A blueprint to choose the right Industrial IoT platform
COVID-19 continues to disrupt various industrial digitalization projects across geographical regions. However, most Industrial IoT (IIoT) platform vendors continue to gain significant growth momentum and market traction across multiple industry sectors.
More than ever, industries want to accelerate their digital transformation to reduce operational expenses, create new service-based business models and be more sustainable and efficient, and IIoT platform are playing a pivotal role.
Quadrant Knowledge Solutions’ “SPARK Matrix: Industrial IoT (IIoT) Platforms” research is a globally recognized report for industrial companies looking for a thorough IoT vendor comparison. It offers a comprehensive evaluation of the vendor landscape and positioning considering a variety of performance parameters.
Industrial IoT platforms features
Analysts suggest, for companies evaluating an IIoT vendor, to conduct a thorough analysis on both functional capabilities and the vendor’s overall customer capabilities, as the breadth and depth of the capabilities may differ significantly by different vendors’ offerings.
An industrial IoT platform should enable fast, easy and scalable application deployments, seamless Edge-to-Cloud connectivity, data and device management, cloud integration and end-to-end security.
Why Eurotech is leader in Industrial IoT?
In the the report, Quadrant wrote: “Eurotech continues to stand out amongst the larger competitors due to its OT-centric approach and Edge-to-Cloud IoT architecture”. This simplifies and accelerates the integration and deployment of applications at the Edge, to boost customers’ digital transformation projects. Moreover, “the company is also a pioneer in open source IoT software” and its solution is supported by “a vast ecosystem of partners to accelerate deployments of multiple IoT solutions”.
Easy IIoT application deployment
Industrial companies are increasingly looking at low-code no-code functionalities for building various applications without coding requirements to accelerate time to market and reduce integration risks.
The IIoT platform should offer a wide range of out-of-the-box solutions for major applications, along with pre-built building blocks to rapidly and securely deploy applications and integrate analytics at the Edge, meeting industry-specific and organization-specific requirements to provide real-time insights and operational intelligence.
Leading vendors should also support customers in the acceleration of their digital transformation project through professional services, providing dedicated teams of data scientists and developers.
“Eurotech continues to invest in providing further integration in the areas of application integration, improved support for AI and advanced analytics at the Edge, extending integrations with field protocols and Cloud connectors”
Quadrant Knowledge Solutions, SPARK Matrix: Industrial IoT (IIoT) Platforms 2021
Edge-to-Cloud connectivity for device and data management
Leading IIoT platforms should ensure seamless connectivity between devices and industrial assets, and between the Edge and the Cloud. Industry 4.0 and Industrial IoT application require fast and scalable provisioning of Edge devices, secure remote access and remote configuration and updates.
“Eurotech offers a complete stack of OT-centric technology for a broader IoT solution portfolio, including IoT gateways, edge computers, IoT middleware, and IoT integration platforms that seamlessly integrates with leading IT and analytics applications”
Quadrant Knowledge Solutions, SPARK Matrix: Industrial IoT (IIoT) Platforms 2021
Data integration
Industrial IoT platforms should also offer easy connection to IoT cloud services with pre-built integration with third-party platforms for machine learning and advanced analytics.
An important feature here is the integration of the data coming from Operational Technology devices (at the Edge) with the Information technology (IT) applications laying in the data center or in the cloud. The stream of data should be bi-directional to enable fast and scalable IIoT. This is enabled by Eurotech’s IoT Edge Framework ESF.
“It offers easy connection to IoT cloud services with pre-built integration with Eurotech’s Everyware Cloud, Eclipse Kapua, Microsoft Azure IoT, AWS IoT, SAP, Software AG, and other platforms”
Quadrant Knowledge Solutions, SPARK Matrix: Industrial IoT (IIoT) Platforms 2021
IoT security
Almost all leading IIoT platforms invest in building a robust partner ecosystem to ensure end-to-end IoT security, data security, and compliance automation solutions.
When building IIoT applications, customers should look for IoT security from the design phase of the project, doing risk assessment and evaluation and continuously evolving processes to proactively avoid those cybersecurity risks.
“Eurotech’s IoT solutions are designed to meet security standards like IEC 62443 and PSA” and integrate advanced security features like “managed X.509 certificates for authentication and secure communication in addition to software lifecycle management, secure boot, standards based device attestation (in a partnership with GlobalSign), and support for hardware root of trust (TPM 2.0) for robust device security”.
Quadrant Knowledge Solutions, SPARK Matrix: Industrial IoT (IIoT) Platforms 2021
That’s why for the third consecutive year Eurotech positioned among the “Technology Leaders” in the 2021 “SPARK Matrix™: Industrial IoT (IIoT) Platforms” market report. “We clearly appreciate the recognition we get with the positioning as a Leader in the 2021 SPARK Matrix,” comments Robert Andres, Eurotech’s Chief Strategy Officer, “a positioning that is confirmed by a steadily increasing traction we get in the market, with new successful proof of concepts and design wins, but also existing customers accelerating their IoT deployments”.
