In an IoT ecosystem, devices communicate effortlessly through the cloud rather than relying on traditional, bulky servers with blinking lights hidden in office basements. The cloud’s easy accessibility, scalability, and robust disaster recovery features have made it the go-to solution for maintaining IoT data.
Explore IoT cloud, highlight its advantages over on-premise computing, delve into its different types, and highlight the top options available today:
What is IoT cloud?
An IoT cloud is an extensive, internet-based network that stores data from IoT devices and applications. This includes the underlying infrastructure, servers, and storage needed for real-time operations and processing of data.
An IoT cloud also encompasses the services and standards necessary for connecting, monitoring, and securing different IoT devices and their applications.
How does IoT cloud work?
Through embedded sensors and trackers, IoT devices collect data. The data is then transferred to a data center where all other IoT devices’ data are also stored. Some data centers are held on-premise. However, nearly all businesses today (96%) are choosing to store their data on the cloud for further processing.1
Types of IoT Cloud
1. Public cloud
Public clouds are managed by third parties and accessible to users on a pay-as-you-go model. These are widely used in IoT cloud platforms for applications such as data analytics, predictive maintenance, and asset tracking due to their cost-effectiveness and ability to scale resources dynamically.
- Advantages: Scalability, reduced infrastructure costs, and flexibility for managing vast amounts of IoT data.
- Disadvantages: Security concerns, device authentication challenges, and limited transparency.
2. Private cloud
Private clouds cater to IoT systems needing dedicated infrastructure for secure data storage and analyze data with predictive maintenance in critical environments like industrial IoT or smart buildings.
- Advantages: Enhanced security, data visualization, and compliance with third-party standards for IoT projects.
- Disadvantages: Higher costs, skilled expertise required to manage devices.
3. Hybrid cloud
Hybrid clouds combine public and private cloud technologies, supporting IoT solutions requiring scalability and secure data ingestion. Useful for handling edge devices in industrial and operational contexts.
- Advantages: Cost-efficient data processing, reduced latency, and secure operations through distributed IoT platforms.
- Disadvantages: Complexity in managing connected devices and ensuring seamless integration across platforms.
4. Community cloud
Community clouds serve specific sectors like healthcare IoT or smart buildings, allowing multiple organizations to share infrastructure and actionable insights while addressing common needs.
- Advantages: Cost-sharing, adaptability, and IoT developments tailored to industry-specific requirements.
- Disadvantages: Challenges in sharing responsibilities and managing large fleets of IoT sensors and other devices.
5. Multicloud
Multicloud involves using multiple IoT cloud platforms, enabling organizations to leverage the best storage and analytics services. This approach avoids vendor lock-in and ensures compatibility with mobile devices and smart devices.
- Advantages: Enhanced connectivity options, better data analytics, and improved performance across operational data.
- Disadvantages: Increased complexity, higher costs, and limited interoperability across cloud applications.
Benefits of IoT cloud
1. Accessibility
This infrastructure allows for seamless mobility of data from multiple devices into a single server, making for streamlined storage, analysis, and overview. The on-demand nature of the cloud makes accessibility, at any given time and on any device, possible.
2. Scalability
As a business grows in size, so do its IoT devices, and so does the need for increased investment in additional networks and data storage to house the new data.
IoT cloud makes it feasible for a business to integrate additional devices into an already-existing cloud with minimal costs and minimal need for increased IT infrastructures, such as more servers or hard drives. With every device that’s added, its content will coherently be placed among the rest in the cloud.
3. Fewer cables, papers, and minerals
Cloud computing can reduce the consumption of resources such as paper, electricity, metal, and mined minerals found in steel servers and cables. Since the generated data from all IoT devices is stored in the cloud, there is no longer a need for an on-premise physical storage medium that needs wires and steels to function.
Consequently, because the collected data is digitally accessible, employees do not have to print out the data on paper in order to view it.
4. Collaboration
With data from IoT devices stored in a cloud and accessible to authorized employees from anywhere, the collaboration between different departments in an organization will be seamless. This will increase teamwork, engagement, efficiency, productivity, and interest among the employees.
5. Disaster recovery
IT disasters happen, data can be deleted, and its recovery is not always possible. IoT cloud platforms, or cloud computing services in general, offer fast data recovery for all kinds of emergency situations, be it natural disasters, individual errors, or power outages.
20% of cloud users recorded that their disaster recovery process was done in four hours or less, compared to 9% for no-cloud users.2
Challenges of IoT cloud
The main challenges of adopting an IoT cloud are as follows:
1. Data breaches and security
Security challenges and data breaches are estimated to be the topmost concerns with cloud computing.3 If there is a bug within the cloud computing provider’s network, there is the possibility of hackers getting access not only to your data but to all other subscribers’ information.
2. Internet connectivity
You need internet connectivity to have access to the cloud. If there is an internet outage, you will not be able to access your data.
3. Migration
Whether you are transitioning toward cloud computing or you are migrating from one cloud provider to another, transferring huge amounts of data can be time-consuming and prone to human error. However, businesses can leverage automation solutions such as RPA bots or workload automation to automate data migration processes and avoid human intervention and errors.
4. Costs
The initial cost of an IoT cloud storage base can be costly, especially if the company requires a private domain.
5. Environmental concerns
Even though cloud computing can reduce carbon footprint, that does not mean it’s a completely green platform.
5.1. Cooling costs
Although there’s no on-premise hardware for the users, cloud providers do need to keep their computing facilities running 24/7. And these data centers need to be kept cool. Cooling typically accounts for 40% of total energy consumption (80% of centers are located in warm environments).4
The latter becomes more worrying when we consider that most of these centers generating clouds are offshore and, thus, more susceptible to environmental damage.
5.2. Floods
Over 95% of the world’s communications traffic is carried by a single under-sea fiber cable.5 With the rising sea levels and the resulting risks of flooding, the cables are becoming more vulnerable to disruption and increasingly dangerous to aquatic life by affecting the stability of the sea beds.
5.3. Rising sea temperatures
Related to the previous point is the idea of underwater data centers. These centers are economical because their heat is released into the ocean. However, this raises oceans’ temperature and exacerbates the effects of climate change.
What are the different IoT cloud platforms?
A company can implement an IoT cloud in three mutually not mutually-not-exclusive ways:
1. IaaS (Infrastructure-as-a-Service)
This is a cloud computing base, where enterprises rent or lease servers for computing and storage in the cloud. Amazon Web Services (AWS) is an example of IaaS, allowing businesses to use its storage space, computing tools, and analytical functionalities on a pay-as-you-go basis.
2. PaaS (Platform-as-a-Service)
A third-party developer provides the user with computing platforms, allowing them to create a customized cloud application tailored to their individual needs. Oracle Cloud is an example of PaaS, which allows developers to customize the functionalities of their already existing applications through JavaScript.
3. SaaS (Software-as-a-Service)
This is when the user pays and gets access to a ready-to-use application without worrying about installation and/or setup. Google Cloud is an example of SaaS, where, through subscriptions, it allows enterprises to link their IoT devices and store their data on its cloud.
Further reading
- Edge Computing: A Better Alternative Than Cloud for IoT
- A Deep Dive into IoT Architecture & Top 10 Components
- IoT Implementation Tutorial: Steps, Challenges, Best Practices
If you are considering building a cloud for your business, we have a data-driven list of cloud consulting services vendors that will help you in the process.
And more generally, if you believe your business would benefit from an IoT solution, we have data-driven list of vendors for different use cases in our IoT hub.
External Links
- 1. 55 Cloud Computing Statistics for 2025.
- 2. The 12 Benefits and Advantages of Cloud Computing - Salesforce.com- Salesforce.
- 3. Enterprise cloud computing challenges 2025| Statista. Statista
- 4. Uncovering the Environmental Impact of Cloud Computing | Earth.Org. Earth.Org
- 5. Cloud computing – a green opportunity or climate change risk? | Low carbon ICT | The Guardian. The Guardian
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