Agriculture / Farm sensor monitoring software
Cloud backend, web portal and mobile apps for farm climate sensorsDedicated software team on an existing production system
Taking over the cloud, web and mobile software for Dol-Sensors farm sensors
Dol-Sensors makes sensors for agriculture and farming, such as climate sensors and weight cameras used in pig barns. Farmers use a web portal and mobile apps to view sensor data, set up sensors and configure alarms. Dol-Sensors had a working system built with earlier partners and wanted a team to take over its software.
Dol-Sensors wanted to concentrate on firmware development and sensor production while a dedicated team took over the software: the Azure cloud backend, the web portal and the iOS and Android apps. The cloud side needed performance work, and the mobile apps needed bug fixes, updates for current OS versions and usability improvements.
- Product
- Cloud backend, web portal and mobile apps for farm climate sensors
- Buyer
- Sensor manufacturers that want to keep firmware and hardware in-house and hand over their cloud and application software
- Engagement
- Dedicated software team on an existing production system
- Indeema scope
- Discovery and takeover, Cloud backend, Web portal, Mobile apps, QA against hardware
The product need
What had to become possible
Dol-Sensors wanted to concentrate on firmware development and sensor production while a dedicated team took over the software: the Azure cloud backend, the web portal and the iOS and Android apps. The cloud side needed performance work, and the mobile apps needed bug fixes, updates for current OS versions and usability improvements.
Ownership, made clear
Where the work started and what Indeema owned
Starting system
Sensors and firmware
Climate sensors, weight cameras and their firmware are designed and produced by Dol-Sensors and remain its responsibility.
Production software
A live web portal and mobile apps for end users, running on an Azure backend that needed performance improvements.
Mobile apps
iOS and Android apps with critical bugs and room for improvement in usability and design.
Indeema owned
Discovery and takeover
Review the existing backend and cloud architecture, test the mobile apps, review the code and agree the scope through discovery meetings.
Cloud backend
Develop the .NET backend on Azure: IoT Hub for sensor data, Function Apps for third-party integrations, SQL Database for customer accounts and Cosmos DB for sensor data and configurations.
Web portal
Develop and extend the web portal where users view sensor data and manage accounts and devices.
Mobile apps
Fix critical bugs, update the iOS and Android apps for current OS versions and add features and design changes.
QA against hardware
Plan and run tests of the apps' interaction with sensor hardware, simulating communication scenarios.
Worked with
Dol-Sensors devices
Sensor data reaches the platform through Azure IoT Hub.
Third-party services
Azure Function Apps connect the platform to external services.
Web and mobile clients
The portal and the iOS and Android apps read the same account, sensor and configuration data.
Product constraints
What made the engineering difficult
- 01
Taking over a live system
The platform was already in use and had been built by other teams, so every part had to be understood before it was changed.
- 02
Different data for different stores
Customer accounts require strict consistency, while sensor readings and configurations are larger and change often.
- 03
Customer data in a shared portal
The portal holds customer data, so access control and encryption of sensitive data were required.
- 04
Testing without owning the hardware
App behaviour had to be checked against sensor hardware and communication channels that belong to the vendor.
Engineering judgement
Decisions that shaped the product
Audit before scope
Architecture review, app testing and code review came before any estimate, so the scope reflected the system as it was.
Split relational and document storage
Azure SQL Database holds customer accounts; Cosmos DB holds sensor data and configurations.
Use managed Azure services at the edges
IoT Hub handles sensor ingestion and Function Apps handle third-party integrations, keeping the core .NET backend smaller.
Authentication, authorization and encryption
The portal uses authentication and authorization and encrypts sensitive data.
Product system
How the product moves from signal to user
- 01
Dol-Sensors devices
Vendor-built climate sensors and weight cameras in the barn; firmware owned by Dol-Sensors.
- 02
Azure IoT Hub
Receives sensor data for the platform.
- 03
.NET backend and storage
Cosmos DB holds sensor data and configurations; SQL Database holds customer accounts.
- 04
Web portal and apps
Users view readings, manage sensors and configure alarms on the web, iOS and Android.
Delivered product capability
What the product can do
- 01
Sensor data ingestion
Collect sensor data through Azure IoT Hub and store it with device configurations in Cosmos DB.
- 02
Web portal
Show live and historical sensor readings, such as CO2, temperature and humidity, and manage customer accounts.
- 03
Mobile apps
Let farmers view readings, set up and manage sensor settings and configure alarms on iOS and Android.
- 04
Ongoing development
A dedicated team fixes issues and builds new functions at Dol-Sensors' request.
Product change
What changed for the product team
Dol-Sensors kept firmware and sensor production in-house and handed its cloud, web and mobile software to a dedicated team. Since then the team has maintained the platform, fixed the mobile apps and kept extending the portal and apps at Dol-Sensors' request.
For a sensor manufacturer whose expertise is the device, this case shows a clear split of ownership: the vendor keeps hardware and firmware, and a software team takes over cloud ingestion, data storage, the web portal and the mobile apps of a live system.
- Dol-Sensors' cloud backend, web portal and iOS and Android apps are developed and maintained by a dedicated Indeema team, while firmware and sensors stay with Dol-Sensors.
Product evidence
A closer look at the product
Technology, in context
.NET · Azure IoT Hub · Azure Function Apps · Azure SQL Database · Azure Cosmos DB · iOS · Android
A comparable product problem?
Dol-Sensors farm monitoring software
Bring the product context, the system that already exists and the engineering decision you need to make.