Avnet: From concept to implementation, the Industrial Internet of Things is rapidly maturing

Industrial Internet of Things, also known as Industrial Internet, is one of the key areas of digital "new infrastructure" and is regarded as the second half of the Internet. With the promotion of favorable policies and the acceleration of 5G commercialization, the Industrial Internet will be implemented on a large scale in various industries and application scenarios. The "Industrial Internet Industry Economic Development Report (2020)" released by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology predicts that in 2020, the Industrial Internet will become one of the most active areas of growth in the national economy. It is estimated that in 2020, the economic scale of China's Industrial Internet industry will reach 3.1 trillion yuan.

From launching pilot projects to achieving large-scale implementation and creating practical value, the deployment of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is rapidly maturing. Below, we use some cases and data to explore the current stage of development of the Industrial Internet of Things market and what factors will have an impact on the future of the industry.

For years, “think big, start small, and scale fast” has been the mantra for digital startups. However, the story of the Industrial Internet of Things market maturing has given new meaning and perspective to this saying. According to initial estimates, the Industrial Internet of Things market will reach $933.62 billion by 2025, which is a huge success. However, the Industrial Internet of Things market has taken off a little slower than initially expected.

Seize the opportunity and challenge the level

Complex integration processes, multiple sensors and data streams that may cause false alarms and require recalibration, competing technology standards, a fragmented market and long cost/implementation cycles have become major obstacles hindering the implementation of Industrial Internet of Things applications.

Over the years, the dynamic process from concept to full maturity has been depicted in many different ways, including the widely cited Gartner "Hype Cycle" curve, also known as the technology maturity curve. Gartner's "Emerging Technology Maturity Curve Report" released in 2018 shows that IoT technology is at the peak of over-expectations, ready to fall to the bottom, and then truly reach maturity. This means that IoT technology will gradually enter the actual development stage of application implementation in the future.

One step closer, the proof of value has begun

Deloitte recently released a report saying that they believe that the Industrial Internet of Things has finally matured and its clients are shifting their focus from proof of concept to proof of value. Robert Schmid, Deloitte's chief IoT technologist, cited an example of a plastics manufacturer client planning to build a new production line to meet specific product needs. By connecting various processes with industrial IoT devices and performing overlay analysis, Deloitte was able to help the manufacturer increase production by nearly 10% without having to build a new production line, saving £20 million in costs.

The future is here, and various application scenarios are emerging

Manufacturing is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to active IIoT use cases. Several other industries, such as oil and gas, mining, utilities, and agriculture, are also seeing very attractive IIoT applications.

According to a report released by McKinsey, one of the world's top ten energy companies has used IoT applications and devices as part of its extensive process and technology upgrade plan. The plan has reduced the energy company's unit manufacturing costs by 33% over the past five years, helping it save more than $9 billion in costs. In addition, they have deployed IoT analysis tools to evaluate drilling data, thereby increasing the productivity of existing mature oil wells.

In the Utilities Sector, Industrial IoT Shows Its Value

Another early adopter of IIoT, General Electric, has been developing IIoT solutions to promote renewable energy. GE has installed sensors on wind turbine blades to precisely adjust the blade angle to maximize efficiency. These sensors collect data from the entire wind farm and transmit it to efficiency analysis tools, helping people understand the economic losses caused by the downtime of each wind turbine and how to use this time to schedule maintenance, so that engineers' time can be used more effectively.

Improving healthcare through data analysis

Philips has also been actively trying to apply IoT technology to its medical devices for many years. By analyzing industrial IoT data collected from ultrasound and CT scanners, the company has moved from proof of concept to proof of value. Data collected by Philips showed that healthcare providers waste a lot of time recalibrating CT machines between head scans and abdominal scans. This information is used to create scheduling software to ensure that the number of recalibrations required is minimized.

The Industrial Internet of Things is maturing with promising prospects

In summary, the Industrial Internet of Things is maturing rapidly. While enterprise size is a factor in creating successful applications and value chains, the success of these early adopters of the Industrial Internet of Things should help set standards and pave the way for smaller companies and later entrants. Another key factor will be the network operators themselves, as they move from beta testing of next-generation networks to actively promoting commercial packages based on them.

Think big, start small, and expand quickly. As technology continues to mature, the value of the Industrial Internet of Things will soon be proven.