Industry-wide, use cases have been tested, IIoT platforms have shown their effectiveness and potential, and roadmaps to success have been developed in comparison to the mere visions imagined just a few years ago. Generally, this means that manufacturers who have not formerly invested in IIoT will be empowered to quickly catch early entrants and fast followers in IIoT, while still finding comparable value. For manufacturers who have not harnessed the power of IIoT yet, the environment will not be better than it is now.

 

Why IIoT Deployment Is So Vital

 

Year after year, manufacturers are faced with the unrelenting need to decrease operating costs through operational improvements. While many of the same operational cost-reduction strategies may continue to work, IIoT initiatives present new ways to obtain more benefits. 

 

As an example, having real-time insights into operations helps manufacturers to more quickly react to manufacturing chain complications and also allows for the mitigation of time- and cost-consuming shutdowns or other problems. On top of that, manufacturers can create new products and iterate on existing lines based on data collected from devices connected to the IIoT. 

 

Those deploying IIoT products or investing in IIoT platforms for the first time may possibly not have the expertise of those already leading the way, but they aren't too far behind. Manufacturers who purchase and deploy the latest IIoT products can still maintain parity with their early-adopter competitors by moving rapidly. But the window is closing. Manufacturers who do not invest in IIoT will significantly find it to be an uphill climb to catch up to those who have embraced the new technologies because of having to navigate a maturity curve.

 

Investments have been made and projects have been created and implemented in a variety of industrial and manufacturing capacities. Those who have already implemented IIoT into their business and those who do so over the next year will have an unique advantage due to the institutional knowledge flowing through the organizations. As that knowledge gap grows, it will be even more difficult for other manufacturers to catch up with the leaders, early-adopters, and those who are just starting to embrace IIoT.

 

How To Invest In IIoT

 

Those who are taking their first foray into IIoT need to have the right strategy when putting money into new products and platforms. The very first investments should be made with IIoT device connectivity and basic real-time analytics. This makes manufacturers to not merely deploy new technologies but to have a complete understanding of what is needed to generally bring devices onto the platform and then track what is happening with them once they are on the platform.

 

The first investment in IIoT in connectivity and analytics is critical not simply for getting a platform deployed but likewise for closing the knowledge gap. Time and time again, manufacturers have invested in platforms without also emphasizing connectivity and analytics. Sadly, those businesses have had to spend one to two years creating simple analytics and trying to find ways to securely connect devices. This is why there are still opportunities for those deploying IIoT for the first time catch up. Selecting the correct, all-encompassing platform for their requirements can close the knowledge gap and the technology gap.

 

Manufacturers Must Implement Smart Strategies With Their Smart Technologies

 

Manufacturers must be intelligent not only how they invest in IIoT, but also how they deploy the solutions they want to use to optimize their business. Many organizations who deploy new technologies, products, or software do so in a fragmented, improvised manner and have to fix costly errors down the line. The best advice for manufacturers who decide to deploy IIoT is to begin with small while thinking big. Simply put, understand your starting point but always have an end target to serve as a beacon.

 

Original projects should be co-used across teams and operational processes and carefully scoped out in order to deliver the highest impact and value over the shortest amount of time possible. Additionally it is important that manufacturers deploying IIoT for the first time are aware that they should be ready to take action immediately if it is not working with their business as predicted. If tangible value takes more than three months to obtain then either the project is too large in scope or the IIoT platform has a major deficiency. Adjust accordingly.

 

As for instance, if an industrial equipment manufacturer wants to offer product contracts based on outcomes rather than the just selling the product, this will require an enormous amount of capabilities including predictive analytics, machine learning, and automating a sizeable number of processes. As opposed to focus on this implementing the IIoT solutions as THE objective, use it as a target with an initial objective of connecting existing equipment and providing condition-based alerts to drive service actions. Creating and launching the least possible viable product for the latter should take between four to six weeks which gives a long lead time to observe whether or not value has been obtained inside the three-month threshold.

 

To conclude, manufacturers should be smart and assess their IIoT deployment. Doing this the right way can have an incredible impact on the bottom line of the business immediately and distance manufacturers from competitors for many years.

 

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