Article
Towards a Unified Ecosystem: Strategies for Enhancing Interoperability in IoT and Big Data Frameworks


This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright
The authors shall retain the copyright of their work but allow the Publisher to publish, copy, distribute, and convey the work.
License
Digital Technologies Research and Applications (DTRA) publishes accepted manuscripts under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0). Authors who submit their papers for publication by DTRA agree to have the CC BY 4.0 license applied to their work, and that anyone is allowed to reuse the article or part of it free of charge for any purpose, including commercial use. As long as the author and original source are properly cited, anyone may copy, redistribute, reuse, and transform the content.
Received: 22 October 2025; Revised: 16 December 2025; Accepted: 30 December 2025; Published: 6 July 2026
As the concepts of IoT systems deepen, the world inclines towards safety, energy management, sustainability, efficiency, predictability and prevention. With an estimated global market spending on IoT of about $15 trillion by 2030, seamless integration of IoT devices and big data platforms is considered vital to ensure a robust, efficient, and secure IoT ecosystem. Despite its wide application the integration of IoT and big data frameworks is hindered by heterogeneous devices and protocols, semantic incompatibility, and scalability gaps between real-time IoT streams and Big Data systems. Data quality issues, lack of unified standards across edge, fog and cloud layers, security model mismatch, and fragmented data formats and vendor-specific ecosystems are additional challenges that create significant obstacles to seamless data exchange, unified analytics and reliable end-to-end integration. Through a conceptual research method of study, this paper highlights the interoperability of the IoT framework and big data analytics, the application areas of the framework providing sustainable solutions, challenges and opportunities that reflect the need for advancements of the framework strategies followed by recommendations to effectively mitigate the existing and future risks and challenges.
Keywords:
Big Data Analytics IoT-Based Systems Big Data Integration Cloud Database Solutions Sustainable Solutions Edge Computing Interoperability IoT FrameworkReferences
- Dauda, A.; Flauzac, O.; Nolot, F. A survey on IoT application Architectures. Sensors 2024, 24, 5320.
- Wang, W. Research on Data Security and Privacy Protection in the Context of Big Data. Front. Comput. Intell. Syst. 2024, 7, 29–33.
- Tu, T.A. The relationship between big data and IoT. J. Comput. Electron. Inf. Manag. 2023, 10, 150.
- Ranpara, R. A semantic and ontology-based framework for enhancing interoperability and automation in IoT systems. Discov. Internet Things 2025, 5, 1–2.
- Yadegari, F.; Asosheh, A. A unified IoT architectural model for smart hospitals: enhancing interoperability, security, and efficiency through clinical information systems (CIS). J. Big Data 2025, 12, 149.
- Bimonte, S.; Bellocchi, G.; Pinet, F.; et al. Data engineering for sustainable agriculture: developments, challenges, and case studies of a novel IoRT architecture. J. Big Data 2025, 12, 195.
- Cecchinel, C.; Jimenez, M.; Mosser, S.; et al. An architecture to support the collection of big data in the internet of things. In Proceedings of the 2014 IEEE World Congress on Services, Anchorage, AK, USA, 27 June–2 July 2014.
- Ghaseminya, M.M.; Eslami, E.; Shahzadeh Fazeli, S.A.; et al. Advancing cloud virtualization: a comprehensive survey on integrating IoT, Edge, and Fog computing with FaaS for heterogeneous smart environments. J. Supercomput. 2025, 81, 1303.
- Baras, K.; Brito, L.; Hassan, Q.F. Internet of Things. In Advances in the Internet of Things: Challenges, Solutions, and Emerging Technologies; CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, USA, 2025; pp. 3–35.
- Győrödi, C.A.; Dumşe-Burescu, D.V.; Zmaranda, D.R.; et al. Performance analysis of NoSQL and relational databases with CouchDB and MySQL for application’s data storage. Appl. Sci. 2020, 10, 8524.
- Vistro, D.M.; Rehman, A.U.; Abid, A.; et al. IoT based big data analytics for cloud storage using edge computing. J. Adv. Res. Dyn. Control Syst. 2020, 12, 1594–1598.
- El Mokhi, C.; Hachimi, H.; Nayyar, A. The future of urban living: Smart cities and sustainable infrastructure technologies. In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Advanced Sustainability Engineering and Technology, Kenitra, Morocco, 17–18 April 2025.
- Rock, L.Y.; Tajudeen, F.P.; Chung, Y.W. Usage and impact of the internet-of-things-based smart home technology: a quality-of-life perspective. Univ. Access Inf. Soc. 2024, 23, 345–364.
- Javed, H.; Eid, F.; El-Sappagh, S.; et al. Sustainable energy management in the AI era: A comprehensive analysis of ML and DL approaches. Computing 2025, 107, 132.
- Sharma, G; Lee, J.E. Using iot in natural hazard management and future directions. J. Saf. Crisis Manag. 2022, 12, 1–6.
- Rajkumar, N.; Viji, C.; Balusamy, N.; et al. Business Intelligence and Big Data Analytics for Industry 4.0. In Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for Industry 4.0; Wiley: Hoboken, NJ, USA, 2025; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/9781394275076.ch2
- Yang, Q.; Al Mamun, A.; Makhbul, Z.K.M.; et al. The nexus of big data, Internet of Things-enabled agro-technologies, and farm performance. Smart Agric. Technol. 2026, 13, 101782. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atech.2026.101782
- Sharma, S.K.; Rani, A.; Bakhariya, H.; et al. The Role of IoT in Optimizing Operations in the Oil and Gas Sector: A Review. Trans. Indian Natl. Acad. Eng. 2024, 9, 293–312. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41403-024-00464-9
- Bellini, P.; Nesi, P.; Pantaleo, G. IoT-Enabled Smart Cities: A Review of Concepts, Frameworks and Key Technologies. Appl. Sci. 2022, 12, 1607. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/app12031607
- Patil, R.S.; Moantri, S. Challenges and Opportunities in Real-Time Data Processing: Advancements and Limitations in Real-Time Data Analytics. In Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Neurology; Kumar, A., Rathore, P.S., Ahuja, S., et al., Eds.; Wiley: Hoboken, NJ, USA, 2026. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/9781394389131.ch24
- Anuar Mohamad, K.; Syahmi Nordin, M.; Hafizi Hasnan, H.; et al. Evaluating solar photovoltaic panel orientations for an open-field internet of things framework. Bull. Electr. Eng. Inf. 2026, 15, 56–70.
- Caspari-Sadeghi, S. Learning assessment in the age of big data: Learning analytics in higher education. Cogent Educ. 2023, 10, 2162697. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2022.2162697
- Munoz-Arcentales, A.; López-Pernas, S.; Conde, J.; et al. Enabling Context-Aware Data Analytics in Smart Environments: An Open Source Reference Implementation. Sensors 2021, 21, 7095. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/s21217095
- Allioui, H.; Mourdi, Y. Exploring the Full Potentials of IoT for Better Financial Growth and Stability: A Comprehensive Survey. Sensors 2023, 23, 8015. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/s23198015
- Logeswaran, K.; Savitha, S.; Suresh, P.; et al. Unifying Technologies in Industry 4.0: Harnessing the Synergy of Internet of Things, Big Data, Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality, and Blockchain Technologies. In Topics in Artificial Intelligence Applied to Industry 4.0; Al-Refae, M.R., Tyagi, A.K., Al-Malaise Al-Ghamdi, A.S., et al., Eds.; Wiley: Hoboken, NJ, USA, 2024. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/9781394216147.ch7

Download
