The Internet of Everything for Manufacturers: ARC Industry Forum 2014 Highlights

In December, I blogged about Predictions 2014: Wager on the Internet of Everything (IoE) for the Manufacturing Industry.  In terms of thought and verbal capital, investments in IoE/IoT (Internet of Things) are proliferating from top of mind to tip of tongue across industry analysts, pundits, press and producers alike.  Just last week, I joined a record-setting attendance at the ARC Industry Forum 2014 in Orlando, where ARC President Andy Chatha opened the forum theme “Industry in Transition: Information Driven Enterprise in a Connected World” with a keynote focused on Planning for the Industrial Internet of Things. Just last week, I joined a record-setting attendance at the ARC Industry Forum 2014 in Orlando, where ARC President Andy Chatha opened the forum theme “Industry in Transition: Information Driven Enterprise in a Connected World” with a keynote focused on Planning for the Industrial Internet of Things.  Mark Houska of Control Engineering does a nice summary here of the keynote.

The hype frenzy surrounding IoE/IoT has forecasts for economic growth and value-add (EVA) in the trillions (e.g., Cisco estimates $14.4T for Private Sector EVA over the next 10 years plus another $5T for Public Sector), as Andy states: “But this isn’t just another futuristic fad.”  Whether it’s Cisco’s “Internet of Everything“, GE’s “Industrial Internet“, Rockwell Automation’s “IoT Industrial Revolution“, IBM’s “Smarter Planet” or the European “Industry 4.0”, a lot of significant companies are investing significantly.  Value propositions for Industrial IoT, as ARC articulates, are quickly advancing from compelling differentiators to must-have business capabilities and new business models.

ARC Value Proposition of IoE/IoT for Asset Owners

Improve Operating Performance – reduce downtime with predictive maintenance/analytics, sharing contextual information internally and externally and collaborating with ecosystem partners to solve operational problems faster, better, cheaper. Cisco MFG Customer Example: Emirates Aluminum.

Lower Asset Lifecycle Costs – remote monitoring, remote maintenance and service, remote upgrades and refresh (think firmware) all lower operating costs. Cisco MFG Customer Example: Anglo Platinum.

Build a Converged Platform for Innovation – assets are no longer a product purchase, but a platform for services and innovation that–in real-time, contextual collaboration with suppliers–enable leaps in performance. Cisco MFG Customer Example: General Motors.

ARC Value Proposition of IoE/IoT for Asset Suppliers

Drive Field Productivity – with IoE/IoT, field engineering and other services are greatly magnified and enhanced, utilizing remote monitoring and diagnostics alongside remote access, to proactively fix customer problems without physically being on-site. Cisco MFG Customer Example: Comau.

Bolster Profitability – leverage field productivity to reduce head count costs, to lower warranty, quality and compliance costs with ‘early radar’, error proofing and improved responsiveness and agility to delight customers with more value. Cisco MFG Customer Example: Coca Cola.

Promote a Services Platform for Innovation – drive customer innovation and delight. Cisco MFG Customer Example: AkzoNobel.

As ARC advises, the concert of IoE/IoT constituents–intelligent assets (sensors, machines, devices); communications technology; big data; analytics; and visualization–are all coalescing into a valuable Industrial IoT and Internet of Everything whose adoption is accelerating.  Those value propositions for IoE/IoT do not come without significant challenges that must be addressed by asset owners and asset suppliers alike: Industrial Cyber Security; Technology Standardization; IP Ownership; Social-Political Risk Management; and System Complexity.

Each of these is a great topic for future manufacturing industry blogs, so stay tuned!  And please share your thoughts, concerns and interests.  Leave a Comment and let us know what you think!