All walks of life are transforming with the help of digitalization, and manufacturing is no exception. Smart factories, big data, the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence… emerging technologies are of great value in the manufacturing field. However, many companies still have a wait-and-see attitude or even a cautious attitude towards IoT technology. Now let’s take a look at the most common misunderstandings about IoT technology in the industry.
Myth 1: IoT technology is only suitable for large enterprises?
Many companies believe that IoT technology is only suitable for large companies with sufficient budgets in terms of time and manpower. But in fact, the rapid development of IoT technology in recent years has greatly reduced implementation costs, providing enterprises with different needs with more choices. Open source software and solutions such as Azure IoT Central make it easier for small businesses to develop products and services based on IoT technology without having to build a complete IoT infrastructure or assemble a dedicated IT or engineering team.
At the same time, no matter what the situation, the potential benefits brought by IoT technology can smoothly dispel enterprises’ concerns about cost or time. IoT solutions such as predictive maintenance and analytics can help companies significantly reduce costs and extend product life in the future. This technology can even create whole new markets, such as Gastromatix, a small manufacturer of smart cocktail mixing machines, which developed an innovative application using IoT technology to provide a new user experience and create new revenue source.
Myth 2: The Internet of Things is not necessary?
Despite the various benefits it can provide, as many as 70% of enterprises still believe that they do not need the Internet of Things. Some companies believe that they simply cannot use the massive data collected by IoT technology. In fact, companies with this view may just not realize how they can benefit from the Internet of Things. For example: analyzing how consumers use products and gaining insights to innovate production processes and create new business models.
Every manufacturer faces unique challenges and opportunities, so practical IoT solutions must be flexible. This solution must be able to integrate seamlessly with the company’s production process and accurately solve the specific problems or needs encountered by the company, such as improving visibility into the entire supply chain, obtaining new revenue streams, or further optimizing the equipment life cycle.
With a sufficiently flexible IoT solution, any data collected but not used temporarily can be stored for future use. According to McKinsey’s survey analysis, by 2025, the value generated by the Internet of Things industry will reach as high as 11.1 trillion US dollars, but 60% of this value will come from data integration and analysis. This means that as business grows, companies may never know whether data that originally seemed useless will suddenly burst out with huge value.
Myth 3: The Internet of Things is not secure enough?
For companies in the manufacturing industry, as well as many other fields, the biggest concern about IoT technology is its security. Large-scale attacks such as WannaCry and the Mirai botnet have further fueled people’s panic, making everyone even more worried about the security of the Internet of Things.
IoT devices are often physical by their very nature and do have the potential to introduce new security challenges, but as security best practices mature, businesses will gain more confidence in IoT security. Microsoft’s rich experience in serving enterprise customers for many years and its vast partner ecosystem can also provide huge help to enterprises in this regard. This requires working closely with IoT hardware manufacturers to design and develop more secure devices, and working with solution providers to ensure the integrity of data in transit and stored in the cloud. While connecting devices to the Internet will inevitably face security risks, effective security strategies will help mitigate threats and add greater long-term value to the entire IoT infrastructure.
IoT technology will help manufacturing companies become more agile and better meet the new needs of the modern market. Don’t stop eating because you don’t understand enough or even have misunderstandings, which will affect the digital transformation of the entire enterprise.