Internet of Things, IoT is a highly advanced technology that has now become an important part of the digital business world. IoT empowers businesses to upgrade their workflows by creating new business operating systems and execute a full-scale digital transformation.
According to Statista, it is projected that the number of IoT-connected devices will reach 50 billion by 2030 all over the globe. The growing number of IoT-connected devices encourages businesses of all types and sizes to harness the power of this advanced technology. This sophisticated technology enables enterprises to improve their business models, deliver a stellar customer experience, boost productivity and efficiency, reduce cost and earn more profits.
Many small and mid-size businesses are making the most out of IoT technology as it provides them with unlimited opportunities to expand their business and become more profitable. Integrating IoT in mobile app development is a worthwhile idea to reduce the cost of development and supercharge your brand reputation. Today more and more businesses are leveraging IoT techniques to develop better apps and advanced software products.
IoT enables mobile app developers to build highly interactive applications with the latest IoT-based functionalities to meet the needs of the connected devices. IoT-enabled apps can help your business stand out from the crowd and helps you thrive in the dynamic business world.
If you are planning to build an IoT-enabled app for your business, I have listed the most popular IoT development tools and platforms you should try for your app development project.
Let’s discover.
- Thingsboard
- DeviceHive
- Zetta
- Tessel 2
- OpenRemote
- Node-RED

IOT Development Tools and Platforms
1. ThingsBoard
ThingsBoard is an open-source IoT platform that is packed with a number of useful features. It enables developers to collect, process, and visualize data. ThingsBoard enables device connectivity by following all standard IoT protocols, such as HTTP, CoAp, MQTT. It supports cloud and on-premises deployments and allows you to create IoT dashboards to visualize data and control remote devices in real-time.
It includes more than 30 customizable widgets that allow you to build end-user customized dashboards. The highly advanced IoT Rule Engine allows you to create complex rule chains to process data from your devices. Its smart metering feature lets you deliver and store data in a highly effective and fault-tolerant way.
2. DeviceHive
Device-Hive is one of the most famous IoT development platforms that offer a wide range of integration options. It gives you various deployment options that make it equally a great option for large enterprises and small businesses. Whether you are prototyping an app or creating an enterprise solution, DeviceHive allows mobile app development companies to follow the best software design practices and fulfill all the technical formalities. It will enable you to connect any device through REST API, MQTT, and WebSockets. Furthermore, it supports Android and iOS libraries which makes the platform device-agnostic. You can easily integrate DeviceHive with different platforms and device clouds by simply using a plugin service feature.
3. Zetta
Zetta is an open-source IoT platform that is built on Node.js, making it easier to develop IoT servers that can run on the cloud, PC, and single-board systems and create geo-distributed networks. The IoT development platform can combine REST APIs, WebSockets, and reactive programming. Zetta is a perfect choice for assembling different devices into real-time apps.
The reactive hypermedia design can combine reactive programming and Siren hypermedia APIs that make it easier for developers to assemble distributed systems of devices that react through APIs. Zetta can boost your development team’s productivity by giving them direct access to underlying protocols and conventions. It allows developers to focus on coding and transform controllers and sensors into interactive applications.
4. Tessel 2
Tessel 2 is one of the most popular and robust IoT development platforms that leverage Node.JS libraries to create useful devices. The platform allows you to create prototypes and highly advanced IoT systems. It lets your development team integrate sensors and modules into IoT-based solutions. Tessel 2 makes it super easy to build IoT enabled apps in minutes. It is based on JavaScript and supports NPM and multiple languages. You have the freedom to choose your favorite editor and libraries for your development project.
5. Open RemoteÂ
Open Remote is an open-source IoT development platform that can integrate different devices into a single data management solution. The platform allows you to transform data into useful information and develop customized applications. Open Remote enables developers to design, build and manage IoT-enabled applications.
From energy systems to crowd management and vehicle fleets, Open Remote can easily be applied to any industry and help businesses create smart applications. It can connect to any device, sensor, and data source and access them centrally. With Open Remote, you can design an app and create a smart and efficient workflow. The platform lets your development team visualize and analyze the data to get in-depth insights and measure the progress of your development project.
6. Node-RED
Node-RED is a programming tool that makes it easier for developers to wire together hardware devices, APIs and online services. It has a browser-based flow editor that can wire together flows with the help of a number of nodes in the palette. With the help of a rich text editor, programmers can easily create JavaScript functions. It offers a built-in library that allows you to save different functions, templates as well as flows.
Furthermore, the lightweight runtime is built on Node.js, making it possible to create event-driven and non-blocking models. There are more than 225,000 modules in Node’s package repository that lets you extend the range of palette nodes to implement different features and capabilities.

Now It’s Your Turn
These are a few popular IoT development tools and platforms that will help app development companies to build intelligent IoT devices and apps. If you have a killer app idea and you want to bring it to life, it is advised to focus on developing an app for IoT-connected devices to provide your customers with an out-of-the-box user experience. Choosing the right IoT development platform can help you come up with an interactive and smart IoT-enabled app for your customers that can take your business towards new heights of success.