All You Need to Know about Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)

Industrial IoT or Industrial Internet of Things denotes the use of IoT across all industry sectors including logistics, manufacturing, oil & gas, mining & metals, and aviation. The concept of Industry 4.0 is based on IoT and other related technologies. As companies strive for maintaining a subtle balance between quality and productivity, IIoT helps them while bringing automation and maintaining the pace of production. 

The Industrial IoT (IIoT) covers many use cases and applications. It opens the doors to multiple opportunities for forward-looking entrepreneurs. On one hand, they can focus on optimizing operational efficiency through automation, and on the other hand, they can explore new possibilities of combining emerging technologies. Be it automation, optimization, remote asset management, control, or maintenance, IIoT has a vital role to play. 

IIoT also facilitates enterprises to ensure that they can give improved customer services and create new revenue models. As a result, modern companies can leverage the benefits of digital transformation. In this article, we are going to dig deep into the Industrial IoT concept and its evaluation. But, before moving forward, let’s start with some interesting facts.  

Quick Stats

• Approximately 152,200 devices will be connected to the Internet per minute by 2025
• Over 83% of organizations have improved overall efficiency by introducing IoT
• The consumer IoT market is expected to reach $142 billion by 2026 at a 17% CAGR
• The healthcare IoT market is expected to reach $534 billion by 2025

In this digital age, Industrial IoT can play a crucial role along with big data and cloud technologies. 

Industrial IoT Concept- Role and Importance

Simply put, Industrial IoT (IIoT) is about leveraging the benefits of IoT from the context of industrial transformation. Earlier, the IIoT concept was used to make a distinction between actual usage, specific technologies, and use cases for smart manufacturing.

Today, enterprise IoT apps and consumer IoT apps are based on IIoT and are useful for smart manufacturing. What’s more, IIoT solutions gain popularity for offering cross-industry benefits. 

Industrial IoT platforms also support various recent use cases including digital twins and AR-based remote assistance solutions. Both Industrial IoT and Consumer IoT can enable companies to leverage several forms of connectivity and advanced solutions based on emerging technologies. 

An industrial giant GE has coined the term Industrial Internet for describing transformation in the connected context of machines, advanced analytics, AI, people, IoT, EDGE computing, and the like. This comprehensive definition indicates that Industrial IoT is an umbrella term and it is the same as Industry 4.0 in many ways. 

IIoT or the Industrial Internet is the third wave of industrial innovation that comes after the Industrial Revolution and Internet Revolution. The core focus in most IIoT deployments across various organizations is still on operational efficiency and cost-effectiveness, but, nowadays, entrepreneurs also consider the rise in productivity and ROI over the period. Along with this, efficiency optimization and automation links are the key drivers for IIoT deployment. 

Though we witness a sharp and significant rise in the popularity of the IIoT concept, it is necessary to make a more holistic approach that has additional goals set for achieving more revenue and innovation.

Such a strategy can pave the way for tangible results and innovative solutions while disrupting the strategy of your competitors. Implementation of IIoT can assist companies to survive the uncertain and complex phase of the market.  

IIoT across Core Industry Sectors

Industrial Internet, Industry 4.0, or IIoT deals with data and assists companies to run production cycles effectively. As the biggest and most promising trends,  IIoT can work wonders across all industry sectors. 

Manufacturing

It is the largest industry from the perspective of IoT spending. Be it software, hardware, services, or connectivity, IoT spending in the sector is at an all-time high in the manufacturing sector. Asset management, asset maintenance, and field support services are some of the top use cases of IIoT in the manufacturing sector. Looking forward, we may witness advanced solutions based on these trends. 

Logistics & Transportation

After manufacturing, the second largest market of IoT spending is logistics & transportation. The T&L (Transportation & Logistics) firms focus on enhancing the value chain with the help of advanced, real-time communication and robust monitoring systems.

IoT applications remain helpful to transportation companies in meeting this objective. Today, the transportation market spends over $80 billion on IoT and this number is increasing rapidly. 

The logistics sector primarily spends on a digital supply chain and connected logistics. Both these trends are gaining ground quite swiftly in the T&L sector to assist the manufacturing units.

Still, many players in both manufacturing and logistics sectors lack digital strategy, but they want to speed up digital transformation efforts. In such a situation, chances are high that companies in these two sectors will invest heavily in IIoT in the coming years. 

Talking about the supply chain transformation, it becomes mandatory for almost all industry sectors. It is simply because the supply chain is the backbone for all industries and the pandemic has increased the importance of supply chain management like never before.

This is a major reason why over 20 percent of digital transformation costs go to supply chain transformation in the transportation and logistics sector. It is fair to mention that the Internet of Things will play a crucial role in transforming supply chains globally. 

Energy and Utilities

The energy and utility sector is also one of the biggest beneficiaries of Industrial IoT. Oil & Gas, power, and smart grid have many use cases based on IIoT. As mentioned above, the IIoT plays a key role in transforming supply chains, and the energy sector can leverage its benefits in terms of improved consumer services. Data-driven techniques and regulatory norms also demand IIoT along with other emerging technologies.  

Data-enabled services, possibilities in remote areas, and predictive maintenance are some of the future scopes for IIoT. Be it offering services or optimizing operations, IIoT is useful across all major industries including healthcare, oil & gas, mining, metals, aviation, robotics, and agriculture.

The concept of smart cities and smart industries can be materialized with the right implementation of IIoT.

Though IIoT adoption has several barriers and IoT app development service providers need to meet many challenges, the future of IIoT is bright. As per the Accenture estimate, the IIoT could add $14.2 trillion to the global economy by the year 2030.

Some of the top benefits of IIoT adoption include reduced downtime, improved operational efficiency, and proper asset utilization. All you need to consult a reputed and reliable IoT solutions provider to leverage all the benefits of IIoT for your organization.