Choosing an IIoT edge platform: a practical checklist
By PlantWired · Last reviewed October 16, 2026
An industrial edge platform runs close to the machines: it collects data from PLCs and sensors, normalizes and buffers it, can run applications locally, and forwards data to SCADA, brokers, historians or the cloud.
Platforms differ mainly in their driver libraries, whether they run third-party apps or containers, how they are managed across many sites, and how open they are toward non-native destinations.
Here are the edge and connectivity tools in our directory with what each is listed as connecting to.
Edge platforms
Collect, process and forward data; some host apps or containers.
- Ignition Edge · Inductive Automation · Per-device license
Lightweight Ignition edition for field devices and panels that collects and forwards data to a central system.
Listed with: Ignition, Cirrus Link MQTT Modules, HiveMQ
- Siemens Industrial Edge · Siemens · Device + app subscriptions
Edge computing platform for running containerized apps next to SIMATIC automation.
Listed with: SIMATIC WinCC, Insights Hub, Azure IoT
- Litmus Edge · Litmus · Subscription
Industrial edge platform for collecting, normalizing and forwarding machine data.
Listed with: HiveMQ, Ignition, Azure IoT, AWS IoT SiteWise
- AVEVA Edge · AVEVA · License
Compact HMI/SCADA for machine builders and embedded panels (InduSoft lineage).
Listed with: AVEVA PI System, AVEVA System Platform
- Node-RED · OpenJS Foundation · Free (open source)
Open-source flow-based tool for wiring protocols, APIs and devices together; common at the edge.
Listed with: HiveMQ, EMQX
- FlowFuse · FlowFuse · Free tier + subscription
Managed platform for running, securing and scaling many Node-RED instances in industrial settings.
Listed with: Node-RED
Connectivity & OPC
Driver-focused gateways often paired with or used instead of an edge platform.
- Cirrus Link MQTT Modules · Cirrus Link · Per-module license
MQTT/Sparkplug B modules for Ignition that enable report-by-exception data movement between edge and enterprise.
Listed with: Ignition, Ignition Edge, HiveMQ, AWS IoT SiteWise, Azure IoT
- Kepware KEPServerEX · PTC · Per-driver/suite license
Driver-based OPC UA/DA server with a large library of PLC and device protocols, used as a universal translator on the plant floor.
Listed with: Ignition, AVEVA PI System, ThingWorx, SIMATIC WinCC, FactoryTalk View, Canary Historian, Proficy iFIX
- HiveMQ · HiveMQ · Open-source + enterprise tiers
Enterprise MQTT broker frequently used as the backbone of a Unified Namespace architecture.
Listed with: Ignition, Cirrus Link MQTT Modules, Litmus Edge, AWS IoT SiteWise, Azure IoT
- Matrikon OPC UA Tunneller · Honeywell · Per-product license
OPC connectivity products, including classic-to-UA tunnelling, from Honeywell's Matrikon line.
- Softing dataFEED · Softing · Per-product license
Family of OPC UA and MQTT gateways for reading data from Siemens and Rockwell PLCs.
- EMQX · EMQ Technologies · Open-source + enterprise tiers
High-throughput MQTT broker available as open source and enterprise editions.
Listed with: Node-RED
- Eclipse Mosquitto · Eclipse Foundation · Free (open source)
Lightweight open-source MQTT broker, often the first broker in a pilot.
Listed with: Node-RED
Destinations: cloud & IIoT platforms
Where edge data typically ends up for storage and analytics.
- Ignition · Inductive Automation · Per-server license, unlimited tags
Web-deployed SCADA/HMI platform licensed per server with unlimited tags and clients; widely used as a hub for plant-floor data.
Listed with: Kepware KEPServerEX, Sepasoft MES Modules, Canary Historian, HiveMQ, Cirrus Link MQTT Modules, Tulip, AWS IoT SiteWise, Litmus Edge, Flow, Inductive Automation Ignition Perspective, Apache Kafka / Confluent, MongoDB, HighByte Intelligence Hub
- ThingWorx · PTC · Enterprise subscription
Industrial IoT application platform for building connected-operations dashboards and apps.
Listed with: Kepware KEPServerEX, Azure IoT, SAP S/4HANA
- Insights Hub · Siemens · Subscription
Cloud IoT and analytics offering from Siemens (formerly MindSphere).
Listed with: Siemens Industrial Edge, SIMATIC WinCC
- AWS IoT SiteWise · Amazon Web Services · Usage-based
Managed AWS service for collecting and modeling industrial equipment data at scale.
Listed with: Ignition, Cirrus Link MQTT Modules, HiveMQ, Litmus Edge
- Azure IoT · Microsoft · Usage-based
Microsoft cloud services for device connectivity and industrial data pipelines.
Listed with: AVEVA PI System, HiveMQ, Litmus Edge, Siemens Industrial Edge, ThingWorx, Cirrus Link MQTT Modules
- AVEVA CONNECT · AVEVA · Subscription
AVEVA's cloud platform for sharing and visualizing operations data, including PI data across sites.
Listed with: AVEVA PI System
- FactoryTalk Hub · Rockwell Automation · Subscription
Rockwell's cloud portal for design, operations and maintenance SaaS apps.
Listed with: FactoryTalk Optix
- Google Cloud · Google · Usage-based
Google's cloud platform, reachable from Ignition via an injector module for analytics.
Listed with: Cirrus Link MQTT Modules
Questions to answer before you choose
- Which PLC drivers are native, and which need add-ons?
- Can you manage, update and secure hundreds of edge devices centrally?
- Does it run on your hardware (industrial PC, VM, container) or require vendor devices?
- Is it tied to one cloud or vendor ecosystem, or open to MQTT/OPC UA/REST destinations?
Sources
Tool descriptions, pricing models and integration links come from the PlantWired directory, compiled from each vendor's public website (linked on every tool page). See our methodology. Not a recommendation; verify with vendors.
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