IoT Device Management

The process of connecting your devices to the web. Intelligent and secure provisioning accelerates time-to-market and circumvents risks related to hostile attacks. If overlooked, it may have severe consequences for project success. An indispensable part of provisioning is device authentication. It consists in establishing a secure connection between the device and an IoT service or IoT platform. As part of that process, the device presents the credentials to the server and, in case it can be trusted, receives further configuration data. Depending on the specifics of the implementation, details of the process may vary, but usually include authentication methods such as device certificates or pre-shared keys.

In most cases, smart devices, sensors, or other Internet-connected gear comes with generic preconfiguration provided by their manufacturers. This means that it is up to the service provider to configure the fleet according to the specificity of the deployment, such as the devices’ installation location and the role they will play within the emerging IoT ecosystem. Therefore, one of the key factors in the successful management of IoT assets is to be able to fine-tune the provisioned devices beyond their default settings. A flexible and intuitive configuration mechanism should enable you to design the behavior of your smart fleet not only in times when devices perform as planned, but also to react on the fly in case of any failures that come along the way.

The process of connecting your devices to the web. Intelligent and secure provisioning accelerates time-to-market and circumvents risks related to hostile attacks. If overlooked, it may have severe consequences for project success. An indispensable part of provisioning is device authentication. It consists in establishing a secure connection between the device and an IoT service or IoT platform. As part of that process, the device presents the credentials to the server and, in case it can be trusted, receives further configuration data. Depending on the specifics of the implementation, details of the process may vary, but usually include authentication methods such as device certificates or pre-shared keys.

In most cases, smart devices, sensors, or other Internet-connected gear comes with generic preconfiguration provided by their manufacturers. This means that it is up to the service provider to configure the fleet according to the specificity of the deployment, such as the devices’ installation location and the role they will play within the emerging IoT ecosystem. Therefore, one of the key factors in the successful management of IoT assets is to be able to fine-tune the provisioned devices beyond their default settings. A flexible and intuitive configuration mechanism should enable you to design the behavior of your smart fleet not only in times when devices perform as planned, but also to react on the fly in case of any failures that come along the way.

Thinking about any IoT enterprise in a broader picture, what must be taken into account is what happens with all the devices in the field after the successful completion of the project or with a single device when it reaches its end of life. In case of device replacement, an appropriate environment should be granted for the deployment of new devices. When it comes, on the other hand, to phasing out a smart project, the decommissioning efforts should be properly orchestrated to avoid data leaks, system downtimes, and situations of bad agents gaining access to the devices due to a system compromise. As can be seen, in being a security matter, end-of-life management is an essential part of handling smart devices throughout their lifecycle – see our blog post on IoT Device Lifecycle Management for more information.