ClarWorks

Free calculator · No signup

Build vs Buy — Industrial IoT Platforms

Weigh SaaS subscriptions against a custom build for Industrial IoT Platforms — see the multi-year total cost of ownership and which path wins.

What this means for Industrial IoT Platforms

  • Legacy PLC and SCADA integration is the platform's largest hidden cost — every plant has a different mix of Rockwell, Siemens, Mitsubishi, Honeywell, and Yokogawa equipment with different protocols (Modbus, Profinet, Ethernet/IP, OPC UA), and the connector work is never done.
  • The OT/IT divide is real and political — plant operations teams own the equipment and don't trust IT-led cloud platforms, IT teams own the cloud and don't trust unsigned firmware on the floor, and the platform sits in the middle with neither team as a willing sponsor.
  • Industrial IoT has a credibility problem from the GE Predix era — every CIO who lived through a $50M Predix or Siemens MindSphere program that never produced operating value is suspicious of the next platform's promises, and the burden of proof is high.

Where it pays to act

  • Edge ML for predictive maintenance — gradient-boosted, time-series, and lightweight neural models that run on edge gateways and flag failures 48-72 hours in advance without requiring constant cloud connectivity.
  • Computer vision for in-line quality inspection — defect detection, dimension verification, and assembly verification models that absorb the highest-defect SKUs and reduce final-inspection scrap.

Adjust the inputs to match your Industrial IoT Platforms context.

₹2,000
25
10%
₹15 L
15%
3 yr

Total cost of ownership

SaaS total (3yr)

₹19.9 L

Custom build total

₹21.8 L

Difference (cheaper to buy)

₹1.89 L

Breakeven

What this means

A hybrid path fits best.

For Industrial IoT Platforms, the gap is ₹1.89 L over 3 years — close enough that a hybrid approach (buy core, build differentiating layers) often wins.

Project inquiry

Tell us about your project.

No sign-up, and nothing is stored. Submitting opens your email or WhatsApp with the details pre-filled and ready to send.

We'll reply to whichever channel you send from — add at least one.

How would you like to send this?

Nothing is stored on this site — both buttons open your own email or WhatsApp app with the message ready to send to adityahampasagar@gmail.com / +91 96207 18136. We typically reply within 24 hours.

Build vs buy — summary

SaaS total (3yr)₹19.9 L
Custom build total₹21.8 L
Difference₹1.89 L cheaper to buy
Breakeven

More tools for Industrial IoT Platforms