The Industrial Internet, a market General Electric (GE) once predicted would account for $15tn of global GDP by 2030, will redefine the way much of the global industrial economy operates. It is part of a fast-evolving ecosystem of intelligent machines running their own logic and communicating with each other. However, a key use case – predictive maintenance – has so far failed to take off, with organisations struggling to integrate it into their existing operations environments. Several manufacturers are also fretting about putting sensor data in the cloud. Cyber threats are also a concern. Factory floor legacy systems were never intended to be externally linked and operations managers tend to think about site safety before cyber safety. 

There has been a significant shift in who is driving the development of the Industrial Internet. It is being led by white collar IT departments, not the blue-collar factory floor environment which is the domain of operations technology (OT) teams. The reason is that the Industrial Internet is all about data, and the information and insight that that data delivers to the organisation. Industries such as manufacturing, energy, pharmaceuticals, utilities, and agriculture are adopting sensor and AI technologies that are driving a sea change in how these businesses are run. The insurance industry too is taking a keen interest. 

However, not all companies are equal when it comes to their capabilities and investments in the key themes that matter most to their industry. Understanding how companies are positioned and ranked in the most important themes can be a key leading indicator of their future earnings potential and relative competitive position.  

According to GlobalData’s thematic research report Industrial Internet, leading adopters include: ABB, Siemens, GE, Schneider Electric, Rockwell Automation, IBM and Cognex. 

Insights from top ranked companies  

ABB 

ABB believes that only a few of the 450 industrial IoT platforms in the marketplace are profitable. Indeed, it does not believe anyone is making direct money out of platform sales and, though it has its own (ABB Ability), it believes customers don’t buy platforms. Ability is not marketed as a specific, generic offering. Instead, ABB concentrates on applications and its expertise in the industrial sector. It also heavily leverages the capabilities of Microsoft and other partners, including Accenture, to translate machinery asset data into actionable insights. ABB’s Motors & Generators business developed an IIoT device, Smart Sensor, which can be used to retrofit almost any low-voltage electric motor to help monitor its condition. The device’s sensors measure vibration, temperature, electro-magnetic field strength, and other parameters to help reduce downtime, increase the product lifecycle and reduce energy costs. ABB needed an interface that would connect the sensor to its customers and help them analyse and consume the data. It worked with Accenture to develop the solution. 

Schneider Electric 

Schneider Electric is targeting edge computing. Its interest is rooted in the reality that margins are falling at the higher end, where the cloud is consolidating to a limited number of players. In contrast, the edge is growing. There are a large number of players, and the margins are higher. Schneider’s commitment to the edge is expected to benefit from a new agreement with Cisco to work together on delivering edge and IoT solutions. In January 2019, Schneider announced a partnership with Nozomi Networks to provide customers in the industrial manufacturing and critical infrastructure segments with advanced anomaly detection, vulnerability assessment, and other cybersecurity services. It also announced EcoStruxure Process Safety Advisor, an IIoT-based digital process safety platform, which provides a single view into the health and status of the user’s safety instrumented functions, helping to identify potential risks and their impact on operations performance. 

GE 

Two years ago, in the wake of its acquisition of ServiceMax, GE was set to be one of the de-facto leaders of the Industrial Internet via its Predix IIoT platform. This is the same GE that in 2004 was the world’s most valuable company before it was outstripped in value by AWS, Microsoft, Apple, and Google. Now, arguably, it has also lost its leadership of the Industrial Internet to those same companies. In December 2018, GE announced it was selling its majority stake in ServiceMax to Silver Lake, a private equity firm, and establishing a new, independent company focused on building an Industrial Internet software portfolio. GE hopes this move will sharpen the focus of its IIoT portfolio to position the new business for future growth. The new organisation intends to provide software for asset-intensive sectors with a focus on the power, renewables, aviation, oil and gas, food and beverage, chemicals, consumer packaged goods, and mining industries. 

To further understand the key themes and technologies disrupting the technology industry, access GlobalData’s latest thematic research report on Industrial Internet. 

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