The global industrial IoT platform delivers multiple integrations to industrial OT assets and other asset-intensive enterprises’ industrial data sources to aggregate, curate and deliver contextualized insights that enable intelligent applications and dashboards through an edge-to-cloud architecture. The global industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) platform market exists because of the core capabilities of integrated middleware software that support a multivendor marketplace of intelligent applications to facilitate and automate asset management decision making. IIoT platforms also provide operational visibility and control for plants, infrastructure and equipment. Common use cases are augmentation of industrial automation, remote operations, sustainability and energy management, global scalability, IT/operational technology (OT) convergence, and product servitization of industrial products. The IIoT platform monitors IoT endpoints and event streams, supports and/or translates a variety of manufacturer and industry proprietary protocols, analyzes data in the platform, at the edge and in the cloud, integrates and engages IT and OT systems in data sharing and consumption, enables application development and deployment and can enrich and supplement OT functions for improved asset management life cycle strategies and processes. In some emerging use cases, the IIoT platform may obviate some OT functions.
Managed mobility services (MMS) comprise the vendor-provided IT and business process services required to plan, procure, provision, activate, ship, manage, secure and support: Mobile devices, Related accessories, Related mobile management systems, Mobile applications. The goal of MMS is to ensure operational and commercial effectiveness for its end users. This includes security of relevant data, maximized device (and consequently user) uptime, visibility and control of the mobile estate, inventory optimization, lower total cost and higher return on investment, and improved end-user experiences.
Gartner defines manufacturing execution systems (MES) as a specialist class of production-oriented software that manages, monitors and synchronizes the execution of real-time physical processes involved in transforming raw materials into intermediate and/or finished goods. These systems coordinate this execution of work orders with production scheduling and enterprise-level systems like ERP and product life cycle management (PLM). MES applications also provide feedback on process performance, and support component and material-level traceability, genealogy and integration with process history, where required.
MDMS products are IT components of the advanced metering infrastructure (AMI). The core MDMS is responsible for cleansing, calculating and providing the data persistence of commodity consumption data. Additional MDMS capabilities now include disseminating metered consumption data for internal as well as external use. Meter data can be used to support billing, as well as analytics use cases, such as load profiling, consumption tracking, forecasting, asset loading and revenue protection, including the detection of tampering, theft or leakage. Beyond supporting internal utility needs, MDMS plays a role in open consumption data by supporting the sharing of consumption data with customers, partners, market operators and regulators. In most markets, data sharing is done with standardized data exchange formats.
Gartner defines operational technology (OT) as “hardware and software that detects or causes a change, through direct monitoring and/or control of industrial equipment, assets, processes and events”. OT security includes practices and technologies used to protect them, but these practices and technologies are now evolving into distinct categories to address the growing threats, security practices and vendor dynamics.
Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) software is essential for industries such as manufacturing, energy and utilities, transportation etc. to control the processes, collect & monitor real-time data, and communicate system issues. The software communicates with devices such as programmable logic controllers (PLCs) and Remote Terminal Units (RTUs) to interact with industrial equipment and processes. SCADA software can be run virtually, which allows the operator to supervise the industrial processes even from a distant location. The software provides real-time data insights through Human Machine Interface (HMI) to maximize efficiency, reduce overhead costs, and streamline operations. The software also warns the operator of any hazardous conditions such as blocked processes and failing systems.