Internet of Things (IoT) Software Trends

Internet of Things (IoT) software trends include a focus on cybersecurity and all-in-one desktop interfaces that help organizations manage IoT device endpoints and the data these devices collect. 

IoT software today

The IoT software market has been heating up over the past few years in tandem with the IoT device market itself. According to recent research conducted by Market Research Future, the IoT software platform market will be worth nearly $6 billion by 2027, up from $3 billion in 2019.

Organizations rely on IoT software to build and manage IoT solutions. Typically, IoT software platforms include four main components:

• IoT application management tools (development, testing and management)
• Data management tools that ingest, store, and analyze IoT device data
• Telecommunications management tools that help organizations scale as they add IoT endpoints to their networks
• Device management tools that allow organizations to manage, monitor, and configure IoT devices remotely

These are some of the key trends shaping the IoT software market: 

See more: Internet of Things (IoT) Market

5 IoT software trends

1. New IoT software vendor revenue streams

On the vendor side, IoT software providers are tapping into new revenue streams, which are helping to bolster the overall market value and growth. For example, more vendors are venturing into the infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) space, including serving as hosts for other companies’ IoT platforms. MachineMetrics on AWS and Oden Technologies on Google Cloud are two examples. 

Vendors are also offering more third-party system integration to meet the demand for tools to design, manage, and monitor IoT apps used within organizations and as revenue-generating apps. End-to-end solutions that can be configured to meet organizational needs are also becoming more mainstream. ABB Ability Solutions and AWS Monitron are prominent providers in this area. 

The increase in IoT adoption has also opened new revenue opportunities for cybersecurity platform vendors, which are adding features specific to IoT data collection and storage, including within cloud depositories. Because so much real-time data flows between IoT devices and sensitive networks, bad actors have access to more endpoints — cybersecurity vendors are considering this emerging source of vulnerabilities as they develop new products and enhancements.

2. Increased focus on containerization

Gartner predicts that more than 75% of global organizations will be using “containerized apps” in production by the end of 2022. The firm points to increased demand for vendor-neutral IoT technologies as the main factor driving this trend. 

Containerized apps isolate the libraries and configuration files required to run specific applications that may not integrate well within the larger network. This allows organizations with legacy equipment to bring on IoT technology without investing in complete system overhauls. 

Another reason organizations are turning toward containerization in IoT apps is security related. By partitioning functions between containers, IoT platform users can be assigned different privileges to specific containers, so only a few team members can make significant changes to files and configurations. 

See more: How the Cloud and Internet of Things (IoT) are Used by Dow, DHL Supply Chain, Thermo Fisher, Coca-Cola Icecek, and Deep Sky Vineyard: Case Studies

3. More AI, machine learning, and automation features

Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) allow IoT software developers to include tools that help organizations automate repetitive tasks and simplify workflows related to IoT device management. For example, machine learning algorithms can link sensors with machines, enabling teams to monitor qualities like equipment condition autonomously, leading to better predictive maintenance approaches and early detection of issues that could affect production or supply chain logistics. 

Products like PTC Products’ ThingWorx, a platform designed for industrial IoT (IIoT) management, use machine learning to improve manufacturing processes by analyzing IoT sensor data collected from various points. The platform can then suggest ways to automate workflow processes and enhance machine maintenance approaches through automation.

4. Business intelligence (BI) tools

Products like Microsoft’s Power BI give organizations the ability to take deep dives into the data collected from their IoT sensors and devices at a large scale. Enterprise-ready IoT software platforms can handle massive volumes of data and deliver detailed analyses based on big data insights. 

With these enhanced tools, platforms pull data from sources like Google Analytics and Azure Cloud to create detailed data visualizations and analysis of streaming real-time data as well as static data. Business intelligence features help teams apply data insights derived from IoT sensors and devices to high-level organizational issues, including workflow and revenue enhancement. 

5. IoT software platforms “as-a-service”

Increasingly, the IoT software platform market includes vendors that not only offer IoT platforms to be used by organizations directly, but they also offer platform management services. Similar to other “as-a-service” models, IoT (IoTaaS) allows organizations to farm out some of the work involved with IoT management. 

IoTaaS allows organizations to take advantage of complex software and infrastructure without investing resources into network architecture hardware improvements, staffing, or expensive software. Microsoft’s Azure IoT Central is one popular IoTaaS option. 

IoT software platforms help organizations manage their often complex IoT programs. The best offerings include centralized desktop interfaces that can be used by non-experts and features like data visualization and cybersecurity tools.

See more: Best IoT Platforms & Software