Introduction
To develop anything, it is crucial to understand the state of the technology and then take the help of existing solutions to boost performance. The current expansion of technology is changing the way we interact with the world. Devices and solutions based on the concept of the Internet of Things (IoT) are now entering our day-to-day lives.
The Current Scenario
The current state of IoT devices and IoT app development solutions are on a changing point. Till now, the devices and solutions didn’t require too much power or work with data. But with the introduction of big data into the industry, it was crucial for IoT devices to have additional capabilities. So, what’s next?
Now, we see a shift from traditional systems to mobile devices. We would require light-weight, portable devices but still have all those functionalities that can compete with the present-day problems.
When we talk about the Internet of Things (IoT) based applications, we always think of them as hardware devices that have all of the computing capabilities on board. But with the introduction of the latest services, especially cloud-based solutions, it is not the case anymore.
Cloud Computing Solutions
Cloud computing solutions are a new boost to the field of big data and any remote applications. With cloud computing, it is now possible for users to use more of the computational resources without having to invest too much. It also made remote-computing and shareability a possibility.
Why Cloud for IoT Solutions?
Cloud computing makes it possible for us to improve and even build upon the current IoT app development solutions. Here is how:
· Lighter devices
With the introduction of cloud computing solutions, it is now possible to create IoT app development solutions that do not require many processing devices on-board. With the cloud, IoT devices can directly connect with the processors via the internet and reduce the on-device computational requirement. It has led to cheaper and lighter solutions that help in creating the ecosystem required for present-day scenarios.
· Secure environment
One of the biggest weaknesses with IoT devices was the storing of data on the device itself. It caused the data to be insecure in most cases. For example, intruders could access or steal the data directly through the device. But with cloud computing solutions, it is possible to transfer the data directly to a remote server securely. It solves two problems. One is the problem of data stealing, and the second is the problem of accessing data. Before the introduction of the cloud, it was necessary for the administrator to physically access the data, especially for large-scale IoT solutions. This made the whole process a little too tedious. But now, the data could be accessed anytime, from anywhere.
· Additional processing power
Sometimes, IoT-based solutions require additional processing power dynamically. For example, if you want to train a CCTV camera to find out which cars are faulty on the road and which aren’t, the algorithm may not require too much processing while running. But if the training needs to be dynamic, i.e. training while working, then it will require additional computing power depending on the flow of data. In traditional systems, it is required to upgrade the IoT devices’ computational power physically, but in cloud, one can make large-scale changes very easily.
· Lower investment requirements
When it comes to large-scale IoT solutions, companies often require making a huge investment in computational resources while deploying the solution. This required companies to plan out the solutions quite strictly, as there was very little room for error. But with the cloud, it is easy to deploy even a large-scale IoT solution and try it out. Companies can even try multiple solutions with different processing power before deploying a full-fledged solution with physical resources. It makes the overall implementation and innovation pipeline highly efficient.
· Lower risk to the organisation
When we talk about any large-scale IoT solution, there is always going to be a bit of risk in two areas.
§ Data safety and storage
§ Continuity of application and large-scale fault tolerance
It is possible that due to some problem, the physical hardware may lose the data. But with the cloud, there is no need to worry about losing any of the data collected, as there is an option of dynamically storing data on multiple servers.
Secondly, there is a possibility that the physical devices may fail the entire application or solution. But with cloud, there is a high fault-tolerance capability as you can have multiple storages. It makes sure that the solutions keep running with the highest uptime, and there is no fault on a large-scale.
Conclusion
IoT-based solutions and cloud computing solutions need to go hand-in-hand to improve both of their capabilities. Cloud computing can help in making better mobile solutions and innovate at a much faster rate.
