by Hans Rempel, on July 14, 2016
Our vision is to connect every device in the world in a way that matters to people–with our Murano platform, our goal is to remove barriers to innovation for the Internet of Things (IoT) to see this vision become a reality. To foster this innovation, Exosite takes a fundamental stance of openness with our IoT platform tools and technologies: we publicly document our APIs, we support integrations with other software and platforms (including community-submitted integrations), we open-source software that lives on other’s products, we encourage re-use of community-sourced innovations, and we always strive to support the latest frameworks and design patterns.
As past product developers ourselves, we have first-hand experience with the shortsightedness of a walled-garden approach. The tools and services that create black boxes of functionality typically focus on protecting some differentiated technology rather than creating value in the form of optimizing workflows and visibility. A protect-my-technology approach can sometimes be beneficial for a season, but–especially in connected technologies where the rate of innovation is proceeding at breakneck speed–is always outstripped by value creation elsewhere in the market, leaving codependent products and technologies stranded. At Exosite, we want to ensure our customers have complete ownership of their connected products, connected solutions, and connected business and never, ever feel boxed in–which is exactly what we would want if we were in our customers’ shoes.
We know that the whole lifecycle of durable products needs to be considered when creating a connected-product strategy. This starts in the design phase and extends into the maintenance and latter product-lifecycle management phases. All aspects of the lifecycle—from design efficiency and usability scores, to customer retention and security—are impacted by the ability of a team to leverage best-in-class technologies and tools. Just as you’d never want a skyscraper built with yesterday’s technologies or from materials limited by a local vendor’s knowledge, so too would you want to avoid IoT technologies and platforms that are like walled gardens—boxed in with older technologies and requiring design patterns that fit the tool rather than the needs of the market.
One of the great things about IoT is that it combines two massive pools of technical talent–web/handheld/connectivity (Internet) experts and embedded systems (Thing) experts. Each of these pools has decades of experience with proven design patterns using technologies that are constantly evolving. Best-in-class technologies are evolving at a breakneck pace—and for good reason! Time-to-market, cross-platform functionality, enhanced security, efficient use of power, integration with other software–all of these areas are driving technology innovation in both pools of technical talent. Enabling proven design patterns on best-in-class technology creates differentiated products–an open philosophy with respect to development tools, technology choices, software integrations, and APIs allows this innovation to continue unimpeded.
With Murano, we have considered the design and lifecycle patterns from the embedded world and the connected world and have brought them elegantly together with an emphasis on openness. Our focus on you as the product maker has informed the workflows, technology choices, tools, and roadmap for the best business-to-business IoT platform on the market.
For additional information about Murano and Exosite’s professional services, or to speak directly with an Exosite team member, see the links below. Be sure to visit exosite.com/murano where we’ll regularly present new videos and blog content from our Inside Exosite series, featuring Exosite experts answering real customer questions about IoT. Please find us on social media and submit your own questions for our team to answer.
