The world has now become connected more than ever before. The credit, of course, goes to the rapid and continuous advancements in technological infrastructure. The Internet of Things (IoT) has created a network of interconnected sensors and devices, leading to the difference in which we engage in our daily jobs. We breathe in an automated and effective planet, where smart homes, wearables, smart cities, and connected cars are revolutionizing business. But the point to be noted here is that IoT gadgets create large amounts of data, which poses a big challenge for businesses to store and monitor data on-premises. This is where cloud computing offers a solution for effective on-demand data storage and management. The data enables businesses to gain valuable insights and improve on their digital customer experiences. Every other organization thus chooses cloud services for business.
When the IoT and the cloud computing are integrated, they deliver great technological advancements, changing how we relate with our devices and with each other, and alter the way we store, monitor, and consume data. In this blog, we learn how the cloud acts as the foundation of all that IoT brings to the table.
How Cloud Computing Helps to Tackle IoT Challenges
Deploy an IoT Solution
As you develop your IoT hardware and software, the cloud releases all your concerns related to setting up servers, configuring networks, deploying databases, and performing all other different types of infrastructure tasks. With a cloud application service provider by your side, you can easily accelerate virtual servers, create data pipelines, as well as launch a database instance to help run your IoT solution. There are cloud services that specifically take care of launching and managing IoT offerings. AWS’s IoT platform is one of the examples in this context.
Through this IoT platform, you can securely connect devices and with much ease. Besides, it enables you to manage connections. You can capture and feed gathered data into other AWS technologies, like Redshift and S3. Cloud services for business not only help to speed up the process of development, but also mitigate costs of development, increase the market turnaround time, and just focus on building the best product. Isn’t it great you just pay for the resources consumed by your data and business?
Offer Flexibility & Scalability
As IoT traffic and the number of devices continue to erupt, there will be a greater number of interactions between devices and huge data generation. Your business will thereby require a cost-efficient means to store, process, and access data from IoT solutions, scaling resources to tackle demand peaks when needed. Cloud computing enables you to set up your cloud infrastructure capacity to escalate when demand is high and plummet at the time of lower traffic.
Owing to the flexible cost structure of cloud computing, you only pay for what you use at the time of scaling your server’s capacity up and down. Besides, when you add more features to your IoT solution, the cloud makes it easy to scale the infrastructure and tackle the increased functionality. Remember using traditional servers is not a great idea as you would need to buy enough capacity to account for peak times. This implies your servers will sit idle at times of low use, affecting your bottom line.
Improve Data Security
Firmware and Software Updates
Hackers are well-aware of the fact that the devices and ecosystems lacking the latest security patches are the most vulnerable, which is why devices with obsolete firmware and software become primary targets for hackers. Providers who offer cloud services for businesses play a crucial role in ensuring data security, as they have the requisite tools and processes. Through tools and processes, your provider can easily setup Firmware-Over-The-Air (FOTA) and take care of software updates at the same time. FOTA is indispensable to guarantee robust and secure operations of remote devices in Industry 4.0, healthcare, and automotive domains. Moreover, as updates are signed with digital certificates, your users can rest assured that the updates are legitimate and secure.
Encryption
Owing to the humungous amount of data generated on your smartphones daily, it may be quite difficult for you to detect signals of suspicious activity. You should thus implement as much data encryption as possible, the data that flows throughout your IoT system and is in your database. Irrespective of the amount of data you determine to encrypt, the cloud acts as a critical tool in doing so. Cloud platforms enable your business to manage client as well as server-side encryption, automate the process of encryption, and create customized encryption solutions in conformance with your software development company security policies.
Authentication
Proper user authentication at the device level makes for the first line of defense. Your cloud application service provider for business offers an identity management solution. The solution should be integrated into your IoT environment. Only then can users log into their devices securely. Besides, digital certificates should be issued to all devices. Information on potential security breaches, including when the breach took place, where the device was located, etc. can thus be captured and analyzed. In case the device is compromised with or stolen, these certificates are revokable, implying that the device is not connected to the IoT ecosystem anymore. This further guarantees the security of your IoT environment. To alleviate secure login and access, AWS provides Cognito and Identity and Access Management (IAM) modules.
Integrate Data with Much Ease
Lack of interoperability and integration makes it hard for businesses to leverage the true potential of IoT. Cloud computing allows you to overcome data integration challenges in IoT, such as integration from varied sources as well as network integration. Data integration is a primary step in integrating IoT gadgets. It also helps in building up communication within the IoT environment. Besides, cloud computing helps IoT gadgets integrate multiple sources through different APIs to empower simple data integration from a variety of sources. Likewise, it provides services, like PaaS (platform-as-a-service) for large-scale integration.
The Bottom Line
It is primarily due to the increasing adoption of hybrid and multi-cloud environments that app developers are becoming more and more aware of the importance of cloud arrangements. The IoT landscape is seeing a great shift too, leading to an increased demand for more creative cloud computing solutions. It’s therefore right to reason that cloud computing will continue to pave the path for IoT.
Deepak Kapoor has about six years of experience in IT, business, and marketing. He is passionate about technology and has a deep understanding of how organizations leverage different tools and technologies to excel and drive digital transformation. In his free time, he enjoys creative writing, reading human psychology, and watching art-based videos.
