PTC has announced a new version of its ThingWorx Internet of Things (IoT) platform, which simplifies developer tools, adds new clouds and services, and enhances the amount of connected devices and analytics available.
Users will be able to choose, for the first time, a public cloud service. Amazon Web Services (AWS) will be the first approved service and more are on the way, according to PTC. AWS can be used on the ThingWorx IoT platform to connect devices, send data between devices, and auto-provision a device.
See Also: Breezometer and GE breathe deep on smart city air quality
Ceding control to the developer makes PTC look more inclusive to third-party services. It claims that customers will be able to choose from a variety of public clouds, and create an approach to storing and moving data that works for them.
“ThingWorx 7 allows developers to more easily capitalize on the promise of the IoT by rapidly prototyping and building impactful applications,” said Rob Gremley, president of the technology platform group at PTC, to Business Wire. “As an open, flexible platform, ThingWorx also gives developers the freedom to build with their preferred tools and create solutions that work with their existing device cloud infrastructure.”
PTC working better with third-party services
The preferred tools extends to other third-party services, like Eclipse for development or Git for source code management. Lack of third-party support is a major worry for developers when moving to a new platform; adding these services might bring more customers that were previously on the fence, due to a lack of third-party support.
ThingWorx Analytics now works directly with the updated version of ThingWorx IoT platform, making it easier for customers to view detailed analytics of their devices, how they’re performing, and if anything is wrong in the system.
“With these enhancements to the ThingWorx platform, PTC continues to make impressive progress in delivering an IoT platform to the market,” said Carrie MacGillivray, vice president of IoT at IDC. “By offering a comprehensive technology portfolio and strong cloud offering — that will appeal to enterprise customers and developers alike — ThingWorx stands to strengthen its position in this competitive market.”
