What is industrial IoT?
- Is used in industrial applications such as manufacturing, utilities etc. This implies that the solution is used on high-value equipment, it is paid for by a company rather than an individual, and it is used for a business-critical activity where the cost of failure is high.
- Requires very high reliability and security, from the sensor through to the transmission, storage and analysis of the data collected.
- Involves a large number of sensors and massive amounts of data which generally requires a sophisticated architecture involving ‘very large cloud’ capability, ‘edge’ and/or ‘fog’ components, and product access and data routing controls.
- Needs to comply with a range of international standards for communication and data transfer.
The key aspect of industrial IoT is that the application software is ‘connected’ – via communications networks, including but not confined to the internet – to physical items or ‘things’ such as products, building or production lines, that can be grouped into ‘Connected Market Areas’
Designing, building and operating an IoT solution
Designing and building the industrial IoT solution
Software tools are required to design, develop, test and manage the hardware, software, production, delivery and use processes for the product.
However many instances of the product are made, these tools are used to support the product development which happens once per new version or engineering change. Of course, engineering the connected product is just one – very important – part of the project. An IoT solution is often part of a wider initiative such as ‘digital transformation’ or ‘digitalisation’ that involves other technologies and change – both organisational and commercial.
Operating an industrial IoT system
An operational industrial IoT system involves some combination of the six layers, including the smart connected devices, the connectivity and the servers. These components are in continuous use once the system is operational and are triggered by events, conditions and operator actions all translated into digital messages racing around the network.
These new IoT concepts have led to a new range of payment models as discussed in a later section.
Digital Transformation and the IoT
Manufacturers are defining and prioritising IoT projects in exactly the same way as they would treat any new technology – “it can be done” doesn’t mean “it should be done”: they either need to build a business case or agree to invest in a strategic change project, such as digital transformation, in order to stay ahead of the competition.
IoT projects can offer whole new business models such as ‘product-as-a-service’ or ‘power by the hour’, so the right people need to be involved to assess the opportunity and develop ideas to fit their organisation’s priorities, timescales, budgets and culture.
The six layers of the industrial IoT
- Mechanical parts
- Electronics, software, sensors and actuators
- Connectivity
- Product access and data routing
- Product-specific software applications
- Enterprise applications
The main providers of industrial IoT technologies
Industrial IoT Solutions depend on providers working together – the ‘ecosystem’ is a collection of providers offering different products and services. We identify three main categories of companies offering solutions for industrial IoT:
- ‘Established’ companies
- IoT start-ups
- System Integrators / Management Consultants
Find out more here
How big is the IIoT market?
Cambashi`s latest IoT market analysis report shows an $11bn market growing at 19.8% CAGR from 2020-24, identifies leading players, and analyses trends.
The Impact of Covid-19 on the industrial IoT
No-one can accurately predict the social and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic but, by combining economic scenarios with Cambashi´s detailed datasets and prior experience, we can assess its impact on the engineering, manufacturing, and industrial (‘Technical Applications’) software markets in general, and industrial IoT (IIoT) in particular. Find out more here
Challenges in industrial IoT
- Resolving key challenges will be essential to enable IoT to satisfy more than the innovators, early adopters, and pilot projects of the majority. In particular, developers and users need:
- Building a business case.
- Better, easier security.
- An accepted set of core standards.
- Familiarity with how to do business in a connected industry network.
- Fewer, more mature software/service offers described as ‘IoT platforms’.
- More engineering and software staff familiar with IoT technologies.
- The data ownership issue.
| Issues (What we’re hearing) | Implication | Possible Reason(s) |
| FROM PROVIDERS: | ||
| “Our corporate IoT/DT strategy isn’t getting through to the field/sales force, and they’re just not putting the message out to their customers”. | Although we’ve worked out the corporate strategy, the industry marketing/sales teams aren’t selling it to customers so they’re not buying. | The field force don’t understand the technology or how to apply it. |
| “Our customers don’t want to hear about ‘IoT platforms’ or ‘Digital Transformation’; they think it’s just hype”. | The sales teams can’t get meetings with cynical influencers or decision-makers, so they concentrate on selling what they already have and know. | Customers don’t think ‘IoT’ or ‘Digital Transformation’ will deliver value, or they’re afraid of ‘death by pilot’. |
| “Even though they want to use IoT in an application, our customers get confused by all the different ‘IoT’ offerings”. | Customers tend to delay buying if they are confused. | Unclear explanation of what is being offered, what the costs are and implementation requirements. |
| “We don’t know what are the ‘hot’ market areas to go for; IoT can be applied in so many markets and industries…” | It’s not clear where to focus the marketing / sales effort. | Insufficient understanding of the relative cost-benefit of IoT in different market areas (also, the market is immature so difficult to measure/predict). |
| “I don’t trust anyone’s industrial IoT numbers or methodology” | How can sales managers build a credible sales plan that everyone believes in? | Lack of reliable, granular market data. |
| FROM CUSTOMERS: | ||
| “We don’t know how to go about implementing an ‘IoT’ or ‘DT’ solution, nor even the prices and capabilities of the products on offer” | Customers tend to delay buying if they are confused. | The available solutions are not described or made available in the way the customer wants. |
| We can’t show a RoI / it’s not a priority. | ||
| We don’t have a budget… | ||
| We don’t have the skills to implement IoT or Digital Transformation. |
Check Industrial IoT and Connected Applications Market Portfolio here