Welcome to the second installment in my series on how organizations can get started on the road to success with their Internet of Things (IoT) projects. In the first part of my series based on “Building the Internet of Things – a Project Workbook,” I explained how to identify your IoT vision and path to value. The next steps include planning, deployment and measuring your success. Let’s get started.Benchmark your organization against industry peers
The first step is to determine how your organization stacks up to its industry peers. Benchmarking will help establish metrics you can use to validate your project, secure funding, evaluate your team and promote success after the project is complete. It also helps establish a baseline, allowing you to see where you stand at the beginning of the project, so you can measure how far you’ve come at the end. You can use the benchmarking method of your choice, but I encourage you to evaluate the following areas:To read this article in full, please click here
Mention blockchain in the watercooler chat, and odds are that it evokes notions of cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, and covert financial transactions. But in the enterprise world, blockchain is much more than an ultra-secure, digital financial ledger or another “over-hyped” new technology.When combined with the Internet of Things (IoT), blockchain drives new value propositions and new business models, while addressing transparency, complexity and even some security challenges surrounding data transactions. In many ways, blockchain is the “missing link” that enables IoT deployments to achieve their full potentialBlockchain 101
Before diving into this subject in more detail, let’s begin with the definitions. In a basic sense, blockchain is a decentralized ledger that allows multiple parties to records transactions between them efficiently, securely and permanently. Once recorded, it is impossible to manipulate information within the blockchain. Thus, blockchain becomes a single source of truth for the transactions without a need for a third-party validation and verification. Easy enough, right?To read this article in full, please click here
At long last, the Internet of Things (IoT) is moving beyond the hype and initial deployment cycle and entering a phase where we are now seeing many successful enterprise implementations. Thousands of businesses across all industries have begun to experience the operational benefits and new value propositions delivered by the IoT. But, as I speak with customers, partners and industry leaders around the world, I still hear many frontline business and operations managers say that they are unsure how, exactly, to begin their IoT initiatives. Often, they have an idea for how they would like to use IoT in their business but are not aware of all the considerations they should think through before beginning, or how to create their project plan and measure the impact.To read this article in full, please click here
During the late 20th century, industrial technology providers focused on delivering complete, turnkey solutions by themselves. The thought was that to effectively address highly specialized and complex environments, a vertically integrated approach would produce a better outcome.Today, that mindset has drastically shifted.The accelerated pace of technology innovation has driven end customers to question this single-vendor model. Now, customers are increasingly embracing the open model involving multiple partners developing solutions based on open standards and the latest technology. Such solutions are typically better future-proofed, more cost effective and agile.To read this article in full, please click here
When Campofrio Food Group’s 17-year-old factory in Burgos, Spain, famously burned to the ground, the multinational meat processor turned tragedy into opportunity. With an eye on digital transformation, Campofrio rebuilt the facility as a connected factory, powered by the Internet of Things (IoT). This allowed the state-of-the-art, greenfield meat packing plant to automate processes and provide real-time data on materials, equipment and workers to uncover new business value.Such “blank canvas” opportunities to bring a factory into the digital age from the ground up don’t happen very often. Most IoT projects are implemented in existing, brownfield environments with traditional legacy systems, requiring an incremental approach. The goal of these gradual integrations has been to optimize or automate processes, gain some efficiencies, and move onto the next low-hanging fruit. But, this approach will not work if businesses want to capture IoT’s true transformational value: the creation of new business models, new revenue streams, new products and new markets.To read this article in full, please click here
It’s been nearly two decades since the coining of the term “Internet of Things,” yet we are still asking the same question: “Whose responsibility is it to secure the billions of IoT devices?” Given the market’s progress of late, you would think we’d have it figured out by now; but, it’s not that simple.Although IoT security has long been a hot topic of discussion, it has become more important—and more challenging – than ever. First, gone are the days when operational technology (OT) was single-handedly responsible for securing IoT, often taking a “security by obscurity” approach by physically separating production operations and industrial networks from enterprise networks and the Internet. Although enterprises are realizing the need to converge IT with OT to drive new use cases, enable an open flow of data between networks and applications, support better business decisions, lower costs, and reduce complexity, new attack surfaces are arising between the gaps in IT and OT practices.To read this article in full, please click here
The Internet of Things (IoT) has started to move to the mainstream in enterprises across all industries. With IoT spending set to increase by 15 percent to reach $772.5 billion by the end of 2018, the coming year will undoubtedly bring further growth in the number of connected devices and enterprise IoT projects. More importantly, I believe that in 2018 enterprise IoT projects will finally move beyond merely automating existing business processes, to truly transforming industries by creating entirely new revenue streams and business models. This will be due in part to the concurrent rise of synergistic technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and fog computing, as well as an industry-wide move toward greater interoperability, standards and collaboration.To read this article in full, please click here
Over the last few years, many people—myself included—have been touting the Internet of Things (IoT) as a driving force behind digital transformation.But is IoT by itself truly that transformational?Well, I would argue that it is not.IoT focuses mainly on securely connecting devices that generate data. It is a key element of disruption and change, but it needs to partner with other technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain and fog computing to create billions—some say trillions—of dollars in value and transform industries.Let’s take a closer look at these cross-technology relationships:AI is the brain, IoT is the body
IoT and AI have a remarkably synergistic relationship. AI, especially machine learning, provides intelligence—the ability to evaluate options, learn from experience and make smart decisions. IoT, like the body, provides the ability to sense and act. IoT delivers both the data AI needs, and the physical means to act on AI’s decisions. To read this article in full, please click here
Two decades ago, the Internet was the shiny new object in the room. The Worldwide Web was just emerging as a new paradigm for communication and commerce, and the world brimmed with possibilities. Today, not only has the Internet fulfilled those nascent dreams, it has become the undisputed foundation of the digital age.But now there’s a new paradigm in town—the Internet of Things (IoT).For years, IoT has been growing up inside factories and oil platforms, in ships, trucks, and trains—quietly changing long-standing industrial processes. It has made its way into virtually every industry—agriculture, aviation, mining, healthcare, energy, transportation, smart cities, and on and on. IoT is no longer just the next phase of the Internet—it’s fundamentally reshaping the Internet as we know it.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Maciej Kranz