05 May 2017

The partners claim to have developed the only independent analyst-driven tool designed to help enterprises navigate the IoT platform landscape.

IoT analyst firm Beecham Research and its partner IoT Global Network say they have launched the first fully-independent, online IoT navigation tool to match adopter needs with IoT platform capabilities.

IoT platforms provide the middleware to facilitate secure monitoring, control and analysis of device and sensor data along with integration to enterprise IT systems. 

As such, Beecham Research says they are quickly becoming an essential element of IoT solutions in order to reduce time to market and development costs.

But with more than 400 platforms on the market and growing quickly, the analyst says the platforms are going through a fast rate of development with frequent updates, acquisitions and re-brandings. 

Beecham Research CEO Robin Duke-Woolley adds: “They are also becoming increasingly sophisticated as well as more specialised. For those who do not understand the subtleties, this adds greatly to the confusion, which then acts as a brake on market development.”

The aim of the new navigation tool is to help accelerate IoT market growth by assisting adopters to make informed decisions about which platforms are most likely to meet their requirements at any particular time. 

Beecham points out that it does not seek to recommend one platform over others, but does narrow the field to a level that adopters can manage effectively. 

It reckons that the provision of a shortlist of platforms most likely to be of interest following an individual user enquiry becomes part of the learning process, and means adopters can begin a more “valuable” dialogue with the most appropriate vendors at an earlier stage. 

“We strongly believe this is of benefit not only for adopters but for vendors as well, leading to better-informed decision-makers, more qualified sales opportunities and shorter sales cycles,” says Duke-Woolley. 

IoT Global Network carried out the development work for the online tool. It claims working in partnership with Beecham will ensure continuous development of both analyst-driven content and “increasingly sophisticated” system features to better serve the market.  

IoT Global Network is the sister site of IoT Now which lists more than 1,000 companies worldwide and almost 1,300 products and services that can be used to build IoT capabilities.