A new Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC) has been established to support better access to big data in industrial settings by offering improved integration of the physical and digital elements. The goal is to enable organizations to more easily connect and optimize assets, operations and data to drive agility and to unlock business value across all industrial sectors. Backers include AT&T, Cisco, GE, IBM and Intel.
Specifically, the IIC’s charter will be to encourage innovation by:
- Utilizing existing and creating new industry use cases and test beds for real-world applications;
- Delivering best practices, reference architectures, case studies, and standards requirements to ease deployment of connected technologies;
- Influencing the global standards development process for Internet and industrial systems;
- Facilitating open forums to share and exchange real-world ideas, practices, lessons, and insights;
- Building confidence around new and innovative approaches to security.
“We are at the precipice of a major technological shift at the intersection of the cyber and physical worlds, one with broad implications that will lead to substantial benefits, not just for any one organization, but for humanity,” said Janos Sztipanovits, E. Bronson Ingram Distinguished Professor of Engineering and Director of the Institute for Software Integrated Systems (ISIS), Vanderbilt University. “Academia and industry understand the need to identify and establish new foundations, common frameworks and standards for the Industrial Internet, and are looking to the IIC to ensure that these efforts come together into a cohesive whole.”
“The Industrial Internet builds upon AT&T’s vision of enabling people to operate anything remotely, anytime and virtually anywhere,” said Mike Troiano, vice president, Advanced Mobility Solutions, AT&T Business Solutions. “The IIC is an assembly of the world’s leading technology innovators working to mobilize devices and machines around the world, whether they’re in an office building or on a ship in the middle of the ocean. Together, we share a common goal of building a more connected world.”
“Ninety-nine percent of everything is still unconnected. As the world looks to connect more things over the Internet, it is creating the next industrial revolution. Cisco is collaborating with Industry leading companies to break through the barriers of connecting things in industrial environments safely and securely, and paving the way for the Internet of Things,” said Guido Jouret, vice president of Internet of Things Business Group for Cisco.
