Industrial Internet of Things (IoT) Edge Software Platforms Selection

This guide includes both selection criteria and strategies for choosing the correct Industrial Internet of Things (IoT) Edge Software Platform technology and supplier.

Overview

Industrial IoT edge software platforms perform infrastructure tasks such as device management, application development, enablement, and execution, hardware/software virtualization, and/or container orchestration, either together with cloud-based solutions or exclusively on-prem.  The business value proposition of edge solutions varies widely, from pursuit of internal improvements in areas such as increased uptime (Industrial IoT) and/or production flexibility (Industrie 4.0) to inclusion in connected end products and pursuit of incremental service innovation. 

Supplier offerings can also correspond to this breadth of served applications, with provider legacies ranging from HMI and SCADA to cloud-native open source.  It is therefore critically important to evaluate solutions not only for functional capabilities but also legacy supplier competencies, geographic and industry presence, and ecosystem participation, among many other criteria. 

As cloud-based enterprise applications have become the norm, and cloud solutions themselves extend to the edge to access their source data, we increasingly find the edge solutions from the cloud providers are part of the selection process.  IT organizations involved in the selection process also typically bring the cloud providers into the discussion.  Customers evaluating edge solutions from the cloud players should take several factors into account, including response latency, security, amount of off-prem execution, and vertical domain expertise.

Industrial IoT Edge Software Platforms Strategic Issues

ARC understands the challenges that organizations face when making Industrial IoT Edge Software Platform choices. Through our years of research, ARC knows where additional insight may be needed, and the features that Industrial IoT Edge Software Platform solutions need to be fit for this purpose. This includes:

• Technology, architecture, ecosystem, and use of open source 
• Deployment models and methodologies
• Integration with complementary enterprise applications and automation systems
• Emerging Industrial IoT-based technologies, such as AI, ML, virtualization, and orchestration
• Supplier business viability, as well as local and global presence
• Supplier long-term vision
• Supplier market share across numerous segmentations

This ARC Selection Guide will help you select the best available Industrial IoT Edge Software Platform solution to meet your needs now and in the future.