---
title: Platform Overview
description: How the ControlCom Connect platform is structured: Organizations, Devices, Variables, Assets, and the way data moves from the edge to the cloud.
source: https://documentation.controlcomtech.com/platform/overview
---

# Platform Overview

ControlCom Connect is built around a hierarchical structure of organizations, devices, assets, and variables that work together to provide a complete IoT monitoring and control solution. This overview explains how these components relate to each other and form the foundation of the platform.

![The Dashboards page in ControlCom Connect, showing the platform navigation and a dashboard list](https://documentation.controlcomtech.com/images/dashboards/01-dashboards-list.png)

*The ControlCom Connect platform: navigation on the left, your dashboards and data in the main view*

## Platform Structure

ControlCom Connect organizes your IoT ecosystem into a logical hierarchy:

1. **Organizations** - The top-level container for all your resources
2. **Locations** - Physical locations where your assets and devices are installed
3. **Devices** - Physical IoT devices that connect to the platform
4. **Assets** - Physical or logical entities that you monitor and control
5. **Variables** - Data points collected from devices or calculated virtually

This hierarchical structure allows for efficient organization, access control, and data management across your entire IoT deployment.

## Core Components

### Organizations

Organizations are the top-level entities in ControlCom Connect. They represent your company, department, or any logical grouping of resources. Key aspects of organizations include:

* Multi-tenant architecture with complete data isolation
* Role-based access control for users
* Customizable branding and settings
* Billing and subscription management
* Organization-wide dashboards and reports

[Learn more about Organizations](https://documentation.controlcomtech.com/platform/organizations)

### Devices

Devices are the physical IoT hardware that connects to the ControlCom Connect platform. They can include:

* Sensors and data collection equipment
* Controllers and actuators
* Gateways and edge devices
* Industrial equipment with IoT capabilities

Devices have properties such as:

* Online/offline status
* Location information
* Health monitoring
* Firmware and configuration management

[Learn more about Devices](https://documentation.controlcomtech.com/platform/devices)

### Locations

Locations represent the physical places where your assets and devices are installed. They provide geographical context and organizational structure to your IoT deployment. Key aspects of locations include:

* Geographic coordinates (latitude/longitude)
* Map visualization with customizable zoom level and orientation
* Association with physical addresses
* Grouping of related assets and devices
* Custom dashboards and diagrams for location-specific monitoring

Locations help you organize your IoT ecosystem by physical space, making it easier to manage distributed installations and visualize your deployment geographically.

[Learn more about Locations](https://documentation.controlcomtech.com/platform/locations)

### Assets

Assets represent the physical or logical entities that you monitor and control. They can be:

* Physical equipment (generators, HVAC systems, etc.)
* Logical groupings of equipment
* Utility services

Assets can be associated with multiple devices and variables, allowing you to create a digital representation of your physical infrastructure. Assets can be grouped by location for better organization and management.

[Learn more about Assets](https://documentation.controlcomtech.com/platform/assets)

### Variables

Variables are the individual data points collected from devices or calculated virtually. They include:

* **Device Variables** - Raw data collected directly from devices
* **Virtual Variables** - Calculated values derived from other variables

Variables have properties such as:

* Data type (string, number, boolean)
* Units of measurement
* Historical logging configuration
* Alarm thresholds

[Learn more about Variables](https://documentation.controlcomtech.com/platform/variables)

## Component Relationships

The diagram below shows how the core components fit together, from the organization at the top down to the alarms, dashboards, diagrams, and reports that consume your data.

In detail, the components relate to each other in the following ways:

* **Organizations** contain users, locations, devices, assets, and all other resources
* **Locations** belong to an organization and group related assets and devices by physical space
* **Devices** belong to an organization and receive their data either from the ControlCom Edge Server or from custom hardware that pushes readings through the API
* **Variables** belong to a device (or are created virtually at the organization level) and hold the individual data points that device reports
* **Assets** belong to an organization and are built by combining variables, often from one or more devices, into a representation of a piece of equipment
* **Alarms** monitor variables and trigger notifications when conditions are met
* **Dashboards** visualize data from variables across devices and assets
* **Diagrams** provide SCADA-like one-line visualizations of systems and processes
* **Reports** aggregate data from variables for compliance and analysis

To make this concrete, the example below follows data from the field into the platform. Sensors on a boiler and its feedwater pump are read by the ControlCom Edge Server, which sends the values to the platform and creates five variables (custom devices can push their data through the API instead). Three of those variables describe the boiler and two describe the pump, so they combine into two separate assets: the boiler and the pump. Once the variables exist, they are also what alarms, dashboards, diagrams, and reports are built from.

This interconnected structure allows for flexible modeling of your physical infrastructure and efficient data management.

## Edge and Cloud

The ControlCom Edge Server is the bridge between your equipment and the platform. It is a standalone application that runs on a computer on your local network and does not depend on cloud connectivity: it gathers data from the field devices around it, stores readings locally, and forwards them to ControlCom Connect when a connection is available. If the unit disconnects or the site goes offline, the local system keeps working as expected and no data is lost.

Visibility does not have to wait for the cloud either. Edge HMI panels are installed on local machines that need visibility and connect directly to the Edge Server, so operators on site see live values and controls even while the site is offline.

To go deeper, see [Edge Server Getting Started](https://documentation.controlcomtech.com/build/edge-server/getting-started), [Edge Server Management](https://documentation.controlcomtech.com/platform/devices/edge-server), and [Edge HMI](https://documentation.controlcomtech.com/platform/devices/edge-hmi).

## Resources

## Guides