Six must have functionalities in any Edge IoT Platform

Intelligent Edge IoT Platforms much have certain functionalities that are critical for any successful IoT implementation. IoT solutions provide visibility on how your assets and processes are performing.  They use real-time sensor data to get insights into your plant’s performance that help answer “what if” scenarios for various stakeholders.   

Let us first start with a quick review of the traditional approach to monitoring and control of processes and machines.  PLCs/RTUs are typically used for this purpose today.  PLCs/RTUs are purpose-built hardware for controlling a machine. PLCs/RTUs are not built for 1) collecting sensor data using various industry wireless interfaces (Zigbee/BLE) and cannot handle wired interfaces such as Video feeds and 2) Transform the ingested data before transporting it into an IoT application using secured communication protocol over GSM/GPRS/4G/Wifi. Hence you need a system that was designed with IoT in mind.

First the intelligent edge IoT hardware should be designed for collecting sensor data at scale, transforming it into actionable intelligence with a powerful on-board processor with support for high-level and general-purpose programming languages such as Python, Flow chart programming, Node RED and others.

Edge computing pushes intelligence, data processing, analytics, and communication capabilities to where the data originates. It enables latency-sensitive computing, offers greater business agility through better control and faster insights, lowers operating expenses, and results in a more efficient network bandwidth utilization.

Here are six must have Edge IoT Platform functionalities needed for any successful IOT project implementation. Please feel free to add to my list — or challenge it — in the comments

Six must have Edge IoT Platform functionalities :

1. Connectivity to Machines:  Various on-board Wireless (Wifi, ZigBee, LE, 4G) and Wired (RS485, High speed Ethernet, POE) communication options with industry standard protocols (Modbus TCP, DNP3.0, OPC DA, UA) to connect sensor data or PLC/DAQ systems. 
2. Data Integration & Transformation- Raw data can be transformed using Python, Node RED or Flowchart based programming at the Edge.
3. Store & Forward – to store data in the memory in the event of communication network failure or intermittent network.
4. Transport Raw/Transformed data – Secured data transfer to the cloud/data centre using secured MQTT/HTTP Protocols.
5. Centralized Web based Edge Device Management
   •  One view of Edge device fleet uptime, device health, resource usage, security, and alarm conditions.
   • OTA (Over the Air) Firmware upgrade
6. Modular, Scalable, Simple to configure: Integrate with customer’s choice of IoT Platform (AWS/Azure/Google/PTC)

Want to find out more about our intelligent Edge IoT Platform?  Write us at prashant.kapadia@IoTfyNow.com to schedule a private demo of our platform and get a trial account to test it for yourself.

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