AWS, Microsoft, Software AG Lead Gartner’s Industrial IoT Platforms Magic Quadrant

Here are the world’s top 18 leading industrial IoT companies—from AWS and Microsoft to Davra and Litmus—that made Gartner’s 2024 Magic Quadrant For Global Industrial IoT Platforms.

Amazon Web Services, Microsoft and Software AG topped Gartner’s Magic Quadrant For Global Industrial IoT Platforms, which ranks the world’s top IoT companies.

Gartner said industrial IoT platforms are becoming the enterprise’s industrial data aggregator with advanced analytics capabilities to enable industrial data integration.

A total of 18 companies made Gartner’s industrial IoT (IIoT) global report, including PTC, Univers, Siemens, Braincube, Aveva, and Rockwell Automation.

These 18 global IIoT platform providers deliver integrations to industrial OT assets and other asset-intensive enterprises’ industrial data sources to aggregate, curate and deliver insights that enable intelligent applications and dashboards through an edge-to-cloud architecture.

[Related: 5 Huge AWS Executive Hires And Exits, Including CEO Selipsky]

Gartner said the global IIoT market exists because of the core capabilities of integrated middleware software that support a multivendor marketplace of intelligent applications to facilitate and automate asset management decision making. IIoT platforms also provide operational visibility and control for plants, infrastructure and equipment.

Gartner’s Magic Quadrant For Global Industrial IoT Platforms

In order to make Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Global Industrial IoT Platform companies needed to have top-notch capabilities around device management, integration, data management and analytics.

Other vendor requirements to make Gartner’s IIoT report include having cybersecurity, application enablement and management, as well as a data acquisition layer for sharing data across various applications and middleware.

Gartner’s Magic Quadrant For Global Industrial IoT Platforms ranks vendors on their ability to execute and completeness of vision and places them in four categories: Niche Players (low on vision and execution), Visionaries (good vision but low execution), Challengers (good execution but low vision) and Leaders (excelling in both vision and execution).

CRN breaks down the 18 IoT companies—from AWS and Microsoft to Davra and Litmus—who made Gartner’s Magic Quadrant For Global Industrial IoT Platforms, as well as each vendor’s strength and weakness.

Leader: Amazon Web Services

AWS won the gold medal for execution on Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Global Industrial IoT Platforms, while also ranking second for vision.

AWS’s IIoT platform consists of edge devices, hybrid edge and gateways, AWS cloud infrastructure offerings, IoT SiteWise, analytics, AI and ML, digital twin, visualization, and app enablement.

Strength: AWS accelerated the scalability of its IIoT platform to cover multiple industries, such as discrete manufacturing, utilities, consumer goods and process manufacturing, and transportation, by leveraging industry-specific platform packages. Customers are scaling their IIoT initiatives using a list of vertically integrated solutions due to the agility and performance of AWS’ product functionalities.

Weakness: Solution bundling and pricing is perceived as complex and expensive by end users, and often requires product mapping to connect and bind everything together. However, this can be done mostly by involving AWS channel partners.

Leader: Microsoft

Microsoft won the silver medal for execution on the Magic Quadrant and ranks No. 3 for vision.

Microsoft’s Azure IoT platform combines edge operations with the cloud, binding the IIoT platform with cloud services like AI, digital twins, messaging and a SaaS analytics and data platform. Microsoft Copilot for Azure offers GenAI assistants to analyze information from IoT data sources.

Strength: Scalability and ease of use of the Azure IoT platform makes it reliable and intuitive. The integration capabilities with the native Microsoft enterprise applications integrate with Infrastructure as-a-Service, security and collaboration applications. The core IoT applications are very customizable.

Weakness: Gartner said discussions with users of its client inquiry service indicate a lack of clear industry-centric business value delivered by the IIoT platform to the business unit or IT organization, given the cost of products and services.

Leader: Software AG

Software AG won the bronze medal for execution on Gartner’s quadrant and ranks in the middle of the pack for vision.

Software AG’s Cumulocity IoT platform consists of Cumulocity IoT Cloud and Cumulocity IoT Edge and thin edge software. The company promotes commercial-off-the-shelf capabilities that allow users to build their own technical architecture to drive business results.

Strength: Software AG offers full platform functionality and ease of deployment for both on-premises and cloud deployments with its Cumulocity IoT platform. In 2023, Cumulocity has around 12 million endpoints connected to the platform.

Weakness: The company’s edge AI capabilities require AI-specific technology partners to further extend its edge solutions to enable artificial intelligent use cases.

Challenger: Braincube

Braincube ranks No. 4 for execution on the Magic Quadrant and for the middle of the pack for vision.

The company’s offering is delivered via the Braincube Smart IIoT Platform and its products—including Digital Twins, Advanced Analytics and AI, Studio, Data Flows Manager, and IoT Server. Braincube differentiates itself by offering prebuilt components, including templates, applications and connectors, and well-reviewed services.

Strength: Braincube continues to build on its user interface and integration for the IIoT platform implementation and analytics for manufacturers, with positive feedback from customers on the user-friendly tool to create apps and improve upon processes.

Weakness: Transportation-focused customers will need to dedicate resources, including potentially expensive developers, to become proficient with Braincube’s IIoT platform and develop IoT and analytics-powered business solutions.

Visionary: Univers

Univers won the silver medal for vision on Gartner’s Magic Quadrant and ranked in the middle of the pack for execution.

Univers emphasizes supporting customers’ decarbonization, net-zero emissions journeys and sustainability objectives with its EnOS platform. The company builds on its energy domain expertise with its EnOS Solution Suite for energy management, carbon management and device management.

Strength: Univers’ software platform minimizes implementation efforts and accelerates time to value through a combination of platform features, tools and specialized applications. These include data discovery tools, device connectivity and management, EnOS Edge, and protocol adapters.

Weakness: The company’s primary focus on sustainability and energy management solutions complicates internal communication and adoption of IoT-enabled projects where the focus is not on sustainability but rather on automation, IT/OT integration or asset uptime.

Visionary: PTC

PTC ranks No. 5 for both execution and vision on Gartner’s Magic Quadrant.

The company focuses on an integrated suite of IIoT-enabled applications that enable closed-loop, model-based digital threads connecting data generated across the manufacturing value chain. PTC’s IIoT platform consists of two primary software products: ThingWorx as an IIoT platform, and Kepware for industrial connectivity.

Strength: PTC’s IoT capabilities for remote services have increased with its acquisition of ServiceMax. The combining of ServiceMax and ThingWorx products bridges the gap between connected products and automation in field service management services.

Weakness: Gartner said user discussions indicate challenges with PTC’s onboarding and operations due to limited documentation and technical support, and the technical skills needed to deploy in non-manufacturing instances.

Visionary: Siemens

Siemens ranks No. 4 for vision on the Magic Quadrant and No. 6 for execution.

Siemens Insights Hub is the Industrial IoT platform component of Industrial Operations X, the portfolio of capabilities in Siemens Xcelerator targeted for production. Insights Hub and Industrial Edge are used for connected product and connected shop floor solutions to manage data from assets and operations.

Strength: Siemens delivers Industrial IoT capabilities as either packaged business capabilities or SaaS solutions, and leverages its engineering and automation portfolio to develop a range of industry solutions for quicker time to value for clients.

Weakness: Gartner said Siemens’ pricing structure is in line with the total cost of ownership of feature-rich IIoT platform providers, but users indicate its product and service prices remain a concern due to scaling of the IIoT platform.

Visionary: ABB

The ABB Ability Genix IIoT offering has a broad product portfolio that connects to industrial control systems, supervisory control and data acquisition, PLCs, ERP systems and other real-time data sources to monitor and analyze assets. ABB ranks near the top of the pack for both vision and execution on Gartner’s Magic Quadrant.

Strength: ABB has a global presence due to its widely deployed hardware, but also extended to be hardware-agnostic. Ability Genix has broad visibility within its base, and ABB can readily offer customer examples in all major regions with the ability to scale globally.

Weakness: Although ABB has progressed considerably on the implementation partner ecosystem and developer programs, it primarily delivers services directly using its in-house experts globally. This will limit implementation choices for some customers.

Niche Player: Aveva

Aveva’s IIoT Platform offers Edge Data Store, Adapters and Connect, which consists of Data Hub and Edge Management. The common use cases Aveva IIoT platform supports are remote asset management and monitoring, condition monitoring, connected fleet services, data science, and anomaly detection. Aveva ranks in the middle of the pack for both vision and execution on Gartner’s quadrant.

Strength: Aveva’s industrial automation strategy, large installed base, and technologies give the company opportunities to innovate a cloud, edge, and on-premises solution that enables end users’ smart manufacturing deployments.

Weakness: The IIoT Platform predominantly centers on its Aveva PI Server installed base and other Aveva assets. Non- Aveva assets need to use protocols that require custom integrations when connecting to the platform.

Niche Player: XCMG Hanyun

XCMG Hanyun provides an IIoT platform to its parent industrial equipment company, to OEMs and to the industrial market as a whole. The company is focused on global expansion, leveraging the parent Xuzhou Construction Machinery Group’s equipment ecosystem along with key partners. XCMG Hanyun ranks in the middle of the pack for both vision and execution on Gartner’s quadrant.

Strength: XCMG Hanyun goes beyond the standard tech portfolio of many IIoT providers by enabling integrated IT/OT functionality—including manufacturing operations management, manufacturing execution systems, supply chain management software, and construction support.

Weakness: The Chinese-based company has a modest international footprint outside China. The company’s cloud and cybersecurity strategy is still evolving.

Niche Player: Rockwell Automation

Rockwell Automation offers a platform that supports its FactoryTalk applications. FactoryTalk DataMosaix Private Cloud, and its prebuilt applications portfolio, helps workers connect and achieve operational efficiency. The bulk of its customers are brownfield sites, enabling the company to deliver solutions intended to optimize legacy industrial environments. Rockwell Automation ranks in the middle of the pack for both vision and execution on Gartner’s quadrant.

Strength: Gartner clients said FactoryTalk DataMosaix Private Cloud delivers significant value to manufacturers, including improved manufacturing yield and less equipment downtime.

Weakness: FactoryTalk DataMosaix Private Cloud’s approach to global markets depends on partners more than direct sales and service, which can undermine communications and responsiveness to customers.

Niche Player: Rootcloud

Rootcloud’s IIoT platform and software enable real-time data collection, APM, PLM, intelligent services and analytics across the industrial value chain. Rootcloud Edge is an on-premises, containerized edge-to-cloud capability that extends capabilities beyond acquire, process and analyze device data to improve operations with edge AI. The Chinese company ranks for the middle of the pack for vision but near the bottom group for execution on Gartner’s Magic Quadrant.

Strength: Rootcloud is focused on solving complex manufacturing problems by delivering owner-operator, OEM and smart product IIoT platform solutions. The company has an assortment of diverse manufacturing and sustainability case studies.

Weakness: The company has a limited number of implementation partners in Europe and North America. Rootcloud mostly focuses on the manufacturing industry.

Niche Player: Litmus

Litmus provides an edge-first industrial IoT platform built around Litmus Edge and Litmus Edge Manager. Litmus Edge provides a quick path to data collection, with more than 300 native industrial connectors and machine analytics at the edge. Litmus ranks near the bottom for both vision and execution on Gartner’s quadrant.

Strength: Purpose-built industrial edge capabilities from Litmus include instant connectivity, edge analytics and data models, and a prebuilt connector to cloud and business systems. Scalability is a proven capability of Litmus’ solution.

Weakness: Limited application enablement development capabilities on the Litmus IIoT platform will impede application development of domain-specific dashboarding.

Niche Player: Davra

Davra’s customer base of more than 1,200 companies comes mostly from OEM vendors that embed Davra technology. Davra has tilted its product strategy toward compliance and ISO standards, and advancement of low-code development for non-IT professionals. Davra now offers a LoRa Network Server and LwM2M server fully managed as part of the Davra platform. The company ranks near the bottom for both vision and execution on Gartner’s quadrant.

Strength: A large customer base achieved through OEM relationships gives Davra a broad presence and industry reach. Davra has strong partnerships with AWS and EY.

Weakness: The reliance on OEM partners for embedded delivery has distanced Davra from direct access to a large portion of customers, limiting the ability to expand the product into adjacent segments via customer interactions.

Niche Player: Cognite

Cognite’s IIoT platform is centered on the Cognite Data Fusion, which collects, cleans and contextualizes industrial data. The company provides the API gateways to connect to partners’ solutions and offers a singular contractual IIoT platform to the end users. Cognite ranks near the bottom of Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for both vision and execution.

Strength: Cognite offers a comprehensive industrial data management, contextualization and governance software solution based on its knowledge graph technology. This technology enables the staging of industrial data to be utilized by the digital twin and advanced analytics, as well as orchestrating industrial assets and intelligent dashboards.

Weakness: Cognite’s IIoT platform consists of third-party partner capabilities such as Agora, Litmus Automation, Microsoft and Rockwell. Businesses eying Cognite as their end-to-end IIoT platform provider would be confined to a limited set of partners that have knowledge of both Cognite and third-party technology partners.

Niche Player: Eurotech

Eurotech’s global IIoT offering is intended to simplify edge complexity through both modular hardware and open-source-based software solutions. Eurotech’s offering is based on a number of open-source technologies, including Eclipse Kura, Red Hat JBoss AM-Q, Elasticsearch and Cassandra. The price is based on the customer’s needs and the size of the deployment. Eurotech ranks near the bottom for both vision and execution on Gartner’s Magic Quadrant.

Strength: Eurotech has a long history of developing and deploying IoT, hardware, software and solutions, which gives it a deep understanding of the challenges and opportunities in this space. The company maintains strong partnerships across all major cloud providers.

Weakness: Eurotech’s IoT platform has limited-edge AI support, which will require additional third-party investments. Enterprises that require advanced analytic capabilities will require partners, third-party software or additional developers.

Niche Player: Losant

Losant ranks last for vision on Gartner’s Magic Quadrant, while near the bottom for execution. The company focuses on providing IoT product capabilities to OEM markets across manufacturing, telcos and infrastructure providers. Losant provides capabilities across connection, control, protection of equipment controllers, and sensors with observability and analytics. Losant IIoT platform also includes a low-code/no-code application builder that enables its 20,000-strong developer community to build industrial applications.

Strength: Losant’s IIoT platform is optimized for OEMs working on developing connected products.

Weakness: Outside Losant’s market of OEMs, enterprises will have limited choices in partners to deploy IoT-enabled projects, and will need to train and allocate internal resources. Losant’s deployments are predominantly cloud-based and specific to the manufacturing industry.

Niche Player: Exosite

Exosite ranks last for execution on Gartner’s Magic Quadrant, while near the bottom for vision. The analytics capabilities of Exosite’s platform are packaged as ExoSense, primarily a monitoring app with digital twin capability allowing domain-specific extensions. ExoEdge enables industrial protocol conversion capabilities to support the ingestion of OT data streams into the platform.

Strength: Exosite’s purpose-built, low-code platform solution includes Murano IoT connectors and APIs, which enable application infrastructure libraries that enterprise product teams can use to shorten the time to develop connected products.

Weakness: Exosite focuses on selling to OEMs or replacing existing homegrown IIoT platforms. Exosite does not focus on solutions to enterprises looking to deploy IIoT across multiple sites and equipment types.