Cloud Architecture for Factory IoT: AWS vs Azure vs On-Premise

The On-Premise vs Cloud Decision

On-premise means your data server lives in the factory. Cloud means it lives in AWS/Azure/GCP data centres. For most Indian manufacturers, a hybrid approach works best: an on-premise server handles real-time data and local network communication, and syncs to the cloud for remote access, backup, and analytics.

AWS IoT Core for Factory Data

AWS IoT Core is a managed MQTT broker that connects factory devices to AWS services. It scales from 1 to 1 million devices without configuration changes. Factory devices publish to AWS IoT Core, which routes data to DynamoDB (NoSQL for time-series), S3 (object storage for large data), and Lambda (event-driven processing for alerts). Cost: approximately ₹1,500–5,000/month for a 50-machine factory.

Azure IoT Hub for Microsoft Shops

If your enterprise already uses Microsoft 365 and Azure Active Directory, Azure IoT Hub integrates naturally. Power BI (already in your Microsoft licence) becomes your analytics layer. Azure Data Factory handles ETL. The advantage is single-vendor billing and existing IT team familiarity.

When On-Premise Is Better

On-premise makes sense when: your factory network is air-gapped for security, internet connectivity is unreliable (common in industrial estates outside major cities), your data sovereignty requirements prohibit cloud storage, or your data volume makes cloud costs prohibitive. A ₹80,000 on-premise server handles 100 machines for 10+ years.