What to consider when starting your Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) journey – part two

ProSoft Technology defined what the IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) is and we looked at some of the ways old-school automation engineers are making use of IIoT concepts. This week will give you the opportunity to learn more about the things to consider before your systems are IIoT ready to fit into this new world of connected machines.

• While many of your field devices are likely already on a network, it is probably not an Internet Protocol-based network. 
• Not to worry! Gateway devices and in-rack protocol interfaces in your controller allow you to easily connect those older networks to the IP-based applications that need that device data. 

• While the interoperability of the IIoT brings great benefits, it also opens up new risks that we need to address. 
• It is important to understand what equipment can be accessed by whom, what connections are necessary and not necessary, and how data that’s transmitted outside the boundaries of your organisation’s network is protected.

• A great place to start your IIoT journey is effective energy management. Energy costs such as electricity, compressed air, natural gas, water, and steam are no longer considered overhead.
• Typical savings when energy costs are optimised can be 5 percent to 15 percent.
• Think of the savings to your production line if you could move the data collected by these networks into your PLC, where it could be analysed and optimised.

• Network connectivity through cellular, WLAN, or wired Ethernet should be designed into your system when you can. 
• IIoT applications will continue to evolve and grow in the value they can deliver, so it makes sense to build Internet Protocol into your systems even if you’re not using IP-based networks for control. 
• Consider how wireless technologies can layer on top of your current network, or perhaps replace an older networking technology.

• Look for applications in your industry that make sense, and give them a try. 
• One of the best parts of the IIoT concept is its scalability – Internet-based applications can just as easily serve one deployment as one million. 

• Most importantly, work with vendors you can trust. When it comes to industrial networking, ProSoft Technology has been helping engineers get different equipment all talking the same language for more than 25 years. 
• They can help you navigate your IIoT course, from connecting older Modbus® and PROFIBUS® networks to enabling remote equipment connectivity via cellular networks