What are good alternatives for IoT Central

Question

What are good alternatives for IoT Central

Oetze van den Broek 161

Last week Microsoft announced it will deprecate IoT Central on september 20, 2029 Source

What are some alternatives on Azure (or not on Azure) that can fill the role?

For dashboarding there are multiple tools available, like PowerBI, Fabric and more.
But for sending device commands and managing settings in a UI, i don't see a clear alternative.

One alternative is the IoT Explorer, but that tool needs to be installed on a computer and can't just be accessed from a web interface with Entra ID Permissions.

Fabric seems like a nice tool, but the even the lowest tier is expensive at $321.20 per month and can't fully fill the role.
With only a few devices, IoT Central is quite cheap and powerfull.

Sai Kiran Mudavath 175 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-09-29T09:09:33.5733333+00:00
Hi @Oetze van den Broek ,

Microsoft has now published a migration playbook for moving from Azure IoT Central to an Azure-native IoT platform architecture. Existing IoT Central solutions can continue during the transition, while the target architecture is based primarily on Azure IoT Hub, Device Provisioning Service (DPS), and Microsoft Fabric.

The closest capability mapping is:

Device connectivity / bidirectional communication: Azure IoT Hub

Device provisioning: Azure DPS

Device state / settings: IoT Hub device twins using desired properties, together with application metadata where appropriate

Device commands: IoT Hub direct methods for immediate online actions; desired properties for state that should persist until the device applies it

Bulk device operations: IoT Hub jobs

Dashboards / analytics: Microsoft Fabric Real-Time Intelligence, including Eventstream, Eventhouse/KQL, Real-Time Dashboards and Power BI

Rules / automation: Event Grid with Functions/Logic Apps, or Fabric Activator

For the specific requirement of sending commands and managing device settings from a web UI, there isn't a single Azure service that reproduces IoT Central's ready-made operator experience one-for-one. Microsoft's migration guidance instead maps device administration UX to a custom portal or internal operations tooling, with IoT Hub providing the underlying device-control capabilities.

For migration, Microsoft provides the IoTC Migrator. If the devices implement the DeviceMove command, the tool can migrate devices from IoT Central to an IoT Hub linked to DPS. If the devices can't implement DeviceMove, Microsoft documents a firmware-update approach.

Microsoft also recommends doing the migration in phases: first build and test the IoT Hub/DPS/Fabric target environment, migrate a representative pilot group, validate connectivity/telemetry/commands/dashboards, and then migrate the remaining devices in controlled waves.

For dashboards specifically, Microsoft provides an Azure IoT Solution Accelerator workload for Microsoft Fabric Real-Time Intelligence, which can provide Eventstream ingestion, Eventhouse/KQL and ready-to-use real-time dashboards over IoT Hub telemetry.

Relevant documentation:

Migrate from IoT Central to an Azure-native IoT platform services architecture
Migrate devices from IoT Central to Azure IoT Hub

If your main requirement is a web-based operator UI for device commands and settings, the key design decision is the operations portal layer on top of IoT Hub rather than looking for a direct 1:1 replacement service.
Oetze van den Broek 161 Reputation points

2026-09-29T10:01:30.3866667+00:00

As i understand there is not a user friendly alternative for IoT Central now? That doesn't require us to build a custom web application
Sai Kiran Mudavath 175 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-09-30T08:25:12.1+00:00

Hi @Oetze van den Broek

Yes, for a general-purpose IoT solution, that is essentially correct.

Microsoft is moving IoT Central customers toward an Azure-native architecture based on Azure IoT Hub, Device Provisioning Service (DPS), and Microsoft Fabric, rather than introducing another fixed, managed application experience that reproduces IoT Central one-for-one. Microsoft’s current migration guidance focuses on using these platform services and tailoring the solution to the specific requirements.

For the specific requirement of a ready-made web UI for device management, commands, and settings, there is currently no general-purpose Microsoft service documented as a direct 1:1 replacement for the IoT Central operator experience. IoT Hub provides the underlying device-management and control capabilities, including direct methods for immediate commands and desired properties for persistent device settings, but the operator-facing application experience is not provided as an IoT Central-equivalent managed application.

There is one Microsoft option worth distinguishing: Azure IoT Operations includes a web-based Operations Experience for managing devices, assets, and data flows. However, Microsoft positions this experience for OT/industrial scenarios, and it requires Azure IoT Operations to be deployed on a Kubernetes cluster, so it should not be considered a general drop-in replacement for IoT Central.

Therefore, for a general IoT Central-style solution with a simple, managed web interface and no custom application layer, there is currently no direct Microsoft replacement documented. The supported migration direction is to use IoT Hub/DPS/Fabric as the platform foundation and provide the required operator experience through a solution-specific application layer. Existing IoT Central applications continue to work through September 20, 2029, providing time to plan and phase the migration.

Relevant documentation:

Azure IoT Central is evolving
Azure IoT Hub cloud-to-device options
Use the Azure IoT Operations operations experience web UI

Thank You!
Sai Kiran Mudavath 175 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-10-01T10:05:20.4666667+00:00

Hi @Oetze van den Broek

Did you get any chance to review the above response. Do let me know if you have any further queries.

Thank you!
Sai Kiran Mudavath 175 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-10-02T09:14:13.2033333+00:00

Hi @Oetze van den Broek

We haven’t heard from you on the last response and was just checking back to see if you have a resolution yet. In case if you have any resolution please do share that same with the community as it can be helpful to others. Otherwise, will respond with more details and we will try to help.

Thank You!
Oetze van den Broek 161 Reputation points

2026-10-02T09:35:46.4166667+00:00

I see how IoT Hub can be used. We serve different customers, some use IoT Hub and some use IoT Central.

The customers who use IoT Hub often have their own operator applications that talk with the IoT Hub API.

But we also have customers who just want the data and we manage the devices.

Being able to send a simple reboot command, change some device settings and make a simple dashboard is working great with IoT Central. And i don't see a clear alternative to do that without writing custom applications

I will look into IoT Operations
Sai Kiran Mudavath 175 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-10-02T10:06:21.8466667+00:00

Hi @Oetze van den Broek

That makes sense, and the distinction between these two customer scenarios is important.

For customers who mainly need a simple managed experience for device administration, such as sending commands, changing settings, and viewing dashboards, there currently isn't a general-purpose Azure service that provides the same ready-made operator experience as IoT Central without a custom application layer. Microsoft's current migration direction is based on IoT Hub, DPS, and Microsoft Fabric, with the operator experience tailored to the specific solution.

Azure IoT Operations is worth evaluating for scenarios where its OT/edge capabilities and Kubernetes-based architecture are a fit. Its Operations Experience provides a web UI for managing devices, assets, and data flows, but it should not be considered a general one-to-one replacement for IoT Central.

Thanks for sharing the additional context, and I hope this helps clarify the available options.

Thank you!

Your answer

Oetze van den Broek 161 Reputation points

2026-09-29T10:01:30.3866667+00:00

As i understand there is not a user friendly alternative for IoT Central now? That doesn't require us to build a custom web application
Sai Kiran Mudavath 175 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-10-01T10:05:20.4666667+00:00

Hi @Oetze van den Broek

Did you get any chance to review the above response. Do let me know if you have any further queries.

Thank you!
Sai Kiran Mudavath 175 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-10-02T09:14:13.2033333+00:00

Hi @Oetze van den Broek

We haven’t heard from you on the last response and was just checking back to see if you have a resolution yet. In case if you have any resolution please do share that same with the community as it can be helpful to others. Otherwise, will respond with more details and we will try to help.

Thank You!
Oetze van den Broek 161 Reputation points

2026-10-02T09:35:46.4166667+00:00

I see how IoT Hub can be used. We serve different customers, some use IoT Hub and some use IoT Central.

The customers who use IoT Hub often have their own operator applications that talk with the IoT Hub API.

But we also have customers who just want the data and we manage the devices.

Being able to send a simple reboot command, change some device settings and make a simple dashboard is working great with IoT Central. And i don't see a clear alternative to do that without writing custom applications

I will look into IoT Operations
Sai Kiran Mudavath 175 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-10-02T10:06:21.8466667+00:00

Hi @Oetze van den Broek

That makes sense, and the distinction between these two customer scenarios is important.

For customers who mainly need a simple managed experience for device administration, such as sending commands, changing settings, and viewing dashboards, there currently isn't a general-purpose Azure service that provides the same ready-made operator experience as IoT Central without a custom application layer. Microsoft's current migration direction is based on IoT Hub, DPS, and Microsoft Fabric, with the operator experience tailored to the specific solution.

Azure IoT Operations is worth evaluating for scenarios where its OT/edge capabilities and Kubernetes-based architecture are a fit. Its Operations Experience provides a web UI for managing devices, assets, and data flows, but it should not be considered a general one-to-one replacement for IoT Central.

Thanks for sharing the additional context, and I hope this helps clarify the available options.

Thank you!