IoT for Industry: What It is and How It Transforms Your Business for the Better

Connecting computers to the Internet was just the beginning of something bigger. Today, devices from mobile phones to electric meters,, cars, and industrial heavy pieces of machinery are connected to the Internet. This network of technology is called the Internet of Things or IoT. Using the Internet of Things, devices are embedded with dedicated sensors and software can interact seamlessly with each other and with humans.

The Internet of Things is now larger than ever and growing rapidly. Global research indicates that the number of devices connected to the internet will increase to 75.44 billion worldwide by the year 2025. The Internet of Things gives positive impacts on industries across the world.

IoT has been a big influencer in fields like smart cities, wireless technologies, and enterprises where it has created a new level of efficiency and increased opportunities for innovation. It has also made a huge impact on several key areas of many business sectors. Thanks to IoT, a range of opportunities has opened up new possibilities for logistics industries, financial, mining, and many other business sectors. Which brings us to the Industrial Internet of Things.

The Difference Between IoT and Industrial IoT

IoT and IIoT are often categorized as the same thing. However, on the contrary, there are differences that distinguish these two technologies. They may have the same protocol, interface, and intelligence system, but they have different operational processes, principles, users, and goals. For example, a consumer and an industrial activity tracker both collect and monitor room temperature information but the industrial tracker incorporates additional design parameters that its consumer counterpart may not have.

If you look at the application for the Internet of Things today, you can tell the difference between IoT and IIoT by looking at the user target group: IoT consumers and end-users are in focus and use IoT-based applications. For example, everyday systems such as smart household appliances, app-controlled lighting, or digital voice-based assistants.

On the other hand, the addition of "Industrial" before the term "Internet of Things" highlights a special application category: the technology that is connected to the Internet and suitable for the machines in our industry to feed our visions of digital factories in the age of Industry 4.0.

What is Industrial Internet of Things?

As digitization and cloud platform integration have become a business goal for many companies, the term “Industrial Internet of Things” has become increasingly more popular in the context of industry. But what is Industrial Internet of Things and what does it do?

By combining M2M communication with industrial big data, IIoT is driving a brand new level of efficiency, productivity, and performance. As a result, industrial companies such as manufacturing, chemicals, food and beverage, agriculture, and many other industries will experience transformative operational and financial advantages.

Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) brings together machines, analytics, and people at work. It’s the network that consists of industrial devices connected by communications technologies that result in a system that is able to monitor, capture, analyze, and deliver valuable insights. These insights can help businesses drive smarter and get faster business decisions for industrial enterprises.

IIoT is transforming the way industries run their everyday business. With capabilities like running predictive analytics to detect anomaly inside a tank, providing real-time data to reveal extra capacity in a plant, or accelerating new product development using valuable insights, IIoT is driving powerful business outcomes.

The Benefits of IoT for Manufacturing Industry

The world of the manufacturing industry is changing and the need to adapt keeps on increasing. Facing business challenges like global digital disruption and competition, manufacturers are increasingly turning to IIoT as the cornerstone of their digital transformation steps.

IoT implementation in factories is able to make processes more flexible and efficient by making improvements to the manufacturing process, the products being manufactured, and know when maintenance is necessary in order to keep downtime to a minimum. Let’s see the other benefits IoT can bring to the table.

Efficiency. Manufacturers spend huge amounts of money on consumption, yet much of that spend is a waste. IoT enables them to determine where they are losing energy, and fix those problems immediately.

Predictive Maintenance. IoT gives access to new data points through sensors and allows managers to access and analyze that data so they can solve maintenance challenges, minimize the risk of costly and prolonged downtime.

Reduced Downtime. Downtime causes bloated costs including the loss of product during production. With reduced unplanned maintenance and repair, IoT helps recapture these costs and minimizes downtime.

Informed Decisions. Equipped with powerful and accurate data provided by the IoT, managers can make faster and more informed decisions at the moment of relevance.

The manufacturing industry is constantly seeking new ways to get ahead, and IoT is the right technology that provides such powerful set of tools that can deliver these advantages.

What Other Industries Can Also Use IoT?

More than just manufacturing industries, many industries around the world are now using the IoT to increase production, operation efficiency, and support related tasks such as asset management, improved quality control, shortened delivery time, and reduced manufacturing and equipment maintenance costs. Here are the other industries impacted by IoT.

Agriculture. To agriculture workers and farmers, IoT has proven to be an invaluable asset. For example in precision farming, technologies like IoT-enabled drones surveying land and cattle, sensors tracking livestock, and crops have brought new productivity improvements.

Energy. As the prices for oil and gas frequently fluctuate, energy manufacturers have to continuously improve collection and refining methods to reduce their costs while maintaining their productivity. IoT will help them achieve these improvements by providing better drilling management, accurate asset monitoring system, and predictive equipment maintenance.

Utilities. IoT in utilities has expanded as automation systems have advanced, enabling utility companies for greater control of energy distribution. Using IoT, they can rebuild their management systems using smart grid technology, capture data from sensors, and provide additional safety precautions.

Transportation. The transportation industry can also be improved with IoT. There are already numbers of public transportation vehicles that are equipped with sensors that help schedule maintenance, optimize fuel consumption, and also monitor driving behavior.

The use of IIoT is truly beneficial for many business sectors, but there’s one thing to keep in mind: Industry 4.0 is developing fast, and IIoT will definitely be a bigger part of it, which means now is the time to decide and invest. Visit telkomseliot.com and decide how you’ll take a larger role for Indonesia’s Industry 4.0. We can help grow your business and become more profitable using IoT technology.