Industrial IOT or the Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT) is a vital element of industry 4.0 and Industrial Internet of Things is Future of Sustainable Industry. IIOT harness the power of smart machines and real-time analysis to make better use of the data that industrial machines have been churning out for years. The principle driver of IIOT is a smart machine for two reasons.
- The first is that smart machines capture and analyze data in real-time, which humans cannot.
- The second is that smart machines communicate their findings in a manner that is simple and fast, enabling faster and more accurate business decisions.
Why should organizations adopt industrial IOT?
Industrial IOT enables organizations to get a wealth of actionable data from their operations. When properly aggregated and analyzed, data helps better control operations, with the potential to:
- Improve worker safety.
- Increase production uptime by predictive maintenance of machinery.
- Maintain product quality.
- Help ensure regulatory compliance.
- Improve operational efficiencies.
- Accelerate response times with real-time collection and processing of operational data.
How is Industrial IOT different from other types of IOT?
- IIOT connects machines and devices in industries such as manufacturing, transportation, oil and gas, power generation and transmission, mines and ports.
- Commercial, enterprise or consumer IOT also simply known as IOT are used to describe connected devices within homes and office spaces such as cameras, badge readers and HVAC control system.
- Failure of IIOT can have catastrophic consequences, creating high risk and potentially life-threating situations.
- Downtime of other IOT devices may result in inconveniences but it does not usually cause emergency situations.
Role of IT in Industrial IOT
IIOT can have a major impact on operations, ranging from production downtime to compromising workers safety or damaging the environment. IIOT installations benefit from rigorous IT processes, tools and best practices. It can scale and secure IIOT deployments to help ensure success.
A Reliable Network
- Organizations rely more and more on the quantity and quality of data they get from their operations.
- IT must strive to ensure that a reliable network with sufficient bandwidth capacity is in place so time-sensitive data can be transmitted without delay to applications in data centers or the cloud.
- For Example; Although Ethernet cables may connect devices commonly found on the factory floor, wireless technologies such as 5G, 4G LTE, NFC, RFID, Bluetooth, NB-IOT, LoRa WAN, and Wi-SUN may be required for connectivity.
Intelligent Network Control
- The network for IIOT must be kept highly available. IIOT devices may be numerous and spread across a large geographical area, but a network controller can automate networking equipment deployment and keep configuration consistent and firmware updated.
- It can also help ensure that devices are performing to expectations and guide administrations to take corrective actions if not.
- Network controllers that have served IT well in the past could serve IIOT equally well.
Security of Critical Resources
- As IT and IIOT networks converge, security practices must also converge.
- Protecting IIOT is best done with a comprehensive, integrated security solution rather than a multitude of point products.
- The same proven security tools that IT has deployed over the years can benefit IIOT as well.
Applications of IIOT
IIOT is a game-changer for any industry in manufacturing that produces physical products or manage product transportation. IIOT can increase operational efficiencies, which in turn paves the way to create completely new business models. Industrial Internet of Things is Future of Sustainable Industry. It has a range of applications in a cross-section of in industries.
Production
- Currently production sectors use IIOT technology the most.
- Smart machines, enabled with IIOT, can self-monitor and anticipate possible production hurdles.
- This results in lowered downtime and better efficiency.
Smart Chain
- While keeping up production numbers is important, smooth delivery across the supply chain is also crucial.
- With IIOT, orders can automatically replenish stocks when needed. This reduces waste, maintains stock numbers and makes sure the right amount of raw materials area always available.
- With the automation of supply chains and ordering, employees can focus on more complex areas of functioning.
Building Management
- Most building management issues can be addressed with IIOT technology.
- Sensor-driven climate control removes all the uncertainty related to managing a building’s internal climate and takes all needed factors into consideration such as the number of people, ventilation spots, machinery and more.
- IIOT enhances building security with smart devices that assess possible threats from any entry points of a building.
Healthcare
- Healthcare has embraced smart devices for a long time now.
- Healthcare professionals can remotely monitor patients and are alerted by any status change.
- This makes healthcare more precise and personal. In the future, artificial intelligence may be able to assist with diagnose, enabling doctors to treat patients more accurately and effectively.
Retail
- IIOT technology in retail enables quick marketing decisions specific to each store.
- Companies can update storefronts on region-specific consumer interests and they can target audiences with smarter promotions.
- These data-driven insights make a store stand out from its competition.
- Sensors are not new technology as companies have used them to track goods or monitor machines for years.
- The differences IIOT is the ability to adopt these changes on a large scale due to the lowered costs of sensors, comprehensive wiring networks and big-data analytics.
- Globally, manufacturers spend $197 billion yearly on IIOT, according to tech analyst IDC.
- Transport companies alone have invested around $71 billion in it.
- Companies are setting aside budgets for IIOT, but how they spend these budgets varies from one company to another, based on their priorities.
Benefits of IIOT
IOT is a network of smart devices and via networks that are linked to database and have multiple benefits. Industrial Internet of Things is Future of Sustainable Industry. These devices monitor, collect, exchange and analyze data. A typical IIOT system comprise of:
- Smart equipment that measure, stores and communicates information.
- Public or private internet networks that serve as a data communication structure.
- Analytical applications that process raw data into data insights for optimized processes.
- Tools that help decision-makers and employees utilize data for better business outcomes.
How does IIOT works?
- Dataflow is crucial to ensuring that IIOT applications work optimally. To aid dataflow, companies use a database to distribute and manage real-time data.
- This technology paves the way for application and devices to work together as a cohesive unit.
- While a database manages historical data at rest, a database manages data in motion.
- IIOT streamline and automates processes, which increase business productivity.
- It improves operational efficiently, lowers operational costs and increase income-generation.
- Better automation level enhanced product quality and this combined with efficient operations, assists with predictive maintenance.
- With IIOT, the chance of creating new revenue stream is much higher. Data insights can provide information into how it runs operation can resolve little-known inefficiencies to enhance productivity.
- Performance or usage data leads to newer products or services.
- For Example; manufacturers can work asset-sharing models with other manufacturers. This resource sharing optimized space and production capabilities while saving costs. Similarly, IIOT devices can monitor and better manage an HVAC system.
- IIOT works on improving productivity and quality, without burdening resources. This helps immensely with business expansion.
Security Considerations and Challenges with IIOT
- The adoption of IIOT can revolutionize industries, but this increased connectivity can create additional security issues.
- Companies that work with operational technologies understand the importance of worker safety and product quality.
- But, with the integration of operations, the internet, automation and smart machines.
- Increase in smart devices particularly employee devices used for work give rise to a plethora of security vulnerabilities.
- Organizations are responsible for the secure implementation and set up for any connected devices.
- But devices manufacturers also have to prove they can keep devices safe, which is not often the case.
- Cyber-security issues are rising. Successful hackers can crack connected systems and potentially shut shown operations. To handle the security issue, manufacturing companies need to approach IIOT like any IT company would focus on the security of physical and digital components.
- Another challenges with IIOT adoption is securely integrating industrial operations with IT.
- User data has to be in sync with global privacy regulations.
- Gathering data is essential to generating essential insights for a company, but personal information needs to be separated and stored in encrypted database.
- Storing personal data with business data can lead to serious risks of exposure. The more connected an environment is, the higher the security risks:
- Software vulnerabilities are easy prey for hackers to attack.
- Devices and system connected to the internet to the internet are publicly searchable.
- Hacking attempts increase, leading to targeted attacks and data loss.
- Operations are disrupted from system manipulation or sabotage attempts.
- System malfunction results in device damage or worse still, physical damage to employees.
- Extortion attempts resulting from compromised operational technologies.
- Increased fines if private information is made public against regulations.
How Companies can Implement IIOT Intelligently?
Even with all of these concerns, IIOT is still the way forward for organizations to remain relevant and competitive. Companies can take full advantage of its benefits by using methodical research, implementation and maintenance. Without a doubt, one key area of focus is cyber-security. Industrial Internet of Things is Future of Sustainable Industry. A lack of security can undermine all IIOT potential leaving a business pen to tremendous risk. Security design is needed in key areas:
A Centralized Security Operations Centre
- A company keen to implement IIOT must have a security operations center (SOC) in place.
- This will proactively monitor and defined against a broad spectrum of threats.
- A centralized set up allows enterprise to tackle numerous red flags and ensures quick responses.
- These centers are the best for organizations that require increased visibility and non-stop analysis of their security positions.
- Pre-empting security incidents is the key of preventing any compromise. With this approach, companies can improve and update legacy system.
Recruiting Security Experts to Mitigate Threats
Industrial Internet of Things is Future of Sustainable Industry and following are the ways to mitigate the threats:
- A with any technology-based field, the IT threat landscape is constantly evolving and organizations have to have new threats.
- To prepare, companies adopting IIOT, need to create a dedicated security team that constantly works on the protection of operational technology.
- This is a specialized field and that requires experts.
- These IT security experts can jointly work on predicting the next possible attack and put measure in place to ensure it does not happen.
Full-Stack Protection
        Industrial Internet of Things is Future of Sustainable Industry and it is a full stack of security needs to be built into the key layers of IIOT:
The Device: This layer consist of IIOT devices and the associated applications supplied by various manufacturers and services providers. IIOT adopters should know how manufacturers and service providers use, transmit and store data. If there is a security breach, manufacturers and service providers must be able to immediately notify companies.
The Networks: The network area has a gateway through which data is gathered from devices. Organizations need to have state-of-the-art intrusion prevention system (IPSs) in place to check for potential attacks. This gateway is placed at the control center, sending out commands to various devices. It is critical that’s security measures are placed at the control center to protect against malware infections and hackers.
The Cloud: Providers need to have security that runs server-based protection system. These systems should:
- Constantly, monitor for malware infections.
- Detect threats and anomalies early on.
- Prevent proactive threats and attacks between IT and operational technologies.
- Ensure secure data transfer.
- Implement advanced IPS to prevent vulnerabilities.
- Ensure server and application protection in both the data center and the cloud.
