Industrial internet of things (IIoT) is a system comprising networked smart objects, cyber-physical assets, associated generic information technologies and optional cloud or edge computing platforms, which enable real-time, intelligent, and autonomous access, collection, analysis, communications, and exchange of process, product and service information, within the industrial environment, so as to optimize overall production value. This value may include; improving product or service delivery, boosting productivity, reducing labor costs, reducing energy consumption, and reducing the build-to-order cycle.
As of today, IIoT is completely changing the strength of major industries by adding a new level of technology that helps companies in the United States and Europe to optimize operations, track and analyze equipment, implement predictive maintenance, make sense of massive amounts of data, and make real-time decisions that was never before possible. This advancement has been characterized by the low cost of sensors, and the reliability of long-range wireless technology. IIoT innovations make it possible for the sensors to be used in various types of equipment, while long range networks provide connectivity across large distances. For instance, the global size of industrial internet of things (IIoT) market was valued at approximately USD 145.81 Billion in 2017 and this value is expected to reach approximately USD 232.15 Billion by 2023. The North America accounted for the largest market share in the IIoT industry with the United States implicated as the largest contributor in 2016.
The Industrial Internet of things is still at an early stage, compared to the stage where the internet was in the late 1990s. Survey results emphasize this point that the majority (88%) of respondents says that they still do not fully understand its underlying business models and long-term implications to their industries. While the evolution of the consumer Internet over the past two decades provides some important lessons, it is unclear how much of this learning is applicable to the Industrial Internet given its unique scope and requirements.
The majority of those involved are based in the United States and the country has increasingly understood the underlying benefits of using IIoT. Future acceptance of Industrial Internet of things in the United States will transform many industries, including manufacturing, oil and gas, agriculture, mining, transportation and health care. As society develops gradually towards an integrated digital-human workforce, the Industrial Internet will redefine the new types of new jobs to be created, and will reshape the nature of the work. The United States is developing next generation digital manufacturing applications which will require next-generation methods for monitoring both information technologies and operational technologies.
The European Commission has adopted a set of supporting policy actions to speed up the adoption of industrial IoT across the region for the next five years. For instance, the German government is sponsoring Industrie 4.0 a multi-year strategic initiative aimed at bringing together leaders from the public and private sectors to create a comprehensive vision and action plan for applying digital technologies to the German industrial sector. The conference of the European Commission in Brussels had representatives of European heavy industry, car manufacturers, appliance makers, telecoms, and legislators in attendance in order to discuss how to improve the continent’s competitiveness in IIoT, particularly when U.S. companies, like Apple and Google, seem to be making the most headway. The result of the conference was a new EU-backed alliance of European industry, including top automobile and telecommunication industries such as Phillips, Bosch, Orange, Alcatel, Nokia, Siemens, Telefonica and Volvo, to spur IIoT innovation.
At the same time, the European Union is working toward a single digital market by taking up existing telecom laws. The aim of the new legislation is to remove barriers to data transfers by renegotiating national structures in areas like e-commerce and copyright law. The industrial companies in Europe will invest 3.3% of their annual revenues in industrial internet solutions. The investment will be used along the entire value chain in order to achieve maximum success. More than 80% of the companies will have digitalized their value chain in order to allow high productivity and resource efficiency.
Written by Taylor Welsh, Content Writer at axcontrol.com
