Industry is struggling to extract insightful and relevant real-time data from industrial internet of things (IIoT) devices, with two-thirds of organisations reporting that connectivity is the main hindering factor.
This is according to a new report commissioned by satellite telecommunication company Inmarsat. They interviewed 750 respondents in the mining, transport and agricultural sectors regarding their uptake of IIoT devices.
They found that only 21 percent have deployed IIoT solutions into their workspaces¸ while 25 percent are currently trialing the technology.
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Of those enterprises that have adopted the technology many have cited improving resource efficiency as the key factor in utilising IIoT devices and the data generated by them. However generating and collecting real-time data from IIoT devices is often more difficult in the mining sector, as modern mining operations tend to be located far away from population centres and the increased connectivity associated with them.
This can lead to data generation that is not collected in real-time or is lost through poor connectivity issues.
Joe Carr Director of Mining at Inmarsat Enterprise, commented in an emailed statement that: “Mining businesses increasingly rely on IIoT technology to extract, haul and process raw materials. The data produced by these systems often has a shelf life, meaning that if it is not where it needs to be, at the right time, it can become outdated and of little value.”
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He added: “To secure the significant benefits that IIoT offers, businesses must ensure that they can view and analyse mission critical data in real-time, which requires a robust and reliable communications network.
IIoT: Security Concerns Abound
The report also looked at what enterprises considered the biggest security challenges in deploying IIoT devices into their workplace operations. Half of all respondents reported that an external cyber-attack is their main concern with setting up IIoT connections.
Interestingly over 40 percent cited a lack of trust in their employees when it comes to sensitive data, the fear being that employees will misuse the data in some way, causing damage to the company.
This is followed by concerns about internal and supplier compliance requirement issues at 38 and 25 percent respectively.
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The report estimates that eight percent of IT Budgets are set aside for: “IIoT over the next three years, businesses are expecting significant returns on their investment with a ten percent reduction in costs and a five percent lift in turnovers expected at the end of this period, and more by 2023.”
It would seem however that security concerns external and internal are slowing down uptake of IIoT devices and stricter regulations such as GDPR are concerning enterprises about what kind of data they can gather and how this can be misused by their employees.
