Connhex vs AWS IoT: deploy a complete IoT platform on AWS

Amazon Web Services (AWS) provides reliable, scalable cloud infrastructure and a broad range of services. It is a trusted choice for companies that already use AWS and want to bring their products online.

Connhex can be deployed directly in your own AWS account. AWS provides the cloud infrastructure, while Connhex provides the complete IoT platform. You keep control of your environment and data, while gaining all the features Connhex offers out of the box.

Connhex and AWS IoT at a glance​

Two strong technologies with different roles​

AWS offers flexible building blocks that can support almost any type of software. A custom IoT platform can combine services such as:

• AWS IoT Core
• AWS IoT Device Management
• AWS Lambda
• Amazon DynamoDB
• Amazon S3
• Amazon CloudWatch
• AWS Key Management Service
• Amazon SNS
• Amazon API Gateway

Your team then designs how these services work together. It also builds the product features, APIs and applications that customers will use.

Connhex is focused on connected products and device manufacturers. It already brings the required services together in one platform. This includes device onboarding, data management, OTA updates, rules, user profiles, permissions, payments and tools for customer-facing applications.

With Connhex on AWS, you can use the infrastructure your team already knows and add a complete IoT platform on top of it.

Reach the market sooner​

Building an IoT platform from individual AWS services requires architecture, development, integration, security reviews, testing and validation. Your team is responsible for every stage.

Connhex starts from a complete and tested platform. Your team only needs to implement the business logic and features specific to your application. Connhex provides the underlying services for connecting devices, managing data and launching services for customers. Features such as attributes and relationships, data history, rules, authentication and user profiles are already available.

This difference can turn a project measured in months into a much shorter deployment and configuration phase. It also helps you launch new features and revenue streams sooner.

A roadmap focused on connected products​

Each AWS service follows its own roadmap. When AWS releases a new capability, your team evaluates it and decides how to integrate it into your architecture and applications.

Connhex follows one product roadmap focused on device manufacturers. Our team keeps improving the platform because IoT is central to our strategy. New functionality, security updates and platform improvements are always delivered as part of Connhex. Customer requirements also help shape what we build next.

This gives your team a clear path for the evolution of the complete IoT product.

Predictable costs as you grow​

The cost of a custom platform includes more than AWS service usage. It also includes architecture, software development, integration, testing, operations, support and ongoing application maintenance.

AWS uses usage-based pricing across the services in your architecture. Connhex uses a simple flat pricing model with unlimited devices and unlimited data ingestion. When Connhex is deployed on AWS, your total cost consists of the Connhex plan and the AWS resources used to host it.

For a representative deployment with one year of data availability, Connhex is 4x to 9x cheaper than building and maintaining an equivalent solution with AWS services¹. The exact result depends on the amount of data, the selected architecture and the resources required by your team.

Flat pricing also makes growth easier to plan. Adding devices and increasing message volumes does not add a Connhex fee for each device or message.

Your AWS account, your data​

Connhex is deployed in your AWS account². Your company keeps control of the cloud environment and its data while Connhex provides the IoT platform running inside it.

Connhex stays portable across cloud providers. If your requirements change or AWS changes its pricing, you can move Connhex to another cloud provider or on premises. Its self-contained architecture lets you change infrastructure without rebuilding your IoT product.

Support, maintenance and customization​

When you build a custom platform from AWS services, your team remains responsible for the complete application. This includes how the services are integrated, how customer-facing features behave and how the solution evolves.

Every Connhex plan includes platform support, security fixes and feature updates. We can also adapt Connhex to specific requirements. Get in touch and we will find the right approach together.

Connhex can also complement an existing IoT platform. This customer story shows how selected Connhex capabilities can be integrated into an existing solution.

When building directly with AWS services is a good fit​

Building a custom IoT platform with AWS services can be the right choice when:

• you need a small and focused solution based on a few AWS capabilities
• your team wants full control over every architectural decision
• you have the engineering capacity to build and maintain the complete platform
• IoT is a limited part of a larger AWS-native application

When Connhex on AWS is a good fit​

Connhex is a strong choice when you:

• want to keep AWS as your cloud infrastructure
• want to launch your connected product sooner
• need a complete suite for devices, data, users and customer applications
• want predictable flat pricing as your fleet grows
• want platform support, maintenance and updates included
• want an IoT roadmap focused on the needs of device manufacturers
• value control of your AWS account and the flexibility to change infrastructure in the future

Ready to connect your devices? Explore the available Connhex configurations, or contact us to discuss your requirements.