Why Cloud Computing is Mandatory for Industrial IoT?
Cloud computing is a combination of application, platform, and infrastructure that is deployed through IaaS (infrastructure as a Service), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS). Unlike traditional IT service model where all subcomponents are managed by client itself, cloud computing allow enterprises to manage either fully or partly over internet based system.
The Industrial IoT (IIoT) implements IoT capabilities in manufacturing & industrial settings and aims to improve reliability, production, and consumer satisfaction. However, it is not beyond any challenges.
The major challenges with IIoT implementations are identification of things within the internet, management of massive amount of data, integration of IIoT strategy with existing infrastructure, and utilization of the power of cloud computing. IIoT connects all the machine and devices within the industry to produce valuable data or information that is used for analysis and exchange information between industry and consumer. Often the system can not identify the data related with things and mix up with consumer data. At the same time, the data becomes massive in size to handle and insight generation becomes complex in nature. The data can be related with real-time production data, user integration with software, and machine. Another challenge is to integrate IIoT strategies with existing systems that includes M2M communication, big data analytics technology, cyber security, HMI system, and SCADA.
Cloud Computing plays the critical role to connects people, machine, work process, and building to deliver cloud services while adding mobility in the industry. Cloud capabilities harness the power of cloud data centers to deliver industrial services such as remote controlling, virtual twinning, remote operation, predictive maintenance, building automation, and industry specific solution. The gateway transmits the data and information through cloud data center to application delivery network. Application delivery network then serves the industry specific solution and common IIoT application and services to end users.
Better functioning of the IIoT cloud architecture need to incorporate some functions such as data security in the platform, data integrity while collecting data, security at the edge point, platform scalability to handle massive amount of data, system compatible industrial equipment, data capability issues, high focus on big data and AI technologies, control over dashboard, platform interoperability, platform compatible equipment, separate APIs, cloud agnostic IoT platform, and predictive analytic.
My research on “Cloud Computing IIoT” evaluates the technologies, service providers, and solutions relied upon for Cloud Computing in IIoT. The report also projects $$$ market (global and regional) during 2017 – 2022 supporting IIoT cloud computing software, platforms, and infrastructure.