The Industrial Internet of Things, or IIoT, refers to the use and management of connected devices and “smart” electronics beyond the traditional manufacturing domain of the Internet of Things into the transportation, energy, healthcare and similar industrial sectors.
Also called the Industrial Internet or the Internet of Industrial Things, the IIoT can provide operational efficiency and intelligent technology insight for significant improvements in efficiency, productivity, and revenue, but the IIoT also presents the potential for system failures, security threats, and downtime that can be disastrous for revenue potential and can even compromise employee and customer health in worst-case scenarios.
Industrial Internet of Things Just Starting to Heat Up
Despite these potential drawbacks, the Industrial Internet of Things has continued to gain steam, and through the complex analysis of real-time data and the interconnected use of data across enterprises and supply chains via APIs and microservices, the IIoT could prove to be truly transformational for industrialization (one of the reasons it has also been dubbed Industry 4.0 by some).
Presently, though, the IIoT is just starting to make its presence felt in optimizing and automating key business areas such as quality control, asset tracking, field service management, predictive maintenance, energy efficiency, and supply chain management.
Vendors that have gained an early foothold in the Industrial Internet of Things sector include GE with its Predix platform, Siemens and its MindShare system, Schneider Electric, SAP and Cisco.
