10 Essential Questions to Ask When Selecting an Industrial IoT Platform

In the past, leading platform markets—rooted in cloud computing and connectivity—have enabled co‑creation at scale. Platforms solve core problems, while developers build on them to address evolving market demands. Smartphone ecosystems illustrate this model: Google’s Android and Apple’s App Store foster a symbiotic relationship among developers, consumers, and entrepreneurs worldwide. In 2018, the App Store generated $22.6 billion in international app revenue, whereas Google Play earned $11.8 billion. Major tech firms—Amazon, Google, Facebook, Salesforce—have launched platforms that nurture expansive ecosystems.

Industrial IoT (IIoT) platforms are still catching up to that legacy of success. If your organization is considering a single platform—or a multi‑platform strategy—you should prioritize a solution that does more than streamline commodity‑level “plumbing.” Look for an ecosystem that drives tangible improvements in asset management and operational efficiency. To help you evaluate candidates, we outline ten critical questions to ask.

1. What is the platform’s data ingestion capacity, and how does it scale with increasing device counts?
2. How robust and flexible are the data storage options (on‑premises, cloud, hybrid) for your use cases?
3. Which connectivity protocols are supported, and can the platform integrate with legacy industrial networks?
4. What analytics and machine‑learning capabilities are built in, and how easy is it to deploy custom models?
5. Does the platform provide a secure, role‑based access control framework and compliance with industry standards?
6. What is the cost structure—subscription, usage, or licensing—and how transparent are the pricing tiers?
7. How mature is the developer ecosystem (SDKs, APIs, community support) for rapid application development?
8. What governance and lifecycle management tools does the platform offer for firmware and software updates?
9. Can the platform facilitate real‑time monitoring and predictive maintenance across geographically dispersed assets?
10. What vendor track record and support options are in place to ensure long‑term reliability?