The Internet of Things (IoT) – the driving force and enabler of the Fourth Industrial Revolution – holds the potential to transform the way industries operate and how they produce goods and services to meet market demand in a significantly more efficient and sustainable manner.
“The integrated analysis and use of data is a key capability requirement for the IIoT,” says Reshaad Sha, CEO of SqwidNet and executive director of DFA. “This ubiquitous interconnection of people, things, and machines creates seamless flow of data and information that fuels machine learning, the continuous refinement of artificial intelligence algorithms and data analytics platforms. All of these drive analytically based workflows and process execution in highly digitally integrated industries. In essence, the connection of the physical world to the digital world is what brings the IoT and the Fourth Industrial Revolution to life.”
Efficient resource utilisation
This digitally connected and integrated ecosystem creates significant efficiencies in productivity and resource utilisation. A company is able to forecast demand more accurately based on a richer analysis of data and a wider range of contextual data sets that drive demand. They are also able to coordinate and align activities in their procurement and raw material supply chains, which are needed to produce and distribute products, as well as to improve production planning and scheduling activities to meet customer demand more efficiently than before. In addition, preventive maintenance schedules that are driven by machine performance data also decreases downtime and production losses, and the associated costs to recover production overheads and replenish stock.
The IIoT enables businesses to digitise their service portfolio and offerings. Industries are now capable of offering not only products to the market, but also connected value solutions that are more tightly integrated and embedded. Examples of this include jet engine companies that now sell flight time as a service instead of just a jet engine, or a generator company that sells power as a service instead of generators. These examples illustrate how the IIoT will disrupt business models, value chains, and service portfolios. This digitisation of the service portfolio will afford companies new revenue growth opportunities, and they will have to consider how they innovate their businesses to take advantage of these new opportunities in the digital world.
Policy plays a key role in delivering a frictionless IIoT ecosystem in which value chain players are able to integrate digitally in a simple and efficient way. Interoperability between systems, including planning, scheduling, MES and ERP platforms, is what drives the productivity and efficiency gains that the IIoT provides.
“However, the policy approach should not be limited to just ensuring uniform industrial standards and standards for protecting and securing data. The IIoT will require not only new skills but also a diversity of skills, and policy must extend to the development of the skills pipeline right down to school and tertiary-level curriculum planning – including facilities availability,” adds Sha.
The IIoT will go beyond just improving production and using resource more efficiently to meet customer needs more sustainably. “It creates the platform for disrupting business models and value chains to create new businesses and grow new revenue. It enables businesses to create new digitised service portfolios. It is not an evolution, it’s a revolution – and it is here now,” concludes Sha.
SqwidNet is the licensed Sigfox operator in South Africa. The SqwidNet network will give nationwide coverage for the Internet of Things – millions of sensors and devices sending small packets of data for, for example, analysis, immediate action, and record keeping. The network will span the entire country by 2018. The network will provide low cost access to IoT solutions and operators in South Africa. SqwidNet is a wholly owned subsidiary of DFA, the premier open-access fibre connectivity provider.
For more information contact Chetan Goshalia, SqwidNet, +27 (0)82 888 6999, chetan@sqwidnet.com, www.sqwidnet.com
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