The Fourth Revolution: It’s Time for Machine Builders to Take IIoT Seriously

In almost any industry, IoT has become not only a consideration but a necessity, and many have already embraced and adopted it. Manufacturing has certainly seen the opportunities that come with integrating IoT, especially when it comes to cloud-based historical data on machine performance.

Are the machine builders on board with this transformation, though? The answer is complicated. Here to give her perspective on this episode of The Fourth Revolution by Bartell is Kate Cohen, vice president of sales and marketing of Automation Intellect.

Machine builders, which tend to focus more on the actual machine than the technology they can harness, are lagging behind when it comes to IoT adoption. But their customers are eager to include it.

“Machine builders aren’t really taking IoT seriously, even after continued requests. Their customers are getting to the point where the expectation will be that machine builders must provide equipment that can deliver cloud-based historical data on machine performance via IoT technology,” Cohen said.

Most manufacturers do understand the need to employ IoT, yet most don’t know how to leverage that much data acquisition. “Only about 8% of manufacturers have a strategy around seeing true ROI on IoT. There is still confusion in the industry. But those that do, know that being able to have historical and real-time information is invaluable,” Cohen said.

For machine builders, it’s a complete transformation to shift to thinking about software and technology. Their revenue stream is built on the machines, warranty repairs, and replacement parts, so it’s hard for them to think outside of this bubble.

Much of the industry is lagging, but Cohen noted that Bartell has been different. “They’ve had a very proactive approach when it comes to machine performance data,” she said.