The economic value of the technological leap
The volumes of data generated in the Internet of Things (IoT) require a fundamental change in today’s information infrastructure IoT systems must be autonomous, robust and, above all, secure.
When the drill head of an oil platform communicates with the maintenance center on land 1500 meters below the water’s surface or when sensors inform you via an app if the temperature is outside the permissible range when transporting medication – this is the Internet of Things (IoT). The networking of tools and machines, cars and escalators, household appliances and robots is changing all areas of the economy. The IoT opens up enormous opportunities for companies, but also harbors security risks.
The Web of Things is inconceivable without big data and analytics. Only the mass collection of data and its intelligent analysis make networking possible. The demands on data management are enormous. Streams of information have to be processed in fractions of a second. Artificial intelligence (AI) helps with this. According to a survey of around 500 industrial managers in German-speaking countries, every second manufacturing company is already using AI. Patrick Schwarzkopf from the German Engineering Federation, Robotics and Automation Division: “And the rate is growing rapidly, as are the fields of application”. For some German SMEs, IoT is like old wine in new bottles: Companies such as SEW Eurodrive, Claas Landmaschinen and Stiebel Eltron were already sending data from machines to machines more than ten years ago. Back then, the aim was to promote automation. An early form of IoT, heating meter reading, was already being hailed by energy suppliers 20 years ago: Even then, an employee no longer came to the home but stayed in the car because he could read the data remotely from there. Suppliers have now gone even further: Smart Power Grid, for example, refers to intelligent distribution grids for the power supply. Here, the energy feed-in is adapted to the current consumption with the help of the IoT. A long election night in the United States or a soccer match in Germany? Millions of people will be sitting in front of the TV. As a result, more energy is fed into the grids. And there’s more. New business areas are being created, for example, by utilities adding additional IoT services to existing products or developing completely new products with IoT functions.
The software industry is responding to the challenge of processing large, rapidly incoming data volumes: New services such as SAS Event Stream Processing have been developed.
Evaluations in real time
The data is not only analyzed after it has been stored, but also during transmission in the cloud. “This enables real-time analysis not only of data supplied by sensors, but also of transactions in social media and on websites,” explains Annette Green, responsible for Germany, Switzerland and Austria at global market leader SAS. “This gives companies fast, scalable results from their IoT data.”
IoT helps on the road: Volvo Trucks, manufacturer of commercial vehicles, constantly collects all vehicle functions and analyzes them so precisely that problems are detected as soon as they arise – and not just when the truck breaks down on the side of the road. IoT helps with customer service: according to the study “Experience 2030: The Future of Customer Experience”, waiting on hold could soon be a thing of the past. According to the authors of the study, in the next ten years, around two thirds of all customer contacts will be handled via smartphones, the web or at information desks with the help of intelligent machines. But that’s not all: insurance companies can improve their work processes from customer dialog to individual tariff design. One example is the claims processing of a European insurance group: if a customer has a car accident, he reports it via his insurance app. First, the customer answers urgent questions, such as whether there are any injuries. Then the customer describes the damage and, if necessary, sends a photo. The app shows them the nearest authorized workshops or – if the car is unroadworthy – a towing service is ordered and a cab called.
Many checks run in the background: does the information indicate that it may be a case of fraud? And a cost model operates that automatically calculates the amount of damage, taking into account the make, model and age of the vehicle, and determines how to deal with this case. Annette Green: “There is potential for the value-enhancing use of analysis tools along the entire value chain.”
According to the SAS manager, corona has shown that many companies in Germany still have considerable deficits in terms of digital networking. Companies without methodical, conceptual, organizational and technical procedures for the use of “data” resources are more likely to get into trouble than companies that already rely on big data and analytics or AI: “They create more resilience, which protects them in the future in the event of unexpected events and opens up the development of new products, services and business areas and thus new sources of revenue.”
Value-enhancing analysis tools
An example from the SME sector: the Lower Saxony-based company Bornemann Gewindetechnik (60 employees) is considering setting up a consulting division because a new technology will provide it with enormous amounts of data in the coming years. For six months now, Bornemann has been selling smart threaded spindles that are equipped with mini sensors and send data to a machine or cell phone via Bluetooth. Information about the rotation of the spindle, internal loads and vibrations. “It’s like X-ray vision into the thread,” explains Managing Director Moritz von Soden. Bornemann customers, such as manufacturers of lifting platforms or extruders, can now see the condition of their products around the clock. Maintenance intervals can be optimized and breakdowns avoided. Bornemann itself gains new expertise from the data analysis, for example about the exact load profiles. “We will be able to offer this knowledge to our customers in addition to our threaded spindles in future,” says von Soden. And IT security with IoT? Patrick Schwarzkopf: “The networking of machines, systems and devices is a real target for hackers. They are always trying to break into IoT systems – we need to put a stop to this.” Cyber security experts know how to protect themselves. Schwarzkopf: “If AI tools are used, anomalies in the data stream can be detected more easily.” He cites an example from the food industry: “If a hacker wants to change the composition of milk powder with a command, for example, AI immediately recognizes such an unannounced data stream and the service management system prevents it from being forwarded. Anything that does not fit the learned pattern triggers an alarm.”
The networking of many different devices, both in industry and in everyday life, is known as the Internet of Things (IoT). Internet-connected lamps or the refrigerator in a smart home are just as much a part of the IoT as a networked production plant. The networking of industrial machines is also referred to as Industry 4.0 or the Industrial Internet.
According to an estimate by network equipment provider Cisco, one trillion devices will be networked with the IoT by 2022. In addition to the networking of industry, the technology group’s analysts expect the development of smart cities to fundamentally change today’s information infrastructure. By networking the city, for example traffic lights, vehicles, residents and administration, cities are set to become more efficient, progressive, greener and more socially inclusive.
The Internet of Things is already having a lasting impact on our everyday lives. In addition to communication, the smartphone as a control center now also enables access to lighting in the home, shopping, kitchen appliances or even your own front door. At the same time, innovative business models in the digital market will lead to a fundamental restructuring of value chains. This is because the true potential of the IoT lies in connecting data with your own business organization. This will enable companies to offer products and services that adapt more quickly to customer needs and changing market conditions.
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Internet of Things
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