Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is a fairly new concept, but it also represents a vast amount of opportunities for the industrial sector.
For instance, Industrial IoT can help enterprises improve their productivity, safety, and efficiency all the while reducing the costs.
However, since the concept is relatively new, a study by Forbes revealed that building IoT capabilities is one of the greatest challenges in adopting IoT technology.
The study also further revealed that many companies are still facing problems in implementing IoT, from where to actually start to identify the right automation processes that will bring the highest effectiveness.
Therefore, all these companies are now inclined towards IoT app development companies to get IoT technology integrated into their businesses in the right manner.
In this article, we’re going to discuss the top 5 challenges in implementing Industrial IoT and their solutions.
1 – High Investment
Let’s face it. Moving from legacy technologies to Industrial IoT requires a substantial amount of investments. Therefore, businesses must avoid taking leap all the way from beginning to the end in one step.
In fact, if you consult with any IoT app development company, they will tell you the same. The better way to overcome this challenge is to have a vision that is both persuasive and doesn’t stop management from giving a go-ahead.
This can be achieved by making the case of improvement through IIoT implementation and documenting business cases along with it.
Another way to tackle this challenge is by mitigating the cost. For instance, you can start small with pilot technologies and then invest carefully to roll-out remaining foundational pieces in phases.
To control costs even further, you can adopt public infrastructure instead of on-premises or private infrastructure, while reserving that option for later in future.
2 – Integration of Information & Operational Technology
Another tricky challenge in implementing Industrial IoT is the integration of Information and operational technology. It is imperative to integrate both without any chances of vulnerability and data loss.
But, this makes the Industrial IoT implementation financially impossible for many businesses. Since most IoT devices are developed independently and injected into the manufacturing processes, the integration lacks effective communication and synchronization.
One way to solve this problem is by building systems and equipment that would fill the gap of faulty connectivity, ensuring the consistent flow of data and communication between machines and IoT devices.
3 – Connectivity
The lack of connectivity is a critical challenge rooted in IIoT implementation.
For example, it’s vital for businesses to track and monitor machines in real-time to make sure they’re performing at their optimal level and increasing production.
IoT can provide this much needed visibility and better insights. However, it is also important for businesses to detect any anomalies that occur and fix it before it causes any damages.
To put it simply, the businesses often face troubles like power blackouts, Internet outages, and technical errors, affecting the entire production process and sometimes loss of data.
Therefore, it is important that when you implement Industrial IoT technology, make sure to use the right devices and components for an unremitted connection so that it guarantees zero data loss whenever connectivity issues occur.
4 – Security
Security is one of the greatest concern among businesses for IIoT implementation because a breach in security could result in operational as well as financial damages.
But, we also can’t run on closed networks on legacy solutions forever. So, it’s necessary to implement new security measures to the industrial control systems that are insecure.
One way to tackle the security issue is by using a mix of private and public infrastructure to protect data from cyber-attacks. For example, even if a hacker successfully decrypts data from public infrastructure, he will lack sufficient data to cause any sort of damages.
5 – Delivering Value
The main reason why businesses plan to implement new technologies in their operations is to fill the gap of identifying, understanding and solving customers’ problems.
The adoption of Industrial IoT can help such businesses positively impact operational efficiency and productivity, resulting in an increase in customer satisfaction in the long run.
However, to fill this gap the businesses first need to identify the right key performance indicators. So, instead of looking for IoT solutions directly, a business should first identify the main KPIs to implement the right IIoT solution to measure and improve it.
Conclusion
Industrial IoT implementation is here to stay and help businesses grow further with time. In fact, we believe that involving such an innovative technology will definitely become a driving force in the industrial revolution for the coming years.
We’ve also observed that the complexity involved in adopting IIoT often scares businesses. But, the right mobile app development company can help you streamline this complexity and move beyond the above-mentioned challenges to make it work.
Avoiding the change for too long, on the other hand, can dissuade your business from moving forward.
