Sensing technology is a cornerstone for many industrial applications. Manufacturing plants and engineering facilities, such as shipboard engine rooms, require sensors to ensure product quality and efficient and safe operation. We focus on one representative application, preventative equipment maintenance, in which vibration signatures are gathered to predict equipment failure. Based on application requirements and site surveys, we develop a general architecture for this class of industrial applications. This architecture meets the application’s data fidelity needs through careful state preservation and over-sampling. We describe the impact of implementing the architecture on two sensing platforms with differing processor and communication capabilities. We present a systematic performance comparison between these platforms in the context of the application. We also describe our experience and lessons learned in two settings: in a semiconductor fabrication plant and onboard an oil tan...