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Malta Business Review<br />
INDUSTRIAL INTERNET<br />
Decoding the<br />
Industrial Internet<br />
By Deborah Sherry<br />
Today, we are in the midst<br />
of the Fourth Industrial<br />
Revolution, a time when<br />
technology innovation<br />
is driving significant<br />
advancements in the<br />
automation of production<br />
and the ability to connect<br />
machines, devices and<br />
even industrial and city<br />
infrastructure.<br />
learning, robotics, IoT and edge computing<br />
among others. While Industry 4.0 focuses<br />
mainly on how these technologies can be<br />
used to optimise operations across factories<br />
and their supply chains, the Industrial Internet<br />
stretches well beyond manufacturing. It<br />
encompasses everything that is connected<br />
through digital technology – from sensors<br />
and devices, through to machines, networks,<br />
analytics and people. In other words, the<br />
Industrial Internet encompasses not only how<br />
products are made, but also how things of<br />
any sort operate.<br />
GE was one of the first industrial businesses to<br />
embrace the Industrial Internet by embarking<br />
on its own digital transformation journey<br />
a few years ago. As part of this journey<br />
we connected machine data to powerful<br />
analytics to help both GE and its customers<br />
make informed decisions that improve the<br />
way they sell, manufacture, design, service<br />
and operate. The results are impressive!<br />
Inside GE, last year we drove $730 million<br />
in productivity gains by implementing our<br />
Industrial Internet technology and we expect<br />
to reach $1 billion in productivity gains<br />
annually by 2020.<br />
The Fourth Industrial Revolution presents<br />
tremendous opportunities for increasing<br />
productivity by leveraging the Industrial<br />
Internet to power companies and drive<br />
economic growth. Conservative estimates<br />
suggest the Industrial Internet market is<br />
about £173 billion globally, compared to the<br />
consumer Internet, which is valued at £131<br />
billion. Some industry experts estimate that<br />
by 2020 the Industrial Internet will deliver<br />
more than $1.9 trillion in productivity gains<br />
globally.<br />
However, there is a lot of confusion about<br />
what defines the Industrial Internet, and how<br />
it is different from other widely used terms<br />
such as Industry 4.0 and the Fourth Industrial<br />
Revolution.<br />
Put very simply, the Industrial Internet is what<br />
powers the Fourth Industrial Revolution. It<br />
is the digital technology which enables the<br />
connection of machines, data and processes<br />
and makes possible the creation of smart<br />
technologies, smart manufacturing and<br />
connected city infrastructure.<br />
Industry 4.0 on the other hand is a term used<br />
to define the digitisation of manufacturing,<br />
triggered by the growing adoption of<br />
emerging technologies such as machine<br />
For example, analysing the data generated<br />
from connected devices and sensors within<br />
an airplane engine or wind turbine can help<br />
identify potential performance issues before<br />
they have occurred. This can help reduce<br />
system downtime and improve efficiency.<br />
Taking a step further, the Industrial Internet<br />
combined with data analytics, can enable<br />
machines to ‘talk’ to city infrastructure<br />
and other devices outside their immediate<br />
network. Imagine self-aware trains which<br />
can notify the nearest station that there are<br />
issues with the train ahead of time, so that<br />
staff can send the emergency services and<br />
alert passengers waiting at the next stop that<br />
there will be a delay. This predictive approach<br />
can be applied to multiple areas, including<br />
gas extraction, elevator maintenance, supply<br />
chain management and many others.<br />
In the above scenarios the Industrial Internet<br />
builds on Industry 4.0 as it enables the<br />
connection between machines, data and<br />
humans well beyond factories and industrial<br />
sites. It has the potential to connect everything<br />
to power the Fourth Industrial Revolution.<br />
This will lead us not only to greater industrial<br />
productivity, but also to greater commercial<br />
creativity by driving digital transformation.<br />
But our journey doesn’t stop here. We are<br />
committed to helping our customers and<br />
partners achieve similar, and even bigger<br />
productivity gains, and we are investing a lot<br />
of resource in supporting them on their digital<br />
transformation journeys. While undertaking<br />
your company’s own digital transformation<br />
might seem daunting, we have laid out the<br />
basic blueprint for how to get started. You can<br />
find out how to take the first steps towards<br />
digital transformation here.<br />
Digital Transformation Blueprint<br />
The Dawn of the Digital Industrial<br />
As an industrial company going through its<br />
own digital transformation, our customers<br />
ask us about our transformation strategy,<br />
and how we can help them develop their<br />
digital approach. To meet this need, GE Digital<br />
created the Digital Transformation Blueprint<br />
to help you develop the strategy that will put<br />
you in charge of your digital transformation<br />
journey. <strong>MBR</strong><br />
Credits: Industry Voice, GE; POLITICO SPRL<br />
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