Industrial
Internet of Things
What is the Industrial Internet of Things?
Nowadays, the term, the
Industrial Internet of Things, has become increasingly more pervasive in the
context of industry as digitization has become a business priority for many organizations.
So what is the Industrial Internet of Things?
The Industrial Internet
of Things (IIoT), also known as the Industrial Internet, brings together
brilliant machines, advanced analytics, and people at work. It’s the network of
a multitude of devices connected by communications technologies that results in
systems that can monitor, collect, exchange, analyze, and deliver valuable new
insights like never before. These insights can then help drive smarter, faster
business decisions for industrial companies.
The IIoT is transforming industry —changing the way
industries work. Whether it’s enabling predictive analytics to detect corrosion
inside a refinery pipe, or providing real-time production data to uncover
additional capacity in a plant, or driving visibility and control over your
industrial control systems environment to prevent cyber attacks, the IIoT—and
the software solutions powered by it—are driving powerful business outcomes.
By combining
machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, industrial big data analytics,
technology, cyber security, and HMI and SCADA, the IIoT is driving
unprecedented levels of efficiency, productivity, and performance. And as a
result, industrial companies in power and energy, oil and gas, manufacturing,
healthcare, aviation, and many other industries are experiencing transformative
operational and financial benefits.
There is such great
potential for the Industrial Internet to change the way industry works that
experts predicts the benefits to the global economy through the IIoT will be:
To learn more,
watch The Industrial Internet in the Real
World.
Who coined the term
Industrial Internet?
As the premier digital
industrial company, GE coined the term Industrial Internet in late 2012. It
estimates the Industrial Internet could be a $225 billion market by 2020,
and has made significant investments in the Industrial Internet
GE is one of the
companies that founded the Industrial Internet Consortium to accelerate the
development, adoption, and widespread use of interconnected machines and
devices, intelligent analytics, and people at work.
Leveraging the promise
of the Industrial Internet, or IIoT, GE is driving its own digital
transformation. And based on its experience and deep technology and industry
expertise, GE is helping customers accelerate their digital transformation
journeys with GE Digital’s software solutions, including Predix—the cloud-based
operating system for the Industrial Internet.
The Industrial Internet vs. Internet
of Things
One perspective is to
think of the Industrial Internet as connecting machines and devices in
industries such as oil and gas, power generation, and healthcare, where there
is more at stake or where system failures and unplanned downtime can result in
life-threatening or high-risk situations. On the other hand, the Internet of
Things tend to include consumer-level devices such as heart monitoring fitness
bands or smart home appliances. They are functional and can provide
conveniences but do not typically create emergency situations if downtime were
to occur.
For example, the
Industrial Internet envisions machines that tell operators how to optimize
productivity or detect a failure before it occurs, potentially saving companies
billions of dollars a year, while the Internet of Things includes connected
refrigerators that can purchase more milk and eggs online before they run out
As the Industrial
Internet connets critical machines, it can deliver powerful financial and
operational outcomes. For example, one of our customers, a power company saves $.5MM annually by using Asset Performance
Management software—powered by the IIoT—to gain asset, plant and fleet
reliability. Another power customer, SSE, uses Reliability Management 24x7 and 365 days a year to maintain uptime
and keep the lights on, saving ~£3MM per year.
When it comes to the
power of the IIoT, the sky is the limit. As more and more data is created from
increasingly connected machines, systems, and devices, the volume of critical
and valuable insights to be realized and acted upon is limitless.