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Focusing on innovation and entrepreneurship in the IoT era
An Exploration of 74 IoT Platforms
In the article “Where Are the Giants in the IoT Era? Three Types of Platforms and Five Paths,” Linking Elements categorized the currently active IoT platforms in the market into three types: Infrastructure, Development Tools, and Service Operations.
This article will provide a brief analysis of the 72 IoT platforms discovered within these three categories. The Infrastructure platforms are distinctly different from the Development Tools and Service Operations categories, so they will be compared separately. The Development Tools and Service Operations categories, however, have many overlaps, so they will not be classified separately.
Infrastructure IoT Platforms
When it comes to Infrastructure cloud platforms, there are simply too many. In Shanghai, Linking Elements has researched over 30 cloud platform companies of various sizes. However, when it comes to those that have begun to embrace the IoT era, only a few giants stand out.
Among these six clouds, Google Cloud has not entered China. Baidu and Tencent seem to have “no intention in the cloud,” so the competition appears to be between AWS, Alibaba Cloud, and Azure. These three clouds are relatively equal in terms of corporate strength, and there is already a wealth of information online comparing the technologies of these three cloud platform companies, so Linking Elements will not repeat that here. However, from the perspective of information security in the Chinese market, Alibaba Cloud seems to have an advantage.
Development Tools vs. Service Operations IoT Platforms
Linking Elements has encountered 68 platforms in this category (originally 66, but during the organization process, new platforms self-recommended). These 68 platforms can be divided into three categories: the first category consists of large companies making new moves in the IoT field; the second category includes those favored by capital; and the third category consists of self-sufficient companies.
New Explorations by Giants (26 companies):
Among these platforms, except for Alibaba Cloud IoT, Azure IoT, and AWS IoT, which are pure PaaS platforms, most of the other platforms integrate both PaaS and SaaS. Among these platforms, GE’s Predix is highly regarded in the industry, at least in the industrial sector, becoming a model that many companies aspire to imitate. Many press releases from platform companies often mention “XXX launches an industrial internet/IOT platform, creating China’s Predix,” which has a flavor reminiscent of the entertainment industry where “XXX outshines XXX.”
Those Favored by Capital (21 companies):
Overall, these companies began exploring IoT intelligent systems earlier than the giants. It is still difficult to determine who will emerge victorious in the future. However, according to Linking Elements, building an IoT platform requires the accumulation of experience; the longer the time, the more one can “satisfy the personalized needs of developers or users through standardized and modular back-end solutions.” For example, companies like ZhiCloud, Yunzhiyi, Qingke, and Envision Energy have been deeply cultivating their respective fields for many years.
In fact, after comparing a large number of companies, Linking Elements found that enterprises cannot start off too large and comprehensive; they must first focus on a niche area, establish a solid foundation, and only then expand when the time is right to ensure longevity. There are many companies in this field that have only had fleeting success.
Self-Sufficient Companies (21 companies):
This group of companies, although lacking wealthy backers and not yet having secured investments, have achieved notable results in their niche areas. For instance, Deep Intelligence Cloud, which started as a student entrepreneurship project, achieved over ten million in revenue in its first year with a profit margin of around 20%. While this may not be much, it is still an excellent seed. Additionally, some companies are not in a hurry to seek funding because they “have business to do,” such as MiChi Network.
Of course, each platform has different development strategies. Some aim to become an OS, serving as the engine for connecting billions of devices and enabling intelligent interactions, and they build towards this direction from the start; others lean towards providing solutions, customizing to solve actual problems for clients while gradually improving their platforms.
Moreover, among all platforms, Linking Elements found that, aside from the giants, among the remaining 43 companies, 14 are based in Beijing; 9 in Guangzhou and Shenzhen; 6 in Shanghai; 3 in Jiangsu; 3 in Shandong; 2 in Zhejiang; 1 in Henan; 1 in Hubei; 1 in Taiwan; and 3 overseas (all of which have entered China). Given this situation, Beijing has a clear advantage.
Overall, the IoT is just beginning. Although it has encountered several developmental pitfalls in recent years, “the east is not lost, and the mulberry is not too late; the past cannot be admonished, but the future can still be pursued.” Now is the era of fierce competition, and as long as one is still alive, there is an opportunity…
In fact, there is much more content, but the editor is simply too tired to write more…
Previous Reviews: IoT Platform Series
As the IoT era begins, who will become the BAT in the IoT field?
Where Are the Giants in the IoT Era: Three Types of Platforms and Five Paths [Part One]
Where Are the Giants in the IoT Era: Three Types of Platforms and Five Paths [Part Two]
