It’s no secret that one of the big hurdles to large-scale Internet of Things (IoT) deployments is managing the devices.

Yet one unnamed Fortune 100 company see a time when IoT gateway deployment and management will be so seamless that IoT companies can simply mail gateways to clients. It envisions a third party remotely connecting to those gateways to discover and manage a client’s building management systems – no matter which protocols those systems use.

That’s according to Arm, which is providing its IoT platform to the Fortune 100 company. Arm sees ‘intelligent’ gateways streamlining edge device management as deployments grow in scale and complexity.

Its view is that sophisticated edge devices alone won’t solve looming device management challenges. That’s because companies will also need to connect legacy devices that use diverse protocols and might not always connect to the cloud.

Companies will also have to find ways to manage battery powered devices throughout the hardware’s long lifespan. They’ll need to integrate that hardware with new systems as business needs change, and securely decommission it later.

Cybersecurity is another obvious challenge. Arm sees a need for added capabilities at the network edge to streamline authentication, secure over-the-air firmware updates and other aspects of cybersecurity.

Aggregating and managing edge data is also important, especially when it’s impractical to store it in the cloud.

Arm sees smarter gateways as the solution to these problems. It‘s pitching it’s Arm Pelion Device Management platform as the ’traffic cop’ that will coordinate an increasingly complex edge environment.

The platform enables gateways to manage diverse devices, protocols and applications, connect legacy devices to the cloud, enable over-the-air updates, and supplement edge compute and cybersecurity capabilities. Watch a video explaining its key features here.

A US-based oil and gas company is looking to use Arm’s platform to perform over-the-air firmware updates of equipment for measuring gas and fluid in pipes.

Companies could also use ‘intelligent’ gateways to remotely configure and securely deploy edge applications. They could enable mobile app access to gateways, and use the gateways to run distributed databases for storing application data. Arm’s platform can also translate multiple protocols, from Bluetooth Low Energy to ZigBee and Modbus OOTB. 

Is pitch is that ‘intelligent’ gateways will make it easier for companies to retrofit old equipment. It also sees them bringing down cloud costs by pushing more capabilities to the network edge. Arm is also touting greater control and confidence when it comes to cybersecurity.

Expect to see these issues discussed a lot more as IoT grows in scale.

Watch a video explaining the key features of Arm Pelion Device Management here.

Article sponsored by Arm.