A plurality of devices are detected within range of a particular device, and capabilities of each of the plurality of devices are determined, as well as a respective taxonomy to be associated with each device based on the device's capabilities. A set of asset abstractions are identified, referenced by a particular software application configured to manage a particular machine-to-machine network. Each asset abstraction can correspond to a respective one of the set of taxonomies, and the particular machine-to-machine network can be built from an instance of each one of the set of asset abstractions. A subset of the plurality of devices can be selected for deployment in the particular machine-to-machine network based on the associated taxonomies, the subset of devices representing an instance of each one of the set of asset abstractions. The subset of devices are then automatically deployed to implement the instance of the particular machine-to-machine network.