ARC Advisory Group: Top 10 Predictions for Industrial Internet of Things Technologies and Strategies in 2016

Industry analysts have made their top 10 predictions for 2016 regarding the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and its impact on manufacturing structure and strategy.

ARC Advisory Group analyst Greg Gorbach gave his top 10 predictions for 2016. He said the trends are "an interesting mix of positioning and technology, which together point to the momentum of the industry." Gorbach's top 10 predictions include:

1. "Digital transformation" is increasingly being heard. Faced with confusion about what exactly is causing the next wave of manufacturing intelligence, Gorbach noted that no single name does a particularly good job of explaining the potential benefits. He wrote, "'Digital transformation' is a good name because it reflects the voice of end users who say they can no longer run their businesses using old technologies, processes, and business models and must change even if they don't know where to start."

2. Focus on customer relationships. The more sensors are installed on devices, the more data manufacturers can get on how end users interact with the devices. This, in turn, will help create new products that are more responsive.

3. Platform, platform, platform. Gorbach said that the word "platform" is often used, but it does not accurately explain what the platform can achieve. He promised to conduct more research to define this word.

4. External expertise improves application performance management. External service provision has two advantages for manufacturers, Gorbach wrote: "The knowledge, skills and capabilities to support plant assets such as control valves, switches and other equipment will begin to shift from insourcing or direct contract employment to remote services." He said, "This change also alleviates industry concerns about the retirement of skilled workers."

5. Reference architecture rules. “Reference architecture will continue to be a hot topic over the next year and will reinforce the continued convergence of IT (information technology) and OT (operational technology).

6. Analytics will be everywhere. Gorbach believes that what to do with all the data will be a big issue in 2016. "If we could only make one analytics prediction for 2016, it would be this: Most companies will say, 'OK, the data is collected, now what do we do?'"

7. Supply chain control tower. Supply chain management is a key issue for IIoT adopters, and Gorbach said this part of the factory will benefit from enhanced tracking, real-time alerts and enhanced decision-making by predictive analytics.

8. Cybersecurity. Information technology security is a key issue in modern factories that is receiving increasing attention and analysis. Gorbach cited strategies that manufacturers can use to achieve cybersecurity, such as unidirectional security gateway solutions.

9. Provide better protection for edge devices. Gorbach pointed out that legacy network edge devices are a weak point for the Internet of Things and Industrial Internet of Things. They are slow to update and expensive to replace. It should be the responsibility of the network to provide protection for these devices.

10. Wait, it's different! Gorbach noted that the fundamental changes in manufacturing driven by the adoption and implementation of the Industrial Internet of Things don't start at the device level. "More and more control engineers are finally beginning to understand the digital transformation potential of the Industrial Internet of Things in a different way than they have done for SCADA and automation systems for 30 years," he said. "Software, scalability, analytics, and the possibility of completely transforming business processes are what are really driving the use of technology and the advent of digital transformation."