Interoperability:The Key to IIoT and IoT Success

Be aware of vendor lock in – The opposite of interoperable

There are a vast number of vendors offering proprietary solutions to the industry, utilising closed ecosystems. Often, these vendors have developed unique protocols and standards to differentiate their products, which unfortunately makes them incompatible with other systems, exacerbating the fragmentation and silos within the ecosystem. There are no universally mandated standards for interoperability that vendors must comply with, so organisations must carefully assess vendor offerings to avoid technological dead-ends. Prioritising open protocols and platforms with documented APIs is essential for future-proofing infrastructure.

Four core pillars of IoT interoperability

To overcome fragmentation and achieve long-term success with IoT, it is essential to address interoperability at four key layers:

1. Device Interoperability

This layer ensures that devices from different manufacturers can communicate and function within the same environment. By adopting standardised communication protocols—such as MQTT, AMQP, OPC UA, HTTP, and CoAP—organisations reduce integration complexity and increase deployment flexibility.

Devices should be assessed for compatibility not only at the hardware level but also in terms of protocol support, configuration requirements, and update capabilities.

2. Network Interoperability

Network interoperability refers to the seamless operation of diverse networking components and infrastructures within a unified communication framework. It requires the ability for routers, switches, gateways, and edge devices to operate across diverse environments, regardless of vendor or proprietary configuration.

The use of open network operating systems and virtualised network functions can facilitate this interoperability. These solutions decouple hardware from software and enable cross-platform compatibility, reducing the reliance on specific vendors and ensuring that new networked devices can be onboarded without friction.

3. Data Interoperability

Data interoperability focuses on the standardisation and harmonisation of data structures, formats, and semantics to ensure meaningful exchange between systems. Industrial IoT environments often include devices that output data in multiple formats—JSON, XML, CSV, or proprietary structures—leading to inconsistent data representation and integration challenges.

To address this, organisations must:

• Standardise data formats where possible

• Implement common data schemas 

• Utilise transformation tools to map disparate data models into unified structures

By aligning how data is defined, stored, and transmitted across systems, businesses can ensure compatibility between platforms, support machine learning and analytics, and improve operational transparency.

4. Platform and Middleware Interoperability

Platform interoperability involves the ability of IoT platforms, control systems, and middleware layers to interface across multiple technologies. Middleware plays a central role in translating protocols, managing data flow, and integrating legacy systems with cloud or edge environments.

Modern middleware platforms should support:

• Multi-protocol integration (e.g., Modbus, MQTT, OPC UA)

• Edge-to-cloud architecture

• Open APIs for third-party development and integration

• Scalability across assets and geographies

The right middleware reduces the complexity of managing diverse devices and systems, acting as a unifying layer that simplifies deployment and long-term system evolution.

Case study: Remote monitoring of emergency pump stations with IoT

A Western Australian council required real-time visibility and remote control capabilities across several emergency pump stations. Rather than replacing the entire system, the project team implemented a lightweight IoT solution using industrial sensors and communication gateways. These components fed data to a centralised IoT platform, enabling remote condition monitoring, simple control functionality, and performance analytics.

Crucially, the solution was designed to be interoperable, capable of integrating with future smart city infrastructure, expanding sensor networks, or exporting data to other systems. This demonstrates how scalable and future-ready outcomes can be achieved through smart interoperability planning.

VROC’s Interoperable IoT Ecosystem

VROC’s IoT solutions are designed to be open, scalable, and secure. The Discover IoT platform includes:

• Plug-and-play industrial-grade sensors

• Multi-protocol IoT gateways

• A powerful centralised platform for remote monitoring, analytics, and AI-based predictive insights

By prioritising interoperability at every layer—from device to platform—VROC enables organisations to bridge the gap between legacy systems and next-generation digital operations without significant disruption or vendor lock-in.