Our ‘things’ have become connected and they have begun to communicate with each other; not quite in the Toy Story way, more the artificial intelligence and learning algorithms way. Still, left to their own ‘devices’, without proper safeguards and regulations in place, IoT can unfortunately be incredibly lethal. Driverless cars for instance, connected and potentially accessible by anybody.

As we move forward, accessibility is key. Tell today’s device driven children that they can only view and play games on a single computer, would be akin to telling a commuter that the metro has stopped and we’re all going by horse and carriage now. Seamless retrieval of knowledge, without the input of humans is our future, therefore it is only apt that the industrial manufacturing industries should follow suit.

When speaking of IIoT and its ability to control production procedures, monitor activities and record data for quality management, all without the involvement of humans, we can instantly recognize the benefits. The absence of human interaction means the abolition of human error, and of course the wage of a robot is, well, nothing.

IIoT can be implemented in everything; a tracking device can be put into an end user product and both customer and vendor can track its whereabouts at any given stage; there is no need for the delivery person to report back the products arrival. IIoT also allows for a product to be acutely controlled; if a refrigerator in a van becomes too hot, the driver can be alerted.

With so much information and control access floating around us, it is fair to be concerned for your industries security. It is important to recognize that IIoT is not just for the IT crowd to organize, but for the entire enterprise of employees in any given organization. As our things become more and more interconnected, so must we. Businesses must work collaboratively to understand how each other use IIoT in order to redefine business processes and create new business opportunities. It is also crucial to collaborate to ensure that data breaches are kept to an absolute minimum.

Learning from real-life experiences and case studies are vital in order to gain significant IIoT security awareness. Indeed, looking towards the future and learning to identify issues before they escalate can help businesses understand the trends and challenges that will face IIoT, and ultimately approach a product-service ideal.

Qatalyst Global’s Summit in April 2017 will cover all of the above; no leaf will be left unturned. The event gathers together the most senior level employees within the industry, allowing for progressive discussions and connections. At our last IIoT event, April 2016, we had Coca-Cola, GE Oil & Gas, Shell, Caterpillar, Volkswagen, BP, Pepsi, Volvo and many more, high profile organizations hold successful presentations.

We received excellent feedback from this event, with many of the delegates requesting that the speakers speak again, and numerous sponsors rebooking for our next event immediately after the present event ended. Attendees stated that in addition to the presentations being particularly informative, the networking opportunities were next to none.

This year we have confirmed Rami Malkawi, IT Director, Arab Potsh; Fuad Al-Ansari, VP Information Technology, Takreer; Maher Al Tabbaa, Senior IT Manager, Emirates Liquefied Natural Gas Company LLC as speakers, amongst others. Reach out to us if you are interested in being involved in the upcoming and industry leading Summit.
philippa.kartawick@qatalystglobal.com
Industrial Internet of Things  www.IndustrialIoTSeries.com