AT&T, Cisco, GE, IBM and Intel have teamed the Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC) which will create engineering standards to break down the barriers of technology silos in the adoption of industrial internet.
The consortium will create standards how internet connect objects, sensors and large computing systems in industrial assets, like oil refineries, factories or harbor, to improve machine-to-machine communications.
The group plans to combine the real and virtual worlds to cross the technological hurdles in order to offer better support to make big data accessible.
IIC will allow companies to easily connect as well as optimise assets, operations and data to unlock business value across all industrial sectors.
The consortium aims at speeding up the adoption of the Internet of Things through development of Industrial Internet applications, while making way for interoperability across various industrial environments.
IIC will also help companies in creation of real-world applications, simplify the deployment of connected technologies, allowing industries to share real-world ideas, practices, lessons, and insights and will also encourage approach towards security.
AT&T Business Solutions Advanced Mobility Solutions vice president Mike Troiano said the IIC is an assembly of technology innovators working to mobilise devices and machines around the world.
"Together, we share a common goal of building a more connected world," Troiano added.
"Ninety-nine percent of everything is still unconnected. As the world looks to connect more things over the Internet, it is creating the next industrial revolution. Cisco is collaborating with Industry leading companies to break through the barriers of connecting things in industrial environments safely and securely, and paving the way for the Internet of Things," said Guido Jouret, vice president of Internet of Things Business Group for Cisco.
GE Global Software vice president Bill Ruh said the consortium will drive together the ecosystem and market development of Industrial Internet applications and ensure organisations around the world can more easily create better services, access better data, and most importantly, seamlessly connect all the pieces together.
"The IIC has been established to achieve this goal through the creation of common architectures and use cases that will enable businesses in aviation, transportation, healthcare or energy to ‘plug-and-play’ Industrial Internet technologies anywhere, anytime," Ruh said.
IBM Smarter Energy Research engineer & CTO Ron Ambrosio said, "Smarter cities, utility grids, buildings, and machines are becoming more instrumented, interconnected and intelligent, and through this consortium we will accelerate both innovation and technology advancement."