Today we will try to answer the question: why is an Industrial IoT platform essential for the process of corporate digitization?
To answer, however, we must first refer to the concepts of IIoT and Industry 4.0.
The aim of Industry 4.0 is to interconnect industrial assets, i.e. to transform the mass of raw data from machinery into information that can be easily accessed and analyzed by management systems in the company.
Why are IIoT platforms so important?
Industrial IoT platforms integrate and systemize all the data generated by numerous assets, new or legacy.
Specifically, an IIoT platform connects and manages any new or existing assets, thus integrating, in real time, the collected data with any software application, including ERP, databases, Big Data Analytics, and visualization tools.
An IIoT Platform eliminates the need to purchase multiple connectivity solutions.
The IIoT Architecture
In IoT projects, connecting different elements from different suppliers is often necessary. IIoT platforms have this task.
The architecture of an IIoT platform is usually composed of 4 parts: Sensors, Industrial IoT Gateway, Edge Computing, and Cloud Computing.
- Sensors: detect changes in parameters. Simple IoT systems collect data from a single device, while in more complex industrial applications, data come from hundreds or thousands of devices.
- Edge computing and Industrial IoT Gateway: field data pass through the Industrial IoT Gateway, which aggregates, digitizes, and transforms it into a standardized, high-value information format. This type of processing can be centralized or, as is increasingly the case, decentralized (in which case it is called edge computing).
- Cloud computing: valuable data are available and accessible for visualization and analysis, both by operators and by production management software
The advantages of using an IIoT Platform
Among the main benefits due to the implementation of an Industrial IoT Platform, there are:
- Security: an IIoT platform must guarantee secure, authenticated, and encrypted communications from the client to the device across various types of networks;
- Scalability: a key feature is to operate on a large scale. Specifically, an Industrial IoT platform must be able to handle hundreds of thousands of communications, simplifying their management and enabling the seamless integration of new applications or devices;
- Accessibility: By supporting connection to thousands of devices and transporting information to hundreds of applications through a single architecture, the need to purchase, install and manage multiple connectivity solutions is over;
- Data Integration: ensure easy data integration, ready to use, with any cloud or enterprise application;
- Efficiency: the data transformation into valuable information means that the organization can make effective and optimized strategic choices.
- Reducing costs: IIoT monitoring makes it possible to detect the causes of losses, from industrial waste to unnecessary investments.
If you are looking for an Industrial IoT Integration Platform, Alleantia may be right for you.
Download the free version and start the journey to digitize your company and make it a fully-fledged IoT smart industry!
