Custom industrial IoT software development
Appfront builds custom software that unlocks your machine park: retrieving data from controllers and sensors via OPC UA, Modbus or MQTT, turning it into usable management information such as OEE and downtime reasons, and linking it to your maintenance and planning. For manufacturers who want to know why a line stopped, not just that it stopped.
What is industrial IoT software?
Industrial IoT software retrieves data from the equipment on your shop floor and turns it into information you can act on. That differs from a general IoT platform, which usually means standalone sensors measuring over the internet. Here you are dealing with controllers that have been running for years, speak their own protocols and must not be disrupted. For the broader approach, we have a separate page on IoT platforms.
Most manufacturers already have the data. It sits in the PLC, the SCADA system, the historian and in the head of the operator who writes down why the line was idle for twenty minutes this morning. What is missing is the layer that turns this into one story: why the line stopped, how often it happens, and what it costs.
Custom software sits alongside the control layer rather than inside it. The controller keeps doing what it does; you read along and add the context the machine doesn't have: which order was running, which operator, which shift, which raw material batch. See also our broader approach to custom software development.
Reading, not intervening
The integration with your control system is read-only and runs through a separate network zone. Your machine keeps running as it always did, and a software fault cannot affect production.
Downtime with a reason
A downtime report without a cause is just a number. We link every stop to a reason the operator selects in a few taps, so after a month you can see which cause costs the most.
One definition of OEE
Availability, performance and quality are calculated slightly differently from one company to another. We record your definition explicitly, so figures remain comparable between lines and sites.
How we build your industrial IoT software
We start on the shop floor, with one line and one machine, not with a choice of platform. Production, maintenance, automation and IT sit at the table early, because otherwise the discussion about network access would arrive halfway through the project anyway.
We inventory which controllers, sensors and systems are in place, which protocols they speak and which data is already being recorded somewhere. We also decide which line is connected first, and why.
We design the integration layer, the data model for machines, orders and downtime reasons, and the separation between your control network and your office network. The latter is a security decision, not a networking detail.
We build in short iterations and connect one machine first, with real data and real operators. Only once those figures match what the shop floor sees do we go wider. A dashboard nobody believes is worthless.
Controlled rollout per line or site, with operator guidance on recording reasons. This is followed by ongoing management, monitoring of the integrations and expansion to new machines.
What industrial IoT software concretely does
A discrete assembly line asks different questions from a continuous process plant. These are the features we deliver most often.
Opening up machine data
Integrations via OPC UA, Modbus TCP, MQTT or an existing historian, depending on what your control systems can handle. For older machines without an interface, we install a separate measurement instead of replacing the control system.
OEE and performance figures
Availability, performance and quality per machine, line, shift and order, according to your own definition. This shows you not only that a figure is falling but whether the cause lies with a machine, an order or a shift.
Downtime registration
Automatic detection of a stop, followed by a quick choice from your own list of reasons on a screen at the machine. Short enough for an operator to actually use, structured enough for you to act on.
Maintenance & condition monitoring
Running hours, cycle counts and trends in temperature or vibration as the basis for condition-based maintenance rather than calendar-based. See also AI for predictive maintenance.
Integration with planning and ERP
Machine data only becomes meaningful once the order is attached. We integrate with your production planning or ERP so that performance per order and per product becomes visible.
Alerting & follow-up
Notifications for deviations that genuinely matter, with an escalation route to the right person. Alerts that go off too often get ignored, so we set thresholds based on your own history.
Who we build industrial IoT software for
The challenge differs greatly depending on the type of production and the age of the machine park. These are the client types we most often build for.
Discrete manufacturing and assembly
Companies with series runs, changeovers and multiple operations per product. For them, changeover times and downtime reasons matter most, and the integration with orders is essential to make sense of the figures.
Process and packaging industry
Continuous lines where a short stop further down the chain has knock-on effects. See also our page on software for the packaging industry.
Companies with a mixed machine park
Workshops where a machine from the 1990s stands alongside a new one. They need an approach that chooses per machine between reading along, adding sensors, or accepting that nothing useful can be extracted.
Maintenance departments and technical services
Teams looking to move from calendar-based maintenance to condition-based maintenance. Their need is less dashboards and more reliable running hours and trends per component. See also our IoT app.
Test your idea first: a working prototype in 1 day
With OneDayBuild, we turn your idea into something tangible in one day for €1,150, so you can see whether further development is worth the investment. Decide to go ahead with the full build? Then we credit the full cost.
Explore OneDayBuild →Technology and integrations
We build with a modern, maintainable stack and connect to the equipment and systems you already have, without replacing your control systems. See also our broader AI and IoT solutions.
Why Appfront for your industrial IoT software?
Appfront builds custom software and starts from your machine park as it is, not from a platform that assumes modern equipment. Almost every factory has a mix of generations, and the question is, machine by machine, what data can reasonably be extracted and what that is worth.
We keep the integration with your control systems read-only and separate from your office network. This is not a technical preference but a starting principle: software that could affect production is a risk that does not outweigh the insight it provides.
We start with one line and only expand once the figures match what the shop floor sees. Dashboards that don't align with operators' experience are ignored within two weeks, and then the investment is lost regardless of how good the technology is.
See also our broader services: get custom software built and get an IoT platform developed. Questions about your situation? Get in touch with us.
- Read-only integration with your control systems
- Separation between control network and office network
- An approach per machine rather than a single platform choice
- Your own OEE definition explicitly documented
- Reasons for downtime an operator can enter in seconds
- Integration with orders and planning for meaningful figures
- Works with machines without a modern interface
- One line first, expanding only once the figures add up
- Clear documentation that your own technical team can manage
- Ongoing maintenance and expansion to new machines
Security and continuity for industrial IoT
An integration between your shop floor and your office network is one of the most sensitive links you can make. We set it up following the principle of separated zones, with traffic that can only flow one way and without the software being able to send commands to the control system. For organisations covered by the Cybersecurity Act, this is also part of the duty of care.
We build to the OWASP security standards and take into account the principles of the IEC 62443 series for industrial automation. If you process data that can be traced back to individuals, such as performance per operator, the GDPR applies and it is a conversation to have with your works council.
Continuity works the other way round compared with office software: if our layer fails, your production must simply keep running. That is why we buffer on site and the connection restores itself. More about our approach: information security policy and CVD policy.
- Read-only integration, no commands to the control system
- Segregated network zones between OT and IT
- Principles from the IEC 62443 series
- On-site buffering when the connection is interrupted
- Production keeps running if the software fails
- Encryption in transit (TLS 1.2+) and at rest
- Role-based access and audit logging
- Built to the OWASP standards
Frequently asked questions about industrial IoT software
Answers to the questions we are asked most often about custom software for the shop floor.
Industrial IoT software collects data from the equipment on your shop floor, such as controllers and sensors, and turns it into management information: performance per machine and line, reasons for downtime, running hours and trends. The difference from a general IoT platform is that here you are working with existing controllers that speak their own protocols and must not be disrupted.
Rarely. Many control systems can be read via OPC UA or Modbus, and for older machines without an interface we install a separate measurement, for example on power consumption or a signal lamp. This yields less detail than a modern control system, but the most important data point remains: is it running, and if not, since when.
Not if it is set up properly. We keep the integration strictly read-only and place it in a separate network zone, so the software cannot send commands to your control system. In addition, we buffer on site, so a fault in our layer has no effect on what happens on the shop floor.
OPC UA is the common industrial standard for exchanging machine data between controllers and higher-level systems, with built-in security and a structured description of what is being measured. If your controller supports it, it is almost always the most sensible route. If not, we fall back to Modbus or a separate measurement.
According to your own definition, which we record explicitly. Availability, performance and quality are calculated slightly differently from company to company, for example in how you treat planned downtime and changeover time. Until that choice is documented, figures cannot be compared between lines and sites, and discussions focus on the definition rather than the performance.
Because a stop without a cause is just a number. You know that a line stood still for twenty minutes, but not whether that was due to a fault, a changeover, a material shortage or a break. We have the operator choose a reason for each stop from your own list, in a few taps on a screen at the machine.
That is usually the second step, not the first. Predicting requires a period of reliable measurements and recorded failures, because without history there is no pattern to recognise. So start with operating hours, cycle counts and trends; these already make condition-based maintenance possible before any prediction comes into play.
We build custom software. Machine fleets differ greatly in age, protocols and what can reasonably be extracted from them, and standard platforms assume modern equipment that many factories simply do not have. After an intake meeting, we decide together which line to start with and in what order to expand.
Ready to build your industrial IoT software?
Tell us which machines you have and which question you cannot answer right now: why a line stopped, what an order actually cost, or when a component is due for replacement. We are happy to help with integrations, network segregation and the first layer to start with. In a no-obligation first conversation, you will get a clear picture of what is possible.