Kickstart for your IIoT and cloud projects

For many industrial companies, the adoption of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and the cloud remains uncharted territory. The benefits are clear, but how do you get started, what is the right timing and what choices do you need to make? Inimco organised a round-table discussion with its clients AkzoNobel, AquaSecurity, Henkel, Picanol and Tomra Sorting. The insights were distilled into seven tips to make your IIoT project a success. Co-founder Erik De Nert explains how Inimco can help with this. 

One of the biggest hurdles to overcome is choosing the right technology from today’s vast range of options.

“The sheer number of options can indeed be overwhelming. However, together with our colleagues at PA Solutions, we can support customers with expertise at every level – from sensors and PLCs right through to communication protocols. Our strong partnerships with suppliers also help us to put together the right combination of tools for our clients. To bring all this together in practice, we rely on Inimco.FACTS to connect machines and capture data, enabling us to achieve results quickly. Experience and know-how are key to successfully completing such projects, whatever their scale. We are familiar with both the world of OT and that of IT. We know what works in a particular environment because we have learnt from previous implementations. This enables us to advise clients effectively on capturing, visualising and analysing data.”

Should every project start with a proof of concept?

“It’s a good way to make decisions. Following an analysis, Inimco proposes an accessible implementation at a reasonable cost, enabling you to draw conclusions regarding connectivity, which data to use and how to apply it. Do make sure you decide in advance what you want to achieve and how long that straightforward implementation will take. Even in just two months, you can learn a great deal about what is viable and which aspects still need further refinement. Always compare different solutions as well. Most suppliers offer trial packages, allowing you to keep investment costs down. Using Inimco.FACTS also helps: you only need one dashboard, fed by data from various sources. A proof of concept is a good way to test what the IIoT can deliver for you. But make sure you strike the right balance between the benefits and the costs.”

How easy is it to build a business case around IIoT?

“In a production environment, it is relatively easy to predict the financial benefits. Our experience shows that efficiency gains of between 5 and 15% are easily achievable, and we have even recorded improvements of between 30 and 50%. For machine builders, it is less straightforward, as there are also a great many indirect benefits involved. How much competitive edge do you lose, for example, if you do not invest in IIoT? However, thanks to our experience, we can always use figures to substantiate what is possible.”

One way of keeping costs down is to use standards.

“That is why standards are at the heart of our solution. If the data is already leaving a local environment in a standardised format, it is much easier to process it. We also apply the principle of digital twins within our platform, which essentially means a standardised data model and structure. This makes it easy to simulate new applications and build components. Inimco has in-depth knowledge of standards. We know which standards to apply in which region. Furthermore, we can count on the support of our colleagues at PA Solutions for global coverage.

Inimco focuses exclusively on the industrial sector. Does that ensure a common language?

“Absolutely. We know what keeps our clients – and their clients – awake at night, and what the challenges are. This enables us to translate technical solutions into business benefits and the value they deliver. Cybersecurity, for example, is a concern that often comes up. We have the right expertise to sit down with the CISO and discuss the architecture needed to achieve a secure solution. The fact that we do this in line with recognised standards helps to convince end-customers that they can rely on what we deliver. However, we also recommend having a contingency plan in place. Something could always happen that forces you to halt an IIoT project – geopolitical changes, for instance, or a client failing to pay their invoice, or a cyberattack… In such cases, you must be able to shut down devices that capture and transmit data. All communication for Inimco. FACTS, for instance, takes place via a single outgoing network port, so that we can easily halt all data exchange. We therefore support our client at all times, throughout the entire lifecycle of their solution. That is why we also have long-term relationships with our clients.” ■