Adding real-time communication into business-critical integrated solutions and new smart devices is difficult with many of the cloud services on the market today. While current conventional communications platforms do not meet the diverse set of requirements for business- or safety-critical solutions, iotcomms.io is built specifically for such use-cases. But why is iotcomms.io suitable for solutions of critical nature? Below are two important client requirements covered in our whitepaper Towards an embedded cPaaS market.
Security, policy-enforcement and encryption
Many of the use-cases considered involve health, safety or regulated industries. Some will have specific security methods which need to be adopted, such as encryption. Others will need to support a range of security functions, from identity-management and user-authentication, to anti-DDoS and firewalling.
- It may be necessary to restrict which users are allowed to communicate, or which resources they have access to
- Auditing may be essential
- Future risks around “deep fake” voice or other exploits may also need to be considered
Full compliance with local data-privacy/ retention rules
The nature of the critical and safety-related uses considered here puts a premium on compliance. Different sectors and countries will have unique – and sometimes changing – rules on privacy (for instance in healthcare settings), data-retention and recording (for instance in banking or emergency-response applications), lawful interception and so on.
In some industries, alarm events and notifications may be financially-sensitive and thus subject to rules such as MIFID II. The platform provider needs to be able to be flexible here, rather than applying a one-size-fits-all approach.
Localisation
Various of the sectors and use-cases for systems-embedded cPaaS are likely to have national implementation requirements. Local regulations may apply, legacy systems may vary and need to be integrated, and business/process paths may differ. For sectors such as healthcare, elder-care, utilities or public safety, there may be considerable customisation or localisation requirements.
Hybrid or on-premise options
In certain environments, cloud-based solutions running on servers in distant datacentres may be inappropriate. This could be because of low-latency constraints, concerns about security and control, or intermittent/expensive connectivity.
Examples could include military bases, remote mining sites, or rail/utility asset monitoring. In this instance, containerised versions of the platform may need to be integrated, deployed and run locally. There is an overlap here with broader trends towards edge-computing.
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Towards an embedded cPaaS market
Explore the cPaaS market and learn the differences between a conventional communications platform and an embedded systems cPaaS, such as iotcomms.io.
Read it and understand more about what characterize a communications platform geared towards complex use-cases and business-critical applications.
