On October 8, Amazon Web Services announced the release of AWS IoT, its platform for Internet of Things data, at its AWS re:Invent conference in Las Vegas. The AWS IoT platform facilitates the connection of devices such as sensors, automobiles and appliances to enable data acquisition of internet of things data, the application of rules to ingested data and the ability to remain connected to devices, even when they are offline. Devices connect to AWS IoT by means of a Device Gateway that leverages the HTTP and Message Queue Telemetry Transport protocol for sensors and mobile devices. Upon ingestion, the AWS IoT rules engine allows customers to create rules to route and filter data and send alerts and notifications to connected devices and related applications. The AWS IoT rules engine empowers customers to route data to the appropriate AWS product (Redshift, Kinesis, S3, Lambda, etc.) for long-term storage and analytics. Devices can stay connected to AWS IoT even when they are offline by means of the platform’s ability to create a virtual, “shadow” version of the device that enables other devices to interact with the latest available data for that device. The AWS IoT platform builds upon Amazon’s acquisition of 2lemetry in March 2015 and represents a much awaited addition to the cloud behemoth’s portfolio, particularly given the proliferation of competing products from Microsoft, Pivotal and ParStream. Expect AWS to integrate advanced analytics into its IoT platform that enhance the insights currently available via its rules engine in upcoming months.
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