Digital transformation: Starting at the end
As we continue down the road of digital transformation, we’re seeing the lines between the physical and digital worlds become increasingly blurred. IIoT — or the invisible and ambient computing environment comprised of a network of smart sensors, cameras, software and massive data centers — has become the new framework for industrial operations.
And IIoT has already proved to be a disruptive force, shaping product development and paving the way to the next step in digital transformation. In fact, research shows that by 2020 the number of connected industrial devices will grow 285% from 2015. A given company can use dozens of disparate data sources with varying level of details that deliver information related to parts, operations, manufacturing process and parts cost.
The goal of these systems must be to transcend the traditionally siloed ecosystems that have been in place for decades. Doing so will improve efficiency and reduce cost in these industries. We’ve estimated that just single percentage gain in efficiency through the deployment of IIoT could yield $90 billion savings in the oil and gas sector, $66 billion in the power sector and $30 billion in aviation.
As industry moves forward, it’s important for industrial leaders to recognize that it’s not if you need to digitally transform your business, it’s when. And even more fundamentally, how. So what is the best approach? Below are a few to consider.
The quest to be data driven We’re constantly being told to be “data driven” and to consider a “data-first approach” when it comes to solving problems. By no means is the manufacturing industry an exception. Integrating digital analytics with industrial machinery provides enormous opportunities to collect massive amounts of information in order to generate valuable insights. Taking the data-first approach can allow a company to connect its disparate data sources, stitch the data together and find a way to use all the insights to develop analytics that will extract value.
