7 Reasons Why the AWS IoT Platform is Great for IoT Startups

When the hoopla around launching an Internet of Things (IoT) startup fades, reality kicks in. Entrepreneurs realize with dread that choosing an IoT platform is not a piece of cake; neither is connecting IoT software and hardware to the Internet or coordinating sensor and network operations, not to mention the security of data deluge. That is why, much too often, the co-founders of IoT startups get lost in an abundance of choices.

So, why not focus on Amazon IoT? This immensely helpful platform has a lot to offer an IoT startup. No wonder such globally known names as iRobot, GoPro, and Under Armour have launched their connected products with the support of the Amazon Web Services (AWS) IoT platform. Here are seven reasons your startup should also consider using the AWS IoT Platform for your next product.

It’s Easy to Start With AWS IoT

To communicate, devices and the AWS IoT platform use the HTTPS and MQTT protocols. And the AWS IoT message broker, a core embedded service-enabling message exchange, also supports MQTT over the WebSockets. Thanks to these protocols, your IoT startup’s developers can effectively connect the product to the cloud infrastructures of various shapes and sizes.

That is why increasingly more IoT startups choose AWS IoT. It is also said to be one of the easiest-to-use cloud-based IoT platforms; 51.8% of developers that the Eclipse Foundation asked chose it as their cloud platform for IoT applications. Engineers like the platform’s compatibility with popular programming languages like C, Java, JavaScript, Python, software development kit (SDK) for Arduino Yún, and mobile SDKs - iOS and Android. On top of that, AWS IoT Device SDKs are open-source, so you can explore them in the smallest details.

The latest Stack Overflow Developer Survey also shows the public’s appreciation for AWS. It claims that AWS is the public cloud platform of choice for engineers and one of the most preferred platforms for development ever.

High IoT Security Standards

To ensure that data exchange between the AWS IoT platform and connected devices is secure all the way, there are multiple authorizations, authentication, and encryption levels. Both authorization methods—the AWS method (SigV4) and the traditional approach using X.509 certificates—are used with HTTPS communications. MQTT uses the certification-based approach while SigV4 connectivity protects the WebSockets connection. Moreover, product owners can form and enforce their own security policies through the AWS Console or using an API.

AWS IoT is integrated with IAM—Amazon’s very own authentication engine. The service also supports Cognito, an identity management service for mobile and web apps. On top of that, AWS arms customers with AWS CloudTrail, a powerful service that locates and fixes security issues in an AWS IoT account. All this is possible because AWS CloudTrail provides event history of the account activity, including actions taken via the AWS Console.

AWS Cherishes Its Startup Community and Cultivates Startup Culture

Of course, their motives are not purely altruistic. Startups are a valuable category of Amazon’s target audience. An entire section of its corporate website informs budding entrepreneurs about how to lower costs, where to start with various SDKs, and suggests special startup packages, such as AWS Activate for Startups. It also offers success stories, featured IoT startups, interviews, meet-ups, and blog posts for education and inspiration. Additionally, the informative and beautiful documentation describes and answers nearly any question an AWS beginner may have.

Serverless Architecture is the Right Choice for Startups

The code is written and deployed in the form of small functions that are executed on the AWS cloud platform. Under the Amazon billing model, startup owners will have to pay only for the time these functions are executed.

Amazon’s purpose-built service enables all this serverless goodness with a rather straightforward configuration—AWS Lambda. No doubt, AWS Lambda is a useful element in the architecture of an IoT back end. With AWS IoT and AWS Lambda, your startup can build a highly customizable and flexible, serverless back end that is highly automated. You can incorporate any code and native libraries to simplify the creation of cloud-based device-specific algorithms. With Lambda, you can set up the code to be automatically triggered from AWS IoT and other services or call it from any web or mobile app. Profit!

[bctt tweet="Every IoT startup founder should think about the possible ways their connected devices will cooperate with other connected things and third-party services." username="iotforall"]

Powerful AWS IoT Analytics Paired With AI and Machine Learning

It’s a historical type of analytics for understanding long-term device performance, business reporting, and ad-hoc analysis, as well as predictive fleet maintenance. The Internet of Things is at the center of all its features: it enriches IoT data with IoT-specific metadata and places it in an IoT-optimized data store. Now captured, raw data is ready for the specific reporting. The embedded SQL engine extends reporting capabilities and provides dashboards with a specific information set.

Insights suggested by Amazon Kinesis Analytics differ from the IoT-specific time-series data in AWS IoT Analytics. Kinesis Analytics is a general-purpose tool designed to process streaming data in real time, not only from the IoT devices but from other data sources as well. For business purposes, it offers immediate responses when certain anomalies appear. For example, based on IoT-streamed data, Amazon Kinesis Analytics can generate alerts when a certain sensor in your product fails.

AWS Has a Strong Partner Network of IoT Device Manufacturers

Amazon pays special attention to IoT companies that produce, integrate, or distribute IoT-related hardware. Under the special IoT Hardware Program, it gathers elaborate technologies from trusted device manufacturers and software providers. So, IoT startups can feel safe—their projects will be scalable and secure. AWS IoT Hardware partners and AWS IoT Competency Partners offer deep domain expertise supported by AWS and IoT Starter Kit with products ready to connect to the AWS IoT platform.

Integration Across a Sheer Number of AWS Products and Services

With the AWS IoT Core platform, developers can interconnect IoT devices and make use of other Amazon Web Services. The supported services include AWS Lambda, Amazon Kinesis, Amazon S3, Amazon Machine Learning, Amazon DynamoDB, Amazon CloudWatch, AWS CloudTrail, and Amazon Elasticsearch Service with built-in Kibana integration.

Conclusion

The pragmatic approach to IoT security and stability in operations are the final points in favor of AWS as an IoT platform provider. The rest is a matter of personal experience, so don’t hesitate to share your next big thing built with the AWS IoT platform.