OpenGate, the “backstage” of IoT Solutions

Today’s world is constantly connected. Millions of devices gather data and thousands of companies interpret it to predict what will happen to act accordingly. This will affect all industries, including of course video games. But sometimes we forget about the “backstage” of this data sharing process: the platforms that retrieve data from devices and transform it to fit human scale. A not-so-fancy part of the IoT ecosystem, but its undeniable core where security, protocols, analysis and optimization of data sharing take place.

OpenGate is one of these “backstage” solutions developed by amplía))) a Spanish company that has been creating IoT solutions for the last 12 years, long before the term IoT (Internet of Things) became trending topic. OpenGate benefits from this long experience, offering a versatile and robust platform.

But what does that mean? 

All starts with a device. For example, a sensor tracking a street light performance. Now multiply that street light per 10.000 and scatter them all around your city. Your city council uses this kind of sensors to control lighting infrastructure, saving lots of money in the process. Street lights intensity can be changed remotely to adapt to weather conditions or citizens presence. How can the city council guarantee that the 10.000 sensors are behaving and working correctly?

Platforms like OpenGate connect with the sensors, analyze their information and separate raw or useless data from relevant data. This part of the process is vital to save time and resources because not all data gathered by sensors is important. Relevant data is finally presented to the city council in an understandable way through reports showing graphics, alerts and recommendations.

Although the process looks simple, having thousands of devices to monitor could be extremely costly in terms of maintenance. How many people would be necessary to go around the city constantly checking all the street lights’ performance?

OpenGate, now in its seventh version, offers the perfect solution for this situation. The platform checks automatically the sensors’ conditions and their communications, and knows if they are working or not and in case they are not, OpenGate receives information about WHY they are not working properly… Is it a broken sensor? Is it a problem of communication coverage? Is it an old software? With this automated diagnosis, a technician will be sent to repair just the specific defective element, already knowing how to repair it and thus, saving lots of time and resources.

Another typical problem when implementing IoT solutions is legacy devices. Maybe our 10.000 sensors were installed years ago. Maybe they came from different manufacturers and use different communication protocols. Does the city council need to change them? Of course not. A robust IoT platform, is able to connect with any device or sensor, no matter manufacturer, protocol or origin. 

Is this all that an IoT platform could offer? No!

Besides providing information, an IoT platform categorizes devices (by area, by origin, by performance) and can grant remote access to control the sensors. This allows our city council to manage remotely and accurately the street lights. Do we need to switch off a specific area because there will be fireworks? Easy.

So the IoT backstage is busy indeed! This kind of platforms collect data, present information, monitor infrastructure and help achieve significant cost reductions in maintenance.

Though we have chosen the city lighting example to follow the flux of data, IoT platforms could be useful for a variety of business and industries like Supermarkets, Boiler servicing, Alarm companies, Health Care Institutions, Residential complexes, Textile and Clothing and many more.

If you want to know more about IoT platforms possibilities, you can visit amplia’s website, take a look to some of their solutions and play OpenGate’s video.