The 3rd Annual Internet of Manufacturing South is a very important conference for the construction and support of the industrial ecosystem.
It’s the destination for you to build on your competitive edge, engage with other manufacturing leaders and meet the solution providers disrupting the market.
In the build up to Internet of Manufacturing South 2019 we caught up with Jim Davis, Edge Research Groups’ Founder & Principal Analyst on what the key challenges with IIoT are and its impact on manufacturing and business models.
What are the biggest challenges manufacturers face in IT-OT convergence? Is it necessary and why?
The technology challenges are there of course, especially with regards to security, but the human element is a very big challenge that sometimes gets less attention. There is the basic (but not easy) challenge of getting IT and OT to cooperate more closely and adjust communication processes. But digital transformation projects can expose culture issues if there is a lack of trust between executives and factory workers, for instance. Is digital transformation just a code word for “I lose my job?” It doesn’t have to be. With planning and good communication, all employees can be empowered to move these projects forward.
What are the top three challenges that companies face when dealing with data analytics? What is your company doing to overcome them?
It’s easy enough to say “We need to have a company policy on data management” that will inform how and where analytics functions are performed, another to create and implement it. There are a lot of stakeholders that need to be involved in conversations about security and privacy, including the legal team of course and the CISO, but also the personnel responsible for data created by a product or service and for ensuring that data sources are integrated with compliance mechanisms. Another challenge: not treating these policies can’t exist as a static document. Products/services are evolving rapidly, and there should be regular conversations between stakeholders to see if policies-or practices-need to be adjusted to an also changing legal and regulatory environment.
Where do you send your data? Edge vs. Cloud?
In some ways, the easier question to answer is where. It might initially be determined by performance and security requirements, in which case different edge locations can be chosen based on those factors (as well as cost). But the “where” is also determined by the answers to the question about challenges.
Why are you taking part in the 3rd Annual Internet of Manufacturing and what lessons will you gain from the event?
Having attended a previous event, I’m taking part because I can learn from the many conversations attendees will have around all of the key questions about IoT and its impact on manufacturing and business models. I have a chance to share my perspective on technology adoption from my background in IT industry research, but sometimes to also to get a reality check from end users of technology.
If you’d like to learn more then register for Internet of Manufacturing South today.
About Internet ofManufacturing
Internet of Manufacturing South 2019 takes place on 19-20 November 2019 in Dallas, Texas, as the USA’s leading event for the Industrial Internet of Things. The end user led conference program, is split into three streams of content for business strategists and technical wizards. From tried and tested knowledge on building the business buy-in for new digital applications, real-life examples Edge, Cloud and Data Analytics, building technology to deliver your business dreams and the capabilities of data analytics, AI, AR, VR, robotics and more; Internet of Manufacturing is your one stop shop to drive your organization forward. This is the destination for you to build on your competitive edge, engage with other manufacturing leaders and meet the solution providers disrupting the market.
About Edge Research Group
Edge Research Group provides market research, strategic advisory, and content marketing services for technology firms. Our research is about exploring the ‘edge’, with a focus on edge compute, storage and network services such as content delivery networks. Areas of research inquiry include:
- Network edge access and security services, as enabled by SDN
- IoT and its impact on edge network and compute services
Edge Research Group evaluates technology in the context of creating business value. Our research spans both public and private companies that are expanding existing markets and moving across the edge of one market and into another market.
About Jim Davis
Jim Davis is founder and principal analyst for Edge Research Group. His areas of expertise include edge compute services, cloud-based networking and security services. Advisory services provided for clients includes M&A analysis, competitive intelligence, and corporate branding and product
positioning strategies.
