The Opening Strings
What’s the Next-Gen Internet of Things? Is that what you’re guessing?? Well, it’s none other than the Industrial IoT, a subset of IoT driving deeper penetration of IoT technology in domains like manufacturing, healthcare, consumer electronics, and more. The trend of IIoT having gained considerable traction across markets is believed to establish a strong foothold, with the focus being redirected to concepts such as smart warehouses, industrial automation, connected logistics, and others.
Introduction
By shifting some light on the facts, it could be known that the global IIoT market that was valued at USD 161.14 billion in the Base Year of 2018 is expected to gain pace with a CAGR of 29.4% during the proposed time window. The reason behind this growth is assumed to be the rise of IoT-driven real-time data processing. Not only sober development, but Industrial IoT is also presumed to have a bright future, thanks to the exceptional benefits that it offers, such as saving on energy costs, maintenance costs, and waste while improving workforce productivity and service.
Additionally, IIoT displays a rich array of benefits like errors reduction, predictive maintenance, operational effectiveness, increased agility, quality control, safer operating environment, process optimization, customer satisfaction, and many more.
Let’s move forward and uncover the crux of IIoT, any challenges faced in its adoption, its benefits, technologies used, and much more in a well-spun series.
Challenges of Implementing IoT
While the world was quickly moving towards the adoption of advanced technologies, the scenario of COVID-19 has only made it quicker. Yes! Companies worldwide are in a race to embrace and harness the latest technological developments, especially IIoT, allowing them to manage their work with equal or even better efficiency remotely. Though Industrial IoT promises many merits to different sectors, the enterprises are facing a set of challenges in its adoption. Let’s take a glance at a few major challenges encountered and what do they mean:
A Challenge Contouring Heavy Investment, alongside High Ownership Cost:
Cost is the major hurdle that’s faced by businesses when adopting any technology. If we talk about IIoT, the cost of its products and devices, deployment, and maintenance is fairly high for companies to skip it for the time being.
A Highly Unfair Connectivity Ecosystem:
Do we get reliable data networks with sufficient capacity? For most businesses worldwide, the answer is a straight NO. But that’s the bitter aspect – IIoT works well within a quality connectivity environment. In the absence of better connectivity, the IoT-driven machines would not be able to collect data, transmit data for analysis, monitor machines and processes, identify issues, or likewise.
Challenges Across Cybersecurity Concerns:
What about data security? Ensuring the well-being of sensitive business data from data leakage, fraud, and likewise is not less challenging. Businesses fear the scenarios where the company data can get compromised – in such cases, the entire manufacturing could come to a standstill drawing losses from all over.
Drive Data Analysis The Right Way:
Companies could harness the full benefits of Industrial IoT when the industrial machines’ data is collected by way of sensors, IoT Gateways, and likewise to be analyzed further using Cloud-based analysis tools to provide for meaningful insights. For most enterprises, the raw data is not usually maintained in a structured and sufficient manner, leading to the challenge of managing and arranging the same for proper analysis.
The Challenge of Skill Shortage:
Hiring data scientists, IoT experts, or other qualified staff has become a task as the adoption of IIoT has occurred at a seriously faster pace than estimated, resulting in the lack of technical staff. This is also one of the major challenges due to which manufacturers do not opt for IIoT – it requires not only the lack of qualified personnel for setting up the technology but also for staff to design, deploy, and maintain the modern industrial networks.
Challenges are a must, and they can’t be avoided, but that doesn’t mean skipping the opportunity as well that lies behind the challenge. Here we bring you a few steps guiding as to how you can approach the Industrial IoT option for your business…
The Course of Action Towards IIoT Adoption:
The suggested course of action would include, just like any other plan, identifying the pain points or the key challenges that the manufacturer is looking forward to addressing with the IIoT technology, followed by selecting the right vendor that has successful experience in satiating the same goals as yours. This should string along with assuming confidence in new technology by training employees about the same and reassuring them that this addition would solve the pre-existing issues prevailing in the process.
Post the installation of the IIoT; it must be made sure that the staff employs the solution the optimum way, leading business to maximum benefits. Also, the predictability should be kept track of – this would help you let know whether the system is furnishing you with the exclusive benefits as per the KPIs laid out before the installation. And lastly, but more importantly, optimizing the technology through upgrades and additions for sustained performance.
Now, when you have learned the steps to be included for the smooth adoption of IIoT, it’s time to know which sectors have harnessed the benefits of the Industrial IoT and which applications could be driven with it. Take a look:
IIoT has proved beneficial to use in cases/scenarios like Smart Metering, Asset Tracking, Connected Vehicles, Fleet Management, Machine Monitoring, Inventory Monitoring & Management, Industry Environmental Conditions Monitoring, and many more.
Conclusion
While the applications of IIoT are improving industrial processes, the adoption of Industrial IoT solutions has also gained wide adoption by manufacturers and industrialists across industries. The final lines could be summed up as though the adoption of IIoT brings challenges to the manufacturers, but non-adoption of IIoT would threaten them in the long term. Hence, one should take an expert suggestion and help from technical persons but definitely indulge in the Industrial IoT approach. Teksun Inc has served numerous clients to achieve their dream of optimum production performance accompanied by IoT adoption. Connect with our technical mavens and get professional advice on how you can proceed with your IIoT project.
