Exploring 74 IoT Platforms: A Comprehensive Analysis

Lian Dong Yuan Su has 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 72 IoT platforms identified in these three categories. The infrastructure platforms will be compared separately from the development tools and service operations, as there are significant differences between them. The development tools and service operations are often intertwined, so they will not be categorized separately.

When it comes to infrastructure cloud platforms, there are too many to count. In Shanghai, Lian Dong Yuan Su has surveyed more than 30 cloud platform companies, big and small. However, only a few giants have truly embraced the IoT era.

Among these six clouds, Google Cloud has not entered China. Baidu and Tencent seem to have little interest in cloud services, making it a competition mainly 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 available online comparing their technologies, so Lian Dong Yuan Su will not repeat those descriptions. However, from the perspective of information security in the Chinese market, Alibaba Cloud appears to have an advantage.

Lian Dong Yuan Su has encountered 68 platforms of this type (originally 66, but new platforms were recommended during the organization process). These 68 platforms can be divided into three categories: the first category includes new layouts by big companies in the IoT field; the second category includes those favored by capital; and the third category consists of self-sufficient entities.

Among these platforms, except for Alibaba Cloud IoT, Azure IoT, and AWS IoT, which are purely PAAS platforms, most others integrate PAAS and SAAS. Among these platforms, GE’s Predix is highly regarded in the industry, becoming a model for many companies in the industrial sector. Many press releases from platform companies often mention “XXX launches an industrial internet/IOT platform, creating China’s Predix,” which is reminiscent of the entertainment industry comparisons.

Overall, these companies began exploring IoT intelligent systems earlier than the giants. It is currently difficult to predict who will emerge victorious. However, based on what Lian Dong Yuan Su has learned, building an IoT platform requires the accumulation of experience; the longer the time, the better they can “meet the personalized needs of developers or users through standardized and modular back-end systems.” For example, companies like Smart Cloud, Cloud Wise, Qingke, and Envision Energy have been deeply engaged in their respective fields for many years.

In fact, after comparing numerous companies, Lian Dong Yuan Su found that businesses cannot aim to be large and comprehensive from the start; they must focus on niche areas, establish a solid foundation, and only expand when the time is right to ensure longevity. There are many companies in this field that have quickly faded away.

This portion of companies, while lacking wealthy backers and not having received investments, have achieved good results in niche areas. For example, Shenzhiyun, founded by university students, achieved over ten million in revenue in its first year with a profit margin of around 20%. Though not much, it is still an excellent start. Additionally, some companies are not in a hurry to seek funding because they have “business to do,” such as Mi Chi 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, building towards this goal from the start; while others focus on providing customized solutions to solve real problems for customers while gradually improving their platforms.

Furthermore, among all platforms, aside from the giants, the remaining 43 companies are distributed as follows: 14 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 have entered China). Given this situation, Beijing has a clear advantage.

Overall, the Internet of Things has just begun. Although it has fallen into developmental pitfalls several times in the past few years, “Though the east is lost, 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 alive, there is opportunity…