https://www.iotworldtoday.com/wp-content/themes/ioti_child/assets/images/logo/footer-logo.png
  • Home
  • News
    • Back
    • IoT World 2020 News
  • Strategy
  • Special Reports
  • Galleries
  • Business Resources
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Industry Perspectives
    • Featured Vendors
  • Other Content
    • Back
    • IoT World 2020 News
    • Q&As
    • Case Studies
    • Features
    • How-to
    • Opinion
    • Video / Podcasts
  • More
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact
    • Advertise
    • Strategic Partners
  • IOT World Events
    • Back
    • Internet of Things World: San Jose
    • IoT World 2020 News
Iot World Today
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • News
    • Back
    • IoT World 2020 News
  • Strategy
  • Special Reports
  • Galleries
  • Business Resources
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • Industry Perspectives
    • Featured Vendors
  • Other Content
    • Back
    • IoT World 2020 News
    • Q&As
    • Case Studies
    • Features
    • How-to
    • Opinion
    • Video / Podcasts
  • More
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact
    • Advertise
    • Strategic Partners
  • IOT World Events
    • Back
    • Internet of Things World: San Jose
    • IoT World 2020 News
  • newsletter
  • IIoT
  • Cities
  • Energy
  • Homes/Buildings
  • Transportation/Logistics
  • Connected Health Care
  • Retail
  • AI
  • Architecture
  • Engineering/Development
  • Security
ioti.com

IIoT/Manufacturing


Robert St. Pierre, Thinkstock

Industrial plant at twilight

Top 5 Barriers to IIoT Adoptions and How to Overcome Them

When it comes to the Industrial Internet, the benefits are clear. Implementing a far-reaching digital transformation plan, however, is not.
  • Written by Dan Yarmoluk
  • 1st February 2017

New business models like 'power by the hour,' predictive maintenance, interacting directly with customers, and optimizing efficiency—the benefits of the Industrial Internet are great. But for the companies willing to take the plunge and launch Industrial Internet projects, mistakes are all too common. Here are five of the most common stumbling blocks:

1. Too Much Attention on the Technology Stack or Informational Technology (IT)

Most vendors fit somewhere in the technology stack from things, connectivity, platforms, applications and analytics. For the mid-tier industrial world, it's hard to decipher the big picture on how and where to start. Thus, the IoT industry is heavily focused on what appears to be gadgets and not making it relevant to the particular business verticals themselves, appearing expensive and intimidating. While one must understand the pieces and costs, focus on the desired outcome and peel back the onion one layer at a time. As a manager or executive, you want to use data and information to influence human behavior (a maintenance technician preempting a costly pump failure through use of data alerts and trending analysis). 

2. Conservative Technology Culture or Too Much Focus on Operational Technology (OT)

A second major barrier has to do with the expertise and culture of industrial organizations, which is a focus on operations, or Operational Technology (OT). Industrial organizations as Operational Technology companies are at direct odds philosophically with Informational Technology (IT) organizations. Whereas IT is defined by constant change and innovation, OT is change- and risk-averse. That’s why it’s not unusual to see industrial automation systems in service for decades at a time with little or no change. In a world where any downtime of production systems can have a devastating impact on revenue stability is the top priority.

The real value will be the fine balance of domain expertise (OT) with data science (IT) to yield positive outcomes for the organization. While stability and the way things were done in the past served well as “experience”, organizations must adapt to this digital industrial revolution dubbed Industry 4.0. We are all too familiar stories of Kodak being a market leader until digital disruption eclipsed the instant photograph with digital photos. Some referred to those who don't innovate during these rapidly changing times as being “Kodak-ed”. One has to jump in and commit through a series of small experiments to learn from these organizational changes. You can mitigate risk by having reasonable expectations in small, coordinated “digital test beds” to determine the value and ROI. 

3. Lack of Industrial Technologists to Lead the IIoT Program

While one can commit in theory to the idea the digital world is merging quickly with the industrial world and the desire to start on an initiative, there is the question of who in the company can lead that charge. There needs to be a person or team that can bridge the gap between the IT and OT cultures and competing priorities are met. The program needs a combined IT/OT perspective for the organization, all within the confines of achieving IIoT goals with increasing operational complexity or burdens that is already short staffed.

There are several certifications in data science, online courses and conferences nationwide to begin educating middle management to these concepts. While new, start building the competency but making learning and education a KPI of the management team. Look to team with universities, vendors that can help assist with this function and educational need. The thirst and quest for knowledge must be an ongoing mandate of the executive team. Learning will be considered a lifelong process, where dynamic stability and constant motion is required to stay relevant.

4. What's the ROI?

Industrial technology investments are highly ROI-driven. IIoT should be seen as a process improvement over time that yields significant savings and efficiency, not as typical 12-month payback cycle type of investment. 

Data should be considered an asset not only for SCADA or monitoring, but as condition monitoring that leads to predictive/preventative maintenance. Sensors that monitor vibration, temperature, humidity can provide a wealth new insights on rotating machines and pumps. Measuring and seeing trends from various sensors can help predict failures before they occur, minimizing unplanned and costly downtime. This also improves maintenance schedules as over time, this is tried-and-true in your factory setting, beyond calendar or user manual guides as leading indicators of planned downtime. ROI must be looked at holistically with the bottom line organization wide and from a cost savings and efficiency improvement together. 

5. Security Concerns

With all the news regarding cyber security, it is easy to worry about the potential hacks and problems that occur. One has to systemically specifically address these security issues one by one and realize there are safeguards to protect sensitive industrial information.  Data can be verified and encrypted with a myriad one of-way communications depending on the level of sensitivity. SCADA systems do not need to integrate sensor data and action it, they can be separated digitally. In addition, the cloud infrastructure could be networked internally as a “private” or corporate cloud with no access to outside world. These security barriers can be overcome, realizing the IIoT benefits outweigh the risks. 

How to Begin: Think Big or Small? 

A straightforward and practical approach should be used when embarking on an IoT project. This should not be viewed as a massive, company-changing effort, but rather a series of small projects or digital test beds that have the potential to increase revenue, improve the bottom line or boost customer retention. While we all recognize the opportunity for success, realize that not all IoT initiatives will succeed, some say that about half will fail. If you have that in mind (failure on some trials or projects will happen) then company expectations about success are reasonable. 

Tags: Article IIoT/Manufacturing Vertical Industries

Related


  • A Look at Michelin’s Product-as-a-Service Strategy
    A product-as-a-service strategy requires focusing on customer experience, according to Ralph Dimenna, a senior vice president at Michelin.
  • IoT Implementation Trends
    Most organizations have IoT plans but many aren’t sure how to achieve them
  • mktg-wp-nolabel4
    IIC Journal of Innovation: Industrial Data Edition
    In this edition of the Industrial Internet Consortium’s Journal of Innovation, explore the broad and ever-changing theme of data. The ability to gather more and better quality industrial data is exposing new sources of value as organizations find ways to apply that data to make better decisions. Brought to you by:
  • Image shows a man with a safety hat standing near an oil refinery.
    IIoT Asset Optimization: IBM Extends its MRO Functionality
    Big Blue is beefing up its maintenance, repair and operations to help its industrial customers with asset optimization.

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your IoT World Today account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Related Content

  • IIC White Paper Focuses on Edge Computing Architecture
  • Rockwell Automation, PTC Partner on Smart Factory Technology
  • Inside Arm’s and KEPCO’s Smart Grid Technology Partnership
  • IoT World Europe: Siemens' Chief Shares Best, Worst of IIoT

News

View all

Private LTE Market Projected to Grow to $13 Billion

12th January 2021

IoT World Announces 2021 IoT World Advisory Board

9th December 2020

White Papers

View all

Smart Manufacturing With IoT

4th December 2020

Ensuring Safety & Security of Pharmaceutical Supply Chain: A Case Study

4th December 2020

Special Reports

View all

Cybersecurity Protection Increasingly Depends on Machine Learning

28th October 2020

Webinars

View all

From Insights to Action: Best Practices for Implementing Connected Device Security

15th December 2020

Real Cyber Threats and Best Practices Cyber Security Strategy and Solutions for Smart Manufacturing

1st December 2020

Galleries

View all

Top IoT Trends to Watch in 2020

26th January 2020

Five of the Most Promising Digital Health Technologies

14th January 2020

Industry Perspectives

View all

IoT Spending Holds Firm — Tempered by Dose of ‘IoT Pragmatism’

1st December 2020

The Great IoT Connectivity Lockdown

11th May 2020

Events

View all

IoT at the Edge

17th March 2021

Embedded IoT World 2021

28th April 2021 - 29th April 2021

IoT World 2021

2nd November 2021 - 4th November 2021

Twitter

IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

At #CES2021, @verizon touts #5Gconnectivit as the key to digitization in pandemic times. But experts say there are… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

12th January 2021
IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

The #privateLTE market is due to grown, given increased needs for #networkperformance and #networkbandwidth.… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

12th January 2021
IoTWorldToday, IoTWorldSeries

As #IoTdevices and #IoTdata proliferate at the edge of the network, IT pros need to take these steps for… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

11th January 2021

Newsletter

Sign up for IoT World Today newsletters: vertical industry coverage on Tuesdays and horizontal tech coverage on Thursdays.

Special Reports

Our Special Reports take an in-depth look at key topics within the IoT space. Download our latest reports.

Business Resources

Find the latest white papers and other resources from selected vendors.

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our audience? Access our media kit.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • IoT World Series
  • Channel Futures
  • RISC-V
  • Dark Reading
  • ITPro Today
  • Web Hosting Talk

WORKING WITH US

  • Contact
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Login/Register

FOLLOW IoT World Today ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookies Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2021 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X