A D V E R T
For a better IIoT
FREQUENTLYASKEDQUESTIONS
Q: How do you start to make
sense of talk around the Internet of
Things and other buzz words?
A: This is a big questionthe promise
of more insight leading to more value
sounds very exciting but it is not a
bolt-on fix. The Industrial Internet
of Things (IIoT) describes a set of
embedded technologies and processes
that promote efficiency and growth
in a manufacturing environment. The
first step is to evaluate what parts,
processes, business decisions, etc., are
costing you time and/or money. With
a thorough understanding of your
business, you can use IIoT technologies
to augment these processes and to
turn measurements into data, insight,
and value.
The IIoT brings together
measurement technology from the
operations side of business with IT
technology like networking, analysis,
and data management. By equipping
manufacturing and industrial assets
with sensing, control, local processing,
and network communications, you
will have access to data that drives
efficiency, safety, and reliability. To
properly scope your investment and
ensure you are adding the most value,
you will need to understand the
business outcomes you are trying to
drive and the key measurements that
indicate business performance. From
there, selecting the right technology
will be a matter of evaluating the
vendors that align best with your
business area and ensuring the
measurement, analysis, visualization,
and security can meet your needs.
Q: How can I find out if this would
work for me?
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I S E M E N
By aligning with a solution that
Know the Right Questions
A: Before implementation of your IIoT
plan, you need to be clear on your
comfort with the technology and your
appetite for development. The balance
of risk and cost between custom
design and turnkey services should be
evaluated through the lens of your
company needs. Questions to answer
in your research could be: What core
competencies does our company need
to invest in to meet our business goals
long-term? Do we need software and
hardware expertise or just an evaluation
of our current business? How do we
plan to scale in the future? What are
some incremental steps that can help us
get to our ideal future state? How can
we create pilots to estimate benefits and
costs of full-scale deployment?
By nature, the IIoT brings together
two independent business functions,
so stakeholders from IT and operations
should be brought in to the plan to
augment your existing processes. To
begin learning about the opportunity
of the IIoT, there are many workshops
and white papers available. Key areas
to look for while doing your research
are experience within your specific
industry or one that is comparable,
partnerships with larger industry
partners, and industry-standard tools.
Q: What does this cost?
A: This will vary depending on
your needs. Factors will include
your expected level of service, size
of your deployment, environment,
security requirements, regulatory
issues, etc. Many IIoT applications
are helping to augment schedule-
based maintenance, which is the most
expensive and unreliable method of
operation. Understanding the costs
T
of associated with maintenance,
unexpected downtime, and failure
will help inform you of your potential
gains and an appropriate investment
level. By following an investment model
that allows for technology and process
improvements, you can better prepare
for the shorter-term exploratory costs
while you assess the current state and
investigate different approaches.
Many IIoT systems will require
sensors, measurement hardware,
rugged computing, networking
infrastructure, security infrastructure,
enterprise data management, and
visualization tools and even services
so be sure that you understand
the total costs when calculating
your return on investment.
The best way to fully understand the
impact of your IIoT implementation
is to leverage an IIoT platform
that can scale from your pilot
project to full scale deployment.
Q: Cant multiple vendor solutions
cause a problem in communication?
A: Yes, particularly vendors who offer
only proprietary or closed solutions.
This is where learning about the
technology will offer you an upper
hand. The standards common in your
industry and how those will evolve and
adapt as new technologies arise will
help you build robust systems.
Additionally, future-proofing will
be important. New technologies like
machine learning, faster processing,
and advanced security should
integrate into your system without
a complete overhaul. Closed
end-to-end solutions can get you
up and running fastest, but may not
scale to meet your growth needs.
leverages standard technologies,
you will not only future-proof
your hardware and software, you
will future-proof your employees.
Leveraging standard technology
provides you access to a much larger
pool of talent to develop and maintain
your IIoT system. Legacy industries
in the fight for talented employees
can offer rewarding technical careers
and growth opportunities to help
attract and retain better people.
EMBEDDED DESIGN
Q: What about open-source; is it
just for hobbyists?
WILL NEVER
A: Rich communities and robust tools
have helped open-sourced solutions
move out of the realm of hobbyist and
into industry. Open tools like Linux and
Python have been used for a long time
BE THE SAME
in tightly controlled environments and
have provided a foundation for many of
todays embedded operating systems.
In addition, many open-hardware
platforms are emerging into industrial
deployments; however, make sure you
plan for support, liability, robustness,
and longevity of these tools.
Q: How much of a return can I
expect?
A: This will vary. Augmenting your
business with IIoT technology generally
reduces downtime and provides data
to aid in making better decisions. This
can increase production, lower prices,
and create new revenue streams.
Embedded and IIoT technologies
arent all focused on the return on
investment, but also the return on
salesthe amount of profit produced NI Embedded Systems combine the
per dollar of sales. All of this must convenience of a proven off-the-
be consideredlabor, resources,
and cost allocation. Companies that shelf platform with the flexibility
take advantage of this technology
of custom design. Change your
will do well if it is applied properly.
The best way to apply technology design approach and start focusing
is to understand it. Take advantage
on innovation, not implementation.
of the kits and resources out there
that are trying to educate you Learn more at
to grow your company with IIoT ni.com/embedded-systems
and embedded technology.
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Sponsored by National Instruments