAAS(Platform as a service) for better and faster development.
Features of IBM Watson IoT:
- Available data sensor and weather services.
- Data exchange is real-time so the user can track data flow easily.
- Available with secure communication and cognitive systems.
Pros
- Better customer services.
- A large quantity of data processing is available.
- Untapped data processing.
Cons
- The switching cost is high as a result, the initial investment is high.
- Watson’s integration is time-consuming as a result, services may lack when needed.
- Frequent maintenance is required.
AWS (Amazon Web Services) IoT Cloud Platform
Amazon Web services made easier for developers to acquire data from sensors and IoT devices. Collection and transfer of data are easy, and analysis is better than ever. Most importantly communication with devices is available with an application even if the devices are offline.
Features of AWS IOT Cloud Platform:
- Most importantly gateway is secure for the devices.
- Device management is easy and flexible
- Available with authentication and encryption.
Pros
- Integration is flexible similarly cloud interacts fast with the user.
- Less installation cost, so the user can afford the services.
- Services are open and flexible so the user can easily serve clients.
Cons
- Enterprise application is complex and critical so the small enterprise can not manage properly.
- Hosting is not secure so big enterprises will worry about security.
Why IoT Cloud?
IoT Cloud compiles all the gathered data and allows the user to make correct decisions. Moreover, Cloud makes data mining and data processing easier and flexible so that the user can act accordingly. Different Cloud services providers offer different features and availabilities among them; the above three are the best IoT Cloud platform.
IoT and Cloud, both interconnected via different aspects, as a result, they serve different purposes in their respective fields. Various IoT cloud applications such as Amazon lightsail and Amazon EC2 serve enterprise as well as web applications for the Internet of Things. Hence, these applications allow integration with application and have easy access to IoT cloud data.
In short, the above three Cloud Platform services are best for the current scenario of the Internet of Things and Cloud service. To sum up, Cloud service provides IoT with enhanced features to simplify data collection and storage. As a result, Cloud services save time and hardware components for IoT to store data and information.
Some advantages of IoT Cloud
- Data mining and Big Data consequently results in proper data management.
- Research and Decision making.
- Data analysis and Information Processing.
- Data convergence and service delivery. For example, two or more data of the same kind is compiled together.
- Minimize hardware components by virtual storage of data.
- Remote data processing power.
- It allows inter-device communication so the connected devices do not need continuous monitoring.
Some challenges of IoT Cloud
- Huge networking and communication protocols, so it is difficult to handle all the data.
- Data processing for a huge amount of data is complex and challenging.
- Sensor network management difficulty as a result of a complex structure.