The Internet of Things (IoT) and cloud computing infrastructure are synonymous in contemporary computing, insomuch as the phenomena relate to “big data.” It is quite evident that IoT would revolutionize the world. Linking IoT-based services with smart city performance in terms of resources, environment (air, water, and so on), and infrastructure (sewage, transport, utilities, and so on) is not new. Often, the IoT is termed as pathways for “real-time” transaction-based devices so that quick and on-time responses to manage smart cities can be facilitated. The role of IoT, IoT architectures, and related user service orientation have attracted researchers, academia, and incubators (leading to business propositions), who wish to understand the scope for optimized use of these devices. While IoT services are poised to transform the computing scenario, it is important to note that no model is perfect in terms of optimization, benchmarks, and deliveries. Examination of these attributes and validations of models have a primary relationship with software engineering principles and architectures.

In this paper, the authors test the CARIoT model and showcase the results in terms of ecosystem performance in which IoT growth is enormous. The authors very succinctly use software engineering principles and processes to justify their model, explaining the rationale, context, and architectures and presenting use cases. Their experiment also showcases the improvements in managing overheads (time and delay) and concludes that the CARIoT model provides flexibility and generality by providing different levels of context-based abstractions to handle services and real-time data.

The paper provides very systematic descriptions of software engineering principles and would really help any researcher interested in software engineering architectures, process modeling, and testing. While meeting these expectations, the work would have emphatically contributed to the outcome validations had its total cost of ownership (TCO) been examined in terms of cost, security, and life cycles of the devices.