Device Provisioning Service vs Custom Provisioning Solutions

Developers should use DPS when building IoT solutions that require automated, secure provisioning of large numbers of devices, such as in industrial automation, smart cities, or connected vehicles meets developers should learn or use custom provisioning solutions when standard tools like terraform, ansible, or cloud-native services are insufficient for complex, organization-specific provisioning scenarios, such as hybrid cloud environments, legacy system integrations, or compliance-driven configurations. Here's our take.

Device Provisioning Service

Nice Pick

Developers should use DPS when building IoT solutions that require automated, secure provisioning of large numbers of devices, such as in industrial automation, smart cities, or connected vehicles

Pros

• It is essential for scenarios where devices need to be deployed without on-site configuration, reducing operational overhead and ensuring scalability
• Related to: azure-iot-hub, azure-iot-central

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

Custom Provisioning Solutions

Developers should learn or use custom provisioning solutions when standard tools like Terraform, Ansible, or cloud-native services are insufficient for complex, organization-specific provisioning scenarios, such as hybrid cloud environments, legacy system integrations, or compliance-driven configurations

Pros

• They are essential in large enterprises with unique operational constraints, enabling automation of repetitive tasks, reducing manual errors, and ensuring consistency across deployments
• Related to: infrastructure-as-code, configuration-management

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

The Verdict

These tools serve different purposes. Device Provisioning Service is a platform while Custom Provisioning Solutions is a tool. We picked Device Provisioning Service based on overall popularity, but your choice depends on what you're building.

The Bottom Line

Device Provisioning Service wins

Based on overall popularity. Device Provisioning Service is more widely used, but Custom Provisioning Solutions excels in its own space.