The manufacturing sectors are introduced to new (connected) ‘things’, or industrial internet of things (IIoT), daily. Whilst not all of them are revolutionary within the consumer or industrial market, the IIoT is consistently evolving to digitize and improve the way the manufacturing cycle operates.

For the industrial market, the IIoT leans more towards being evolutionary as much of the technology has existed for many years, advancing recently in line with consumer markets.

For consumers, the IIoT is revolutionary. A portfolio of interconnected ‘things’ or ‘devices’ has completely disrupted traditional workflows.

So how does the IIoT enable enterprise-wide innovation? Which software providers are driving the IIoT and which skills are mandatory when recruiting talent into your Digital Manufacturing organisation?

Benefits of the IIoT

The IIoT was created to encourage team collaboration between each corner of an enterprise, within any given location, for any given dataset.

The IIoT is part of a growing digital toolbox which has enabled digital transformation and business innovation within various industries including automotive, aerospace and manufacturing.

With thanks to these innovations, early adopters are experiencing:

• Improved visibility across the business thanks to increased collaboration
• Reduction in unplanned downtime thanks to real-time product data and performance
• Boosts in uptime and reductions in service-relating costs which are improving customer satisfaction
• Faster repairs on equipment, response to customer queries and quality control

IIoT visionaries

There’s only positive noise being created with regards to the future of the IIoT. Recent reports suggest costs of sensors are falling and therefore adoption is on the rise and fueling growth for the IIoT.

Whilst much of the IIoT market remains niche, there are several visionaries for the Digital Manufacturing sector including:

• PTC: Recently hailed as the leading visionary for the IIoT in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Industrial IoT Platforms 2019.
• Hitachi: Since 2016, the Hitachi Lumada platform has developed into a powerful IIoT platform for asset-intensive industries including manufacturing
• Accenture: Have a fantastic reputation for taking customers from concept to solution integration with regards to their CPaaS platform (or soon to be Applied Intelligence Platform)
• Siemens: MindSphere for IoT recently snagged an award in the “Achievements in IoT Integration” category
• Atos: As well as offering Siemen’s MindSphere services, Codex is yet another proven application driving analytics and IIoT.

Skills driving the IIoT

As the technology landscape advances, the skills to deliver digital transformation promises also evolves.

As part of FMC’s upcoming EU Salary, Recruitment & Top Employers report, we uncover the leading soft skills and hard skills which are driving digital transformation. Here’s a sneak peek!

Hard skills:

• Data analysis
• Cloud computing
• Artificial intelligence

Soft skills:

• Communication
• Critical thinking
• Adaptability

FMC Smart Industry

FMC Smart Industry is the key sales and leadership talent partner, driving through the digital transformation agenda for the Construction, Plant and Manufacturing industries.

Operating on behalf of the Digital Manufacturing team, I have supported many IIoT, PLM, Simulation, CAD and other digital transformation companies across the globe in accessing sales and technical professionals to advance their businesses.

If you’re interested in hearing more about FMC’s services, or interested in discussing your personal career prospects, call me on +44 (0) 1522 812 461 or email me at ben.marum@fmctalent.com