IoT developers handle data integration by following several protocols and technologies like gathering data from various sources, preprocessing the raw data for further analysis, storing the data in the database, transmitting the data to central servers, and integrating the data with other data sources or third-party APIs. Some of the commonly used integration protocols are MQTT (Message Queue Telemetry Transport), CoAP (Constrained Application Protocol), XMPP (Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol), AMQP (Advanced Message Queuing Protocol) and DDS (Data Distribution Service).
Data integration is crucial in IoT development as it allows devices to connect through an IoT gateway and allow quick handling of bulk data and analysis continuously to improve decision making, automate key business workflows, and enhance operational efficiency and overall performance of the IoT systems.