The Slow Encroach of Amazon and Microsoft on IIoT Platforms

As manufacturers integrate Information Technology (IT) and Operational Technology (OT), they rely on Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) platforms dedicated to smart manufacturing to manage their devices, connectivity, infrastructure, and data. These IIoT platforms also help manufacturers implement applications, derive insights, and deliver those insights to the correct stakeholders. More than US$66 billion will be spent on these solutions annually by 2030.

It seems almost every company that has built a piece of software for digital industries calls itself a “platform.” Consequently, IIoT platforms come in a variety of flavors to meet a range of needs. The most suitable definition, however, is that of an Application Enablement Platform (AEP).

AEPs provide a solution for importing data, but they often require partners to provide gateways. Some AEPs, such as Siemens MindSphere, Emerson Plantweb, and PTC ThingWorx, provide a “one-stop shop” that can take data from devices and work like an operating system with an app store. Some one-stop shops focus more on the extraction of data and getting data to the cloud, while others focus more on delivering the data to other manufacturing and enterprise systems. If app development remains open, applications can be built by the AEP provider, from partners (which may also be called platforms), end users, or independent developers, much like smartphone app stores.

There are also IIoT platforms that specialize in a specific piece of application enablement or microservice, such as adapting protocols and processing raw sensor data at the edge. Platforms that do this include Litmus Automation’s Intelligent Edge Computing Platform and Foghorn’s Lightning Edge Artificial Intelligence (AI) Platform.

No single firm can meet the needs of all customers, so most IIoT suppliers have partner ecosystems. This includes everyone from industrial gateway providers like Cradlepoint, MultiTech, and Dell to major industrial powerhouses like Siemens, Rockwell Automation, ABB, and Bosch. The newer entrants into the mix are the hyperscalers.

Most AEPs view cloud infrastructure as a commodity that Amazon and Microsoft dominate with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure, respectively, but increasingly, these are the two companies encroaching on their territory.

AWS, for example, is working with Volkswagen (VW) to consolidate data from its 122 manufacturing plants to better track the arrival of parts, vehicle assembly, and the overall effectiveness of assembly equipment. VW will use AWS IoT Greengrass, AWS IoT Core, AWS IoT Analytics, and AWS IoT SiteWise to collect, assimilate, and analyze data from the plants. The data collected will support Machine Learning (ML) models that provide predictive maintenance and optimize operations.

Microsoft, for its part, has a strategic relationship with Hitachi and recently extended its partnership with PTC and Rockwell Automation to offer Factory Insights-as-a-Service (FIaaS), a cloud-based solution sold on a modular, use-case basis. FIaaS combines many of the key product components of PTC (ThingWorx, Kepware, Vuforia) and Rockwell Automation’s FactoryTalk InnovationSuite with Microsoft’s Azure IoT Hub and Azure IoT Edge, so manufacturers can more easily standardize and scale applications across sites.

In industries like food and beverage and pharmaceuticals, where more than 80% of issues are known problems[1], there is a lot of low-hanging fruit, such as valve, pipe, and tank monitoring. In industries like automotive or electronics, which are complex yet highly automated, the opportunity is to integrate with other platforms to improve closed-loop quality and Statistical process control (SPC). The general expectation is that, after adopting pragmatic applications and use cases to drive core reliability and cost factors, manufacturers will expand their IoT scope to additional equipment and processes to optimize performance. The question is who can solve the specific business challenge with the fastest Return on Investment (ROI). Both dedicated IIoT platforms and now hyperscalers are a growing part of this story.

[1] ABI Research interview with Emerson CTO