Industrial IoT: Bundled Solutions for the Digital Revolution

Industrial IoT (IIoT) is being championed as the next pillar of the Industrial Revolution, going by the name of the Fourth Industrial Revolution or Industry 4.0. The ability to collect data from hundreds upon thousands of endpoints and transforming that data into action and results is going to bring about myriad benefits to manufacturing.

Benefits of Industrial IoT

One of the key distinctions in Industry 4.0 is Big Data versus intelligent data. Being able to take data collected and turning it into a solution is how IoT solutions earn their ROI. When built and optimised properly, IIoT can mitigate some of the largest hurdles in manufacturing.

• Prevent unplanned downtime: Through granular monitoring of equipment, costly unplanned downtime can be prevented. With IIoT, sensors collect equipment health data that encourages proactive approaches to machine maintenance and repair.
• Field service automation: By providing technicians with a remote connection to repair equipment, this ability saves time, money, and effort. For manufacturers of industrial equipment, selling products that are equipped with the ability adds a unique value proposition to your offerings.
• Warehouse optimisation: Through real-time tracking of equipment and goods, loss prevention is mitigated. Utilising KORE IIoT also lays the groundwork for later automation that guides robotics for picking and stocking items.

Migrating from Wi-Fi/LAN to Cellular

One way to future-proof existing digital operations or adding IIoT is to move from a Wi-Fi or LAN-based approach to cellular. Cellular connectivity for manufacturing has multiple benefits:

• Scalability: Using cellular is a more cost-effective approach to scaling operations, especially if those operations are scaling geographically.
• Reliability: A cellular infrastructure can provide more reliability and be built with redundancy.
• Broad coverage area: Cellular networks can have a broader coverage area, which works well for large industrial campuses.
• Security: Private LTE and private networks can boost security for mission-critical communications.
• Remote access capability: With the ability to remotely access cellular IoT devices, monitoring and maintaining is much simpler and cost-effective. Particularly for OEMs manufacturing industrial equipment, the ability to remotely repair and monitor is a major boon.

Leveraging cellular connectivity is an affordable way to help mitigate hidden costs from IT support and infrastructure, network downtime, and security intrusions. Security, in particular, is becoming a bigger threat to manufacturers.

According to the IBM X-Force Intelligence Index 2021, manufacturing has moved up to the second most-attacked industry in 2020 – up from the eighth slot – and second only to the financial industry. The report states that the main attack method was ransomware.

Challenges in Adopting IIoT

Implementing new technology can create hurdles, especially when it comes to manufacturing, which has an extremely low tolerance for downtime. Several distinct hurdles crop up when transitioning to Industry 4.0.

• Legacy and outdated systems: Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems are a popular choice in manufacturing. Many utilise a programmable logic controller (PLC) or remote terminal unit (RTU) as the processing center, which can fortunately be integrated with IIoT.
• Utilising data: Again, the difference between Big Data and intelligent data is key. Collecting data has little use unless it’s put to action.
• Maximising ROI: Any new infrastructure is going to be an investment, which can be seen as a risk. Weighing options against an investment versus the risks of legacy equipment with hidden costs to try to find the better option takes time.

KORE Offers Bundled Solutions, Proven ROI

KORE Industrial offers a bundled solution that takes the guesswork out of adopting new technologies. No matter where you are in the Industry 4.0 transformation, KORE can help get you where you want to go.

Our bundled solutions include hardware selection and sourcing; connectivity; cloud and software services; an intuitive user interface for reports, monitoring and metrics; staging and kitting; and logistics and deployment globally. With intelligent data collection, a platform for analysing data, and the ability to integrate into SCADA systems, KORE makes the next industrial revolution simple.

Want to learn more? Watch this on-demand webinar recording about how to best adopt Industrial IoT.