Organizations across industries are developing IoT solutions with a common goal: to collect data from various physical IoT endpoints. This data empowers them to tap into new streams of information, especially in real-time, that were previously difficult or impossible to capture.
Data Collection and IoT System Integration
While some data collection, like remotely monitoring a patient’s heart rate, is valuable on its own, keeping IoT data siloed often limits its true potential. The aim of enterprise IoT is comprehensive IoT system integration, which merges this disparate data with other existing solutions and processes. This leads to enhanced productivity or the creation of entirely new opportunities.
Maximizing IoT Capabilities via Strategic Integration
The true power of IoT is realized when organizations adeptly integrate their IoT data with existing software subsystems. Through smart device integration, modern software systems like enterprise resource planning (ERP) and customer relationship management (CRM) can become significantly more powerful and extensible.
Challenges of IoT Integration with Existing Systems
A common hurdle is the compatibility between enterprise software like Salesforce, Oracle, and Microsoft Dynamics 365, and smart devices. Achieving a comprehensive IoT integration is challenging when languages differ. The integration is smoother when the IoT solutions are compatible with the current software ecosystem, including seamless IoT device management.
A central IoT integration platform is vital for this purpose. It’s not just connecting hardware and software; it’s about creating a unified data environment where devices and software platforms work together to make data as useful as possible.
The Role of IoT Integration Platform
For proper IoT integration to occur, a unifying platform is needed. This platform acts as a bridge, bringing all the components together for a complementary whole. Think of it less as a marriage of hardware and software and more as a form of IoT data integration. Here, various devices and one or more enterprise software platforms work in unison to make the collected data as cohesive and actionable as possible.
This is how software gets smarter. This is how organizations leverage IoT to streamline operations, offer world-class customer service, or even disrupt entire industries.
Examples of IoT and Enterprise System Integration in Action
Let’s move beyond theoretical discussions and explore a practical example of IoT solution integration in the manufacturing industry, where the Industrial IoT is having a transformative impact.
Many modern manufacturers use an ERP platform like Netsuite, SAP, or Sage to maintain an inventory of their connected IoT devices. This helps them assess business needs, standardize procedures, and perform accounting functions like purchasing and budgeting.
However, it’s not uncommon for the same company’s IoT solution to exist independently from the ERP platform. This means that one of the most important data streams – information about the IoT devices themselves – isn’t shared with the system responsible for managing them!
The most efficient and cost-effective IoT solution would seamlessly integrate with the ERP software. This IoT platform would be able to access and populate the ERP inventory, eliminating the need for duplicate databases. When a device registers with the core IoT solution, it would be instantly logged in the ERP inventory, ensuring both platforms work from a common set of up-to-date device data.
Taking Integration a Step Further: IoT Data and Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
Let’s take this example one step further. In our manufacturing scenario, these connected IoT devices are supplied to different branches or customers. If some form of IoT data integration were established, the IoT platform could access the CRM system and retrieve customer information. This way, IoT devices would contribute to building customer profiles for more tailored services. The customer’s interactions with the IoT platform would be seamlessly relayed to the CRM software in real time.
Security Considerations in IoT Integration
Security is a major concern in these scenarios. The benefits of enterprise system integration shouldn’t come at the cost of compromised security. Therefore, any IoT solution must work together with single sign-on (SSO) and access control mechanisms.
Bridgera: Enabling Seamless, Secure, System-Wide IoT Data Integration
Bridgera’s API-based IoT solution framework is the perfect fit for any IoT system integration need.
Bridgera’s versatile custom IoT platform goes beyond just smart device integration. It allows for true, complete IoT data integration across your entire enterprise ecosystem. Our platform empowers your fleet of smart devices, CRM, ERP, and even SSO solutions – both current and future – to work securely and seamlessly towards your organization’s goals.
Benefits of Bridgera’s IoT Integration Platform
With Bridgera, your organization gains the ability to:
- Harness even more data streams
- Derive greater value from collected IoT data
- Simplify, automate, and expand data-driven processes
- Streamline operational workflows and tailor services
- Identify new opportunities for optimization and growth
Bridgera: Your Partner in Successful IoT Implementation
Bridgera Monitoring offers a highly customizable, end-to-end IoT integration solution that simplifies connecting devices, processing data, and enabling applications for even the most specialized use cases. This translates to smoother and faster IoT adoption, achieved quickly, securely, and within budget.
Whether you’re striving to achieve enterprise system integration with existing IoT solutions or developing plans for a future initiative, Bridgera is here to help. Set up a free IoT consultation with Bridgera today to explore your options. You can also request a free demo of our industry-leading IoT integration platform to see firsthand how it seamlessly unites your smart devices with your preferred CRM and ERP systems.
About Bridgera: Bridgera effortlessly combines innovation and expertise to deliver cutting-edge solutions using connected intelligence. We engineer experiences that go beyond expectations, equipping our clients with the tools they need to excel in an increasingly interconnected world. Since our establishment in 2015, Bridgera, headquartered in Raleigh, NC, has specialized in crafting and managing tailored SaaS solutions for web, mobile, and IoT applications across North America.
About Author: Joydeep Misra is the Senior Vice President of Technology at Bridgera LLC, specializing in IoT and SaaS. He played a pivotal role in establishing and leading Bridgera’s IoT division, showcasing a dedication to innovation and excellence in the tech field. Additionally, he is an accomplished author and sought-after public speaker.