How Open Source Drives Innovation in the Internet of Things

From the device, to the edge, to the cloud, to the data center, open source software and hardware is bringing interoperability to the internet of things.

Open source, defined as software whose source code is freely available for inspection, use, and modification, emerged in academic, corporate, and government circles before becoming mainstream with Linus Torvalds’ 1991 release of the Linux kernel. Today, Linux powers embedded devices, routers, access points, and data‑center workloads that underpin the explosive growth of the Internet of Things.

Think of open source as a crowdsourced knowledge base—much like Wikipedia—where diverse stakeholders contribute expertise and innovation, leading to higher‑quality solutions.

Open Source & IoT Product Development

IoT devices are rarely built in isolation. Connectivity specialists provide the modem, security vendors supply the protocols, and form‑factor suppliers bring domain‑specific design expertise. A successful product emerges from a partner‑driven, ecosystem‑oriented approach—mirroring the collaborative nature of open‑source software. Because the IoT landscape remains fragmented, a unified consortia model can help the entire value chain serve its massive addressable market more effectively.

IoT platforms enable sensors and other devices to connect to networks, and to centralized cloud or edge processors—or both—while ensuring end‑to‑end security. They also handle billing, location, asset tracking, and monitoring.

Major Platforms

While proprietary stacks such as Microsoft’s Azure and Thread exist, a cohort of open‑source platforms has attracted significant investment from leading IoT companies.

• GE Predix – Initially developed for GE’s internal use, Predix was later offered as a platform‑as‑a‑service for industrial IoT deployments.
• AllSeen Alliance’s AllJoyn
• Open Connectivity Foundation (OCF) IoTivity – The platform was merged last year and is now sponsored by The Linux Foundation.

The Linux Foundation

Born from the Linux kernel, The Linux Foundation unites a wide array of consortia and alliances, facilitating the exchange of software, ideas, events, and training. Its corporate members include AT&T, Qualcomm, Samsung, Cisco, Intel, Microsoft, Oracle, and Huawei.

Beyond the OCF reference architecture, the foundation hosts an open‑source initiative that promotes interoperability at the network edge, where field devices trigger data‑driven insights and actions.

EdgeX Foundry

Seeded by approximately 125,000 lines of code from Dell, EdgeX Foundry was launched to create interoperable edge components, accelerate time to market, and leverage existing standards to tame a complex, fragmented market. In industrial IoT scenarios—such as defect detection on an assembly line or remote equipment monitoring—the edge becomes a critical decision point.

When a field sensor detects a fault, it sends an alert only if a problem is identified. The gateway or edge device processes the data and confirms normal operation, saving cloud and bandwidth costs and freeing technicians to address urgent issues.

Open Source Hardware

In data centers, high‑performance systems predominantly run open‑source software. Hardware manufacturers are increasingly adopting the same philosophy, openly sharing designs and specifications to lower costs and boost the efficiency of switches, servers, racks, and power infrastructure.

The Open Compute Project

Founded by Facebook, The Open Compute Project serves as the hardware counterpart to The Linux Foundation. As the IoT expands into every enterprise layer, data centers must deliver flexible, on‑demand, distributed compute resources that the Internet of Things demands.

NFV and SDN

Open source underpins a critical telecom initiative: network automation through Network Functions Virtualization (NFV) and Software‑Defined Networking (SDN). The evolving 5G New Radio standard amplifies the complexity, necessitating automated solutions.

AT&T’s Enhanced Control, Orchestration, Management & Policy (ECOMP) architecture virtualized 34 % of its network by the end of 2016.

Huawei’s Open‑Orchestrator Project (Open‑O) was merged with AT&T’s effort to form the Open Network Automation Platform (ONAP), now overseen by The Linux Foundation.

Sprint introduced C3PO (Clean CUPS Core for Packet Optimization), a proprietary NFV/SDN reference solution. Sprint COO Gunter Ottendorfer said, 'revolutionizes the network core and it’s part of our expanded toolbox of solutions to meet the coming wave of data in the years ahead. C3PO is an important part of NFV and SDN initiative, enabling Sprint to adapt more quickly to market demands and scale new services more efficiently and cost‑effectively.'

Network Automation and the IoT

Network slicing gives operators the automated capability to craft bespoke, cross‑domain data pipes that connect any device to any cloud, edge, or data‑center endpoint. Bandwidth is provisioned to meet the specific needs of each enterprise or industrial IoT use case—all made possible by open‑source technology.