The evolution of Information Technology, commonly termed as the third revolution in the industrial sector, has elicited one of its greatest applications in the industrial history. The IoT has been perceived as the ground zero of the new phase of the industrial revolution powered by innovation, technology and connected products. Big data Analytics, one of the significant elements of the Industrial IoT has witnessed colossal amount of investments in the past few years. A large chunk of MNCs are already investing more than 20 percent of their annual technology budget on Big Data Analytics.
The Industrial internet of Things (IIoT) alludes to an interface designed for bringing together the physical world of machines with the digital world. It is a network that connects industrial devices to each other and enables communication and observation on the basis of the data patterns and information shared by these devices through a common server. The analysis of the information or data received from the industrial devices is used to improve the performance of the industrial processes that can finally bolster the production efficiency and reduce operational costs.
The short term impact of adapting the IIoT by the companies would be in terms of operational efficiency and data monetization. These short term goals if attained and fall in line with the organization’s objectives are likely to accelerate demand for Industrial internet of things. It will also be influential in paving the way for IIoT into more complex applications thereby turning its deployment into a long term strategy. According to IndustryARC analysis, the long term impact of IIoT is in steadily altering the competitive landscape of the industries and in turn creating an outcome based economy.
Security and safety of the stored information is one of the biggest challenges IIoT is currently facing before a significant uptake is witnessed in adaptation by various industry verticals. The rate of data breaches and hackings have considerably increased in past few years and the extent of the damage occurred poses massive threat to the IIoT deployment.
Apart from security, IIoT can only be adopted if the manufacturers follow consistent industrial standards prepared by an organization. Similar products manufactured by different companies need to follow a certain standard that will allow them to work under a common platform. A product to be functional under IIoT should adopt data centric designs that will focus both on receiving as well as generating data.
The outcome based economy developed by the long term adaptation of IIoT will require transformations in the business models designed by the industrial equipment manufacturers. The transition from product oriented to service oriented model is a constraint confining IIoT adaptation.
The fate of the IIoT market depends on adaptability and capacity to incorporate new innovation. It will change the premise of internal competition, requiring OEMs to shift from a conventional business model to an outcome based model. As the Industrial IoT has uncovered promising applications in every industry, it has attracted substantial levels of venture capital.
For the Industrial IoT to achieve its full potential, industry segments should work together all the more intimately with innovation pioneers and regulatory bodies to put in place the standards and strategies required to empower further investments.
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About the Author: Kaukab Ibrahim is a Strategic Consultant in the Electronics & Automotive team of IndustryARC in India with around two years of experience in Consulting and Market Research. He has authored reports on Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, Touch Based Human Machine Interface and Industrial Robotics. Kaukab completed his MBA degree from Balaji Institute of Modern Management, Pune.
Edited by
Ken Briodagh
