Insights from the Industry of Things World Show

A Summary of Key Talk Tracks from the IOT World USA Show:

On March 7 & 8^th, I participated in the “Industry of Things World USA” conference in San Diego. While there were many great discussions and talk tracks that ensued over the two day event,  it was pretty clear there were 4 main points that seemed to echo in most presentations and conversations. I distilled these down to help keep you in the know and better prepare for your Automation planning:

• Buy In and SUPPORT from Senior Level is #1 action to ensure  success – These senior level advocates will help in molding company culture and remove any potential barriers that arise. Having a challenge getting this alignment? Refer to one of my recent blog titled "Is your Executive Team slowing the process of adopting Industry 4.0 in your plant?" 

• Start small, find a key problem and work on solving it utilizing Industry 4.0 concepts – once the Pilot works, work on standardizing and deploying it (don’t get stuck in pilot mode!). As per an article written by Tech Republic on this same topic, “Organizations can gain additional business value out of their IoT project choices if they select small projects that are capable of being scaled upward into larger projects when the organization is ready to move forward.”

• Don’t do everything in a bubble, partner with others to get the base (backend) done – While Industry 4.0 concepts are still new, this doesn’t mean that there is nothing out there.  Look for partnerships and companies that can help in the journey.  This will stop people from reinventing the wheel and make development from years turn to months.

• Avoid being caught in the middle of a “Data Lake”.  Relevant Data is much more important than Big Data.  Start with determining what data is needed to resolve your problem, not the other way around. Data is meaningful when it is used to drive strategy and solve important business problems. Ask yourself what is relevant and necessary, and avoid “boiling the ocean”

Further, it was refreshing to see companies use real-life examples and show how they are utilizing IoT and Industry 4.0 to move them into the digital era. Progress is being made and no longer is IOT a nebulous phrase but something that is becoming more tangible by the day. We invite you to continue the conversation with suppliers who are living the talk, such as Domino and Beckhoff. In the event you missed it, check out the guest blog from Beckhoff titled, “3 Key Considerations for Automation & Industry 4.0” ….a great place to start!