Over the past few years, we’ve spoken with hundreds of machine builders who set out to build their own Industrial IoT platform using tools like AWS, Azure or Google Cloud. The idea makes sense on paper, maximum flexibility, full control and no licensing costs. But…
Fast-forward 12–18 months, and many of those same companies are calling us with a different story:
“We underestimated the time, cost, and ongoing complexity of maintaining what we thought would be a simple solution.”
If you're a machine builder or systems integrator debating whether to build your own IIoT stack or buy an off-the-shelf platform, here are a few key considerations worth weighing:
One of the most overlooked aspects of building your own IIoT platform is the user experience, not just for your internal teams, but for your customers.
A clunky login, slow-loading graphs or an unbranded portal can quickly kill adoption. Customers expect clean dashboards, mobile-friendly apps and instant access to insights, not a spreadsheet full of MQTT payloads.
Buy: IXON gives you a polished, white-labeled customer portal and mobile app, without reinventing the UI wheel.
If you're collecting machine data remotely, security is not a "we'll add that later" feature. It’s a core requirement. With AWS/Azure, you're responsible for everything, firewall rules, user management, certificate rotation, ISO compliance, etc. And when a customer’s IT team starts asking questions, you better have good answers.
Buy: Platforms like IXON come with built-in end-to-end security, audited infrastructure, and documentation that gets you through even the toughest IT reviews.
Yes, cloud services seem cheap on the surface. But the total cost of ownership includes:
This might be the biggest one. Your core business is building great machines, not cloud software. And every hour your team spends debugging a backend or fixing a dashboard bug is an hour not spent on innovation or customer service.
Focus on what you do best. Let a platform like IXON handle the rest.
If your goal is to deliver a seamless remote access and machine data experience to your customers, something that “just works” out of the box, buying often beats building. That’s why more and more machine builders are switching to ready-made, purpose-built platforms designed for their world.
We’ve helped dozens of machine builders make the switch, without losing flexibility or control. Because we offer extensive options to expand the platform and tailor the IXON Cloud to your needs.
Curious how IXON compares to a homegrown solution? Read our Make vs Buy paper or contact us.