Another month has come and gone, and it was yet again filled with exciting meetings, networking, and eye-opening industry events. Over the course of November, we connected with partners such as Cornerstone and EliteOps, attended a 5G forum, and so much more. With each exchange, we made sure to take note of the recurring themes that popped up so that we could share it with you in a new edition of Industry Insights. Without further adieu, let’s dig in.
The Edge
The first to jump out was IIoT edge. While IIoT stands for Industrial Internet of Things, edge refers to “the groupings of networked objects located at the edge of an IoT ecosystem,” as Chiradeep BasuMallick at Spiceworks explains. Essentially, this technology allows you to gather and process data to enhance analytics, and it’s clear that this technology’s use is expanding across manufacturing and other plants whether that comes in the form of floored edge devices or a utility with edge sensors on the pumps. The IoT market alone has been projected to exceed $1tn in revenue in 2024.
As the amount of devices that can be connected to the edge grows, there are certainly benefits. However, we do like to remind those that we discuss this topic with that the ability to connect to and control such devices can be problematic and challenging, particularly when moving the data off the devices to the cloud or to some other repository.
5G Devices
That brings us to something that we hinted at in our opening – 5G. The integration of 5G is often synonymous with the movement of data and edge computing as it promises to boost reliability and speed. You can see its presence rising in popularity across industries such as transportation as well as locations such as factories. Although Network World reports that issues with 5G hardware and standards have delayed wider adoption, it is expected to climb in the coming years. An IEEE survey of technology leaders concluded that 5G will be one of the five top tech trends for 2024, especially as smart factories become more prominent.
The Future
Moving forward with IIoT edge and 5G technology, an emphasis on secure data handling and transfers will be an obvious priority. But another focus, other than working out the challenges, will be adapting this trend to the unique needs of OT. If you’re a manufacturing company working with an IT cloud, it’d be nice to provide your end user with the same visibility and insight into what’s going on in the OT layer without a completely different set of dashboards.
While attending the 5G forum, we noticed that no one had a comprehensive offering that covered seeing the data, retrieving the data, and properly using the data with their edge devices and doing so in a cost effective, efficient manner. This realization perfectly illustrated the value proposition of a fusion service, which we predict will be very important as IIoT edge, 5G, and data continue to evolve.
Sources:
- “What Is IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things)? Definition, Architecture, Benefits, and Examples” – Chiradeep BasuMallick, Spiceworks
https://www.spiceworks.com/tech/iot/articles/what-is-iiot/ - “IoT Platform Market Forecast for 2024: Trends Analysis” – Robotics & Automation News https://roboticsandautomationnews.com/2023/06/30/iot-platform-market-forecast-for-2024-trends-analysis/69384/
- “Edge computing key for rapid Industry 4.0 adoption” – Joe O’Halloran, Computer Weekly
https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252528983/Edge-computing-key-for-rapid-Industry-40-adoption - “Private 5G and edge computing: a perfect match for manufacturing” – Paul Bloudoff, CIO
https://www.cio.com/article/464834/private-5g-and-edge-computing-a-perfect-match-for-manufacturing.html - “8 top industries for private 5G” – Maria Korolov, Network World https://www.networkworld.com/article/1248627/8-top-industries-for-private-5g.html
