10 Sep Industrial IoT – Ready for an IP Make-over
Episode E2
Is the Industrial Internet of Things Ripe for an IP Make-over Too? It all comes down to value. Value created by getting a better handle on the bottom line or even better, increasing the top line with innovative business models made possible by a strong IP foundation. In this episode of The IoT Business Show, Rob Bamforth takes us through an analysis of IP’s value proposition in IIoT and the challenges it faces along the way.This is encore episode 2, of 4, which originally played in the IPv6 Show podcast.
I speak with Rob about IP’s value proposition and the challenges it faces along the way.
Rob is a Principle Analyst for mobile and smart connectivity with UK based business research and analysis house, QuoCirca. He designed and built his own energy efficient house equipped with sensors and actuators and has a side interest in the open platform software company, EcoSteer that captures data from sensors and energy meters for environmental and energy monitoring.
Before being given a sexier name by outsiders, SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) was the origin of what we now call the Industrial Internet of Things. Built with mostly proprietary networking tech, it was a bottom line management tool, measuring the cost variables in a business’ business model. Simple serial communication was often adequate and with a 10-20 year lifecycle, there was not need to mess with it. However something changed over time. In the consumer world the Internet Protocol was gaining more popularity and employees using SCADA couldn’t help but notice. But is IP worth the effort to upgrade existing SCADA installations to the Industrial Internet of Things? It all comes down to value. Rob makes the point that value is increased when:
- More of the same things are measured/affected for the same cost.
- Different but related data about things are measured and correlated.
- As more is measured, a Metcalf law-like value comes into play.
- Measuring and affecting more data about more things opens a window to innovation with the possibility of contributing to the top line in addition to reducing the bottom line.
Here’s What We’ll Cover in this Episode
- IP and finger-held devices
- The disadvantages of proprietary IoT environments
- How a strong and open lower layer spurs upper layer innovation
- The biggest benefit of IPv6 for the Industrial Internet of Things
- How IP increases value in old-school SCADA environments
Mentioned in this Episode and Other Useful Links
- For Rob’s work as an analyst, go to www.quocirca.com
- Rob’s Twitter Account
- Rob’s energy monitoring and environmental assessment company Ecosteer, go to www.ecosteer.com or @ecosteer on Twitter
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