Case Study: Architecting a Global IoT SaaS Platform for Carrier
How I provided the end-to-end expertise to design and engineer a serverless, globally scalable IoT platform to manage millions of connected devices.
Client
Carrier
Industry
Climate Control & Industrial IoT
My Services Provided
- •Cloud Architecture & Serverless Engineering (AWS)
- •IoT Data Pipeline Development
- •Infrastructure as Code (AWS CDK)
- •Enterprise Security & Identity Integration
Technologies Used
Building a Future-Proof Platform for a Connected World
Carrier, a global industry leader, needed to build a next-generation B2B SaaS platform capable of ingesting, processing, and analyzing data from millions of IoT devices in real time. The challenge was immense: the architecture had to be cost-effective at a massive scale, globally available, and enterprise-grade secure. They required a principal architect who could not only design such a complex system but also provide the hands-on engineering expertise to build its most critical components.
A Serverless-First, Architecture-Led Approach
I served as the principal architect and a key hands-on engineer, guiding the project from concept to execution. My solution was built on a foundation of modern cloud-native principles:
1. Scalable Serverless Data Architecture
I architected a highly scalable and cost-effective data ingestion pipeline using AWS IoT Core, Kinesis for real-time streaming, and AWS Lambda for processing. This serverless-first approach was critical for a platform with high-volume, variable workloads, ensuring Carrier only paid for the compute resources they actively used. The architecture utilized a suite of databases, including DynamoDB and Timestream, to efficiently handle the massive volumes of telemetry data.
2. Advanced Infrastructure as Code (IaC)
I championed a modern IaC strategy by leveraging the AWS Cloud Development Kit (CDK) with TypeScript. This allowed me to define the entire complex cloud infrastructure as code, providing a powerful, flexible, and maintainable way to automate and manage the environment.
3. Enterprise-Grade Security & Identity
To meet the stringent security requirements of Carrier's B2B customers, I engineered a robust security framework. This included integrating Okta for secure, enterprise-grade identity management and authentication, ensuring the platform was secure by design.
4. API & Frontend Performance Optimization
To ensure a high-performance user experience, I streamlined frontend data access by implementing a GraphQL layer via AWS API Gateway. I also provided hands-on development support for key user-facing components in ReactJS and TypeScript, creating intuitive dashboards and data visualizations.
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Measurable Business Impact
Millions of Device Connections
Engineered a platform architected to support millions of concurrent device connections, providing a future-proof foundation for Carrier's business growth.
Cost-Effective Serverless Platform
Delivered a high-performance, cost-effective platform by leveraging a serverless-first architecture, minimizing operational overhead and infrastructure costs.
Enterprise-Ready Security Foundation
Built a secure, multi-tenant B2B SaaS product foundation ready for enterprise adoption, with robust identity and access management.
High-Performance User Experience
Improved the application's user experience by implementing a modern GraphQL API and ReactJS frontend, providing a fast, responsive, and data-rich interface.