This article appeared in Machine Design and has been published here with permission.
The imperative to drive deeper insights while improving performance, quality, and safety is inescapable. What sets a firm apart today is invariably the depth and scale of delivery—all of which hinges on the ability to keep pace with a digitized world.
The Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem has resulted in a global paradigm shift, at once shaping the set of resources and expertise required to transform a firm’s operations. IoT platforms manage connectivity of devices and sensors, as well as facilitate the collection of data from devices and components to ensure uninterrupted flow and communications across networks.
The Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC), which has led the way in building a technical foundation for the Industrial IoT, is harnessing the evolution and maturity of the IoT marketplace with a realignment and rebranding effort. The organization announced that it has been renamed Industry IoT Consortium.
Along with the name change, the consortium has shifted its focus to helping member organizations achieve the best return on their IoT investment. The new mission is “to deliver transformative business value to industry, organizations and society by accelerating the adoption of a trustworthy internet of things.”
In a press statement, Dr. Richard Soley, executive director, Industry IoT Consortium, said that the IIC recognized the need to focus on technology deployments to solve technical problems.
“We’re applying technology to address customer pain points and improve business results,” Soley said. “Industry organizations and technology providers turn to IIC and its members for IoT support and guidance. Now we’ll guide them on the application of IoT technology and digital transformation enablers to achieve positive business outcomes.”
Among the goals of the new arrangement, IIC will help its members foster successful IoT deployments. IIC, a program of Object Management Group (OMG), will work to identify pain points, improve go-to-market abilities and enhance business outcomes.
The work of developing best-practice frameworks, innovative testbeds and providing standards requirements to standards development organizations will continue, noted IIC. In addition, the organization will target IT, networks, manufacturing, energy & utilities, healthcare markets, and academia & research.
The spread of IoT technology drives a clear trajectory for change. Globally, the total installed base of IoT is expected to swell to 30.9 billion units by 2025. The world currently sits on 13.8 billion units, according to Statista. Microsoft’s IoT Signals Edition 2 survey of 3,000 decision-makers at enterprise companies across the U.S., U.K., Germany, France, China, and Japan found that 90% of IoT decision-makers believe IoT is critical to their company’s continued success.