Top 6 IoT Analytics Platforms To Leverage in 2022!
Data is the currency of today’s business world. If you have your customer’s data, you can use it ethically anyway and skyrocket your business. But, as the usage of the internet has also skyrocketed, the data can be really tough to handle. If we talk specifically about IoT, there are countless devices out there.
As per stats, there were over 10 billion active IoT devices in 2021. This number is expected to go beyond 25 billion by 2025. The data from these devices can be massive and could be tough to comprehend. Therefore, businesses need software that can handle the continuous flowing data and analyze it to make informed decisions.
The IoT data analysis is done to understand the historical trends and devise future strategies based on that. However, you need tools for that, and there are many of them out there. This article will explore some of the best IoT analytics platforms that you can use to garner data insights.
What is IoT Analytics?
IoT Analytics is a process of collecting and analyzing the data obtained from various IoT devices. These devices can be many, and so are the data types. As the data is of different types, data integration becomes critical. Nevertheless, it plays a key role in the entire process.
Moreover, the high complexity of the data makes the data analytics software much more sophisticated and difficult to implement.
In an IoT system, the data can be acquired from different types of sensors and devices. These devices can be anything from temperature sensors, pressure sensors, heat sensors, network monitoring devices, etc.
They are responsible for measuring and transmitting the data to the central hub or an IoT gateway where the data processing or analysis happens.
What are the various types of IoT Analytics available?
The major motive of IoT analysis is to find and track patterns in the dataset obtained from various devices in the network. For example, if the temperature of a device is increasing day by day, it is possible that it needs checking. How will a person know this? By data analytics!
On top of this, IoT data analytics is also used for predicting future trends. Therefore, based on the goal, data analytics is divided into various categories!
Predictive Analytics
Predictive analysis deals with the modelling of future data based on historical data. For example, if you want to know how much time the sensor will work based on its current and past state (with an increase of 10% in its temperature per week), it will come under predictive analytics.
One of the perfect examples of predictive analytics is linear regression, where one or two variables are correlated to establish a linear relationship. There are polynomial regression and many other complex modeling choices available.
Real-time Analytics
The real-time analysis of IoT data is done simultaneously as the data is produced. An example of this can be the data from cab drivers. Data elements like location, the time required to reach, etc., are fetched and analyzed to allot them a ride.
Descriptive Analytics
Descriptive analysis is a common way of making sense of past, present, and future data. The data from each of the IoT devices can be received and analyzed for tracking patterns or just for monitoring. To make the analysis better, one can also visualize the data on a dashboard.
If the question is, what is the average temperature of a turbine in the last three days period? The descriptive analysis of the data will be a bar graph or a histogram that shows the temperature of the turbine in the last three days. Calculation methods like mean, median, and standard deviation are super useful for descriptive analysis.
Prescriptive Analytics
Prescriptive analytics takes the next level as it helps in planning for the future. For example, prescriptive analytics is useful in finding out how much the pump temperature should be allowed to rise if you have to increase its uptime?
As the data is analyzed to make a prescription, prescriptive analytics can help save manufacturing businesses a lot on repairs and maintenance.
Best IoT Analytics Platforms
Finally, let’s break down some of the best IoT platforms that you can use.
- AWS IoT Analytics
AWS is one of the titans of the IoT space today. Along with some innovative devices like Alexa, Amazon also provides an analytics platform that collects, analyzes, and visualizes massive volumes of data for you. The platform subscription is available at a reasonable price with some stunning features like:
- Analytics
- Asset tracking
- ETL (extract, transform, and load)
- Data visualization
- Real-time analytics and monitoring
It is a web-based platform that offers you support via email and forum.
2. Google Cloud IoT Core
Google never fails to impress the users. It has its own analytics platform that helps organizations collect, process, analyze and visualize data seamlessly. The Google IoT core, along with other online tools, allows businesses to improve efficiency and workflow.
It is used by some of the prime businesses of the world, such as Scommerce, Inforum, Codibly, and Worker. All thanks to its awesome features such as:
- End-to-end security
- Device deployment
- Role-level access control
- Best-in-class data insights
- Single global system
Apart from these pros and features, it also has a minor can that does not support two-factor authentication. If you want to go for Google Cloud IoT Core, you can choose from a standard or per feature pricing model.
3. SAP Leonardo Internet of Things
If you are up for revolutionizing your business by optimizing productivity and redefining the customer experience, SAP Leonardo IoT is your solution. The SAP Leonardo IoT has three major elements, SAP Leonardo IoT Bridge, IoT Foundations, and SAP Leonardo IoT Edge.
The combination of these three ensures that all your IoT devices are properly connected to the central system. Moreover, the data analysis is smooth, which enables you to improve response time, increase processing speed, and enhance the overall performance.
Here are some stunning features of it!
- Analytics
- Data management
- Enhanced security
- Device management
- Easy to integrate
4. ThingSpeak
Though it is not a big name, it has the power to suffice all your IoT needs. ThingSpeak is an IoT analytics service platform that allows businesses to aggregate, analyze and visualize the data in various forms. In addition, the platform has the powerful ability to execute MATLAB code that ensures faster online processing and analysis as the data comes in.
It has numerous features that make it ideal for prototyping and POC, such as:
- Auto-running of IoT analytics
- Data visualization in real-time
- Powerful MATLAB code for analysis
- Seamless device configuration
- Data aggregation from third-party sources
5. Cisco Kinetic
If you are planning to build a business IoT solution, Cisco Kinetic can make it a cakewalk for you. The platform acts as a perfect bridge for the data between various IoT devices and respective applications. It extracts the data and feeds it to the respective applications for analysis and visualization.
It has three modules, namely,
- Gateway management
- Data control
- Edge and Fog processing module
The combination of these three elements helps in data aggregation, processing, and storage.
6. Datadog
The last in the list is also one of the best and most opted platforms. Datadog is security, monitoring, and analytics platform for developers. It provides a number of awesome tools to businesses that can be used to analyze and visualize data most seamlessly and interactively.
The hosted SaaS platform makes the IoT monitoring process on the go. There is no need for any extensive setup, and you don’t have to worry about scaling. Developers can even add extra code to collect and monitor custom business metrics. Moreover, it supports almost every type of platform and hardware, including Linux, Windows, Android, etc.
How to Choose the Right IoT Data Analytics Platform?
With a plethora of choices out there, it can become difficult to make your pick. However, here are some factors that will make it easy for you.
Data plan
Data is the critical aspect of analytics. Therefore, you need to opt for a reliable and cost-effective data plan. Also, ensure that you can cancel or pause the service as per your needs.
Privacy and Security
Keep a stern eye on the security and privacy features. As there will be a lot of data, your IoT analytics platform should be able to protect it. Moreover, also look for privacy features for access control.
Connectivity
Connectivity is critical in a network of IoT devices. Hence, you need to check if the network coverage of the vendor aligns with your current and future goals.
Device management
As there will be a lot of devices in the IoT network, you have to check how well the IoT platform allows you to monitor and manage them.
Service type
Different platforms offer different types of services such as connectivity services, end-to-end services, or both. Therefore, you need to analyze your business needs and opt for the services based on your preference.
These are some of the crucial factors to keep a check on!
Conclusion
IoT is a rapidly growing industry, and that is not it. It is helping countless businesses to scale their work by minimizing physical effort. Whether you are a budding business or an established one, you need to leverage the benefits of IoT, and for that, you will need an analytics platform. The article takes a comprehensive take on IoT platforms. Analyze and choose wisely!
