Smart manufacturing with automation

Internet of Industrial Things: The Four Functional Facets

At Frost & Sullivan, we understand that the IIoT needs to be built across the four functional pillars, namely, Industrial Convergence, Services 2.0, Supply Chain Evolution, and Business Ecosystem. It can be defined as a new manufacturing framework that will be a confluence of technologies, collaborative exercises, and process innovations.

 

Convergence can be considered as a mature trend that has evolved from the concept of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). Everyday millions of devices are being connected across the value chain of diverse industrial sectors. End users are constantly establishing robust connectivity across these assets, people, and enterprise systems to completely leverage the benefits from convergence of Information Technology (IT) and Operational Technology (OT). This convergence is poised to erase the existing data flow restrictions across different layers of enterprise systems. This paradigm shift would also create a unified approach of data transmission across multiple platforms. This integration of data is also likely to create large-scale data management systems, applications, and analytical platforms throughout the industrial value chain. Furthermore, the intricate processes that have evolved from convergence would require high-quality analysis and testing before being implemented into the targeted environments.

 

Industry Convergence: The coming together of the worlds of information technology and operational technology is defined as industry convergence. The convergence of IT and OT can further be extended to include the telecommunication sector — a fast growing segment with regard to technology and market revenue. Technologies such as 2G, 3G, 4G, Wifi, and Bluetooth 4.0, which were designed to meet the growing needs of the commercial market, are now being leveraged by industries to manage their data-flow requirements.

 

Five key value additions that the telecommunication segment brings to the industrial segment are better connectivity, data flow intelligence, reliability, improved efficiency, and better user experience. Telecommunication technology platforms and infrastructure are poised to become critical pillars for successful execution of IIoT-based applications in the industrial environment. In the years ahead, IIoT-based solution providers are expected to capitalize on advanced telecommunication platforms to address the peripheral issues of process, discrete, and hybrid industries.

 

Services 2.0: The concept of connected operations across multiple industries has enabled the integration of the services segments, thus creating an ecosystem of services. The new service models are more oriented to match platform-based solution architectures; moreover, their key value proposition encompasses process-based applications. The multifarious service models require complex functionalities for execution, paving way for commercial ICT applications to enter the industrial services space. The future of services can be visualized as an ecosystem of business systems and strategies to execute optimized operations supported by the technologies developed through the IIoT approach. As a result, models such as Software as Service (SaaS) and Product as a Service (PaaS) would be the new business propositions that enable end users to address challenges surrounding operational expenditure.

 

Supply Chain Evolution: The manufacturing supply chain segment is another key aspect that will be completely transformed by the IIoT wave. The traditional commodity-driven supply chain model would reinvent itself to become technology- and service-driven platforms. Furthermore, non-industrial services partners such as ICT service providers would play a crucial role in the future of supply chain activities. The existing supply chain design is a collection of collaborative network models that involve competitors and vendors focused towards product-based and strategic value additions. The next generation of IIoT-based supply-chain models will comprise an extended ecosystem that includes both industrial and non-industrial suppliers. Open source frameworks would support the platforms built for such supply chain models.

 

Business Ecosystem: The confluence of IT, OT, and telecommunications is expected to result in fundamental changes across the competitor landscape. This new business ecosystem will involve new synergies, collaborations, coopetition, and competitions between industrial suppliers, ICT vendors, measurement and instrumentation providers, and banking and financial organizations.