Building upon interest and momentum from his last book, “Building the Internet of Things”, Maciej Kranzthe New York Times bestselling author and vice president of strategic innovation at Cisco, announced the release of “Building the Internet of Things: A Project Workbook.” The interactive companion to that book provides readers with a proven, step-by-step roadmap and considerations before, during and after launching a first or next IoT project.
I interviewed Kranz and reviewed his book in January 2017. In the review, I noted, “He told me that he wants people to understand the changes coming due to the IIoT and make the book practical and helpful. He succeeded in that goal. The book contains many examples of Industrial Internet of Things in practice along with practical leadership and implementation advice. While there is some technical discussion, this is not a book for engineering rather it is targeted to line of business leaders, people who solve business problems, and IT leaders as well as engineering leadership.”
In a follow up interview on this book and the state of the Internet of Things in general, Maciej told me, “The goal of book is to demystify IoT. It targets first line managers who asked for practical advice and help actually scoping and implementing IoT projects. People said in feedback from the first book, ‘you convinced me, now what do I do?’ This is a workbook, a guide. The purpose is to make sure they think through the process.
Through a series of instructional checklists, scores, questions, an ROI calculator <http://www.maciejkranz.com/roicalculator/> and first-hand guidance from Kranz, readers across industries can identify their organization’s IoT opportunities, evaluate their IoT readiness, create and implement a proven plan that incorporates the right people, processes and technologies.
Upon completion of their IoT project, readers will be able to accurately assess results, measure value, set benchmarks and apply lessons learned to their next IoT initiative. The “Building the Internet of Things” companion workbook is ideal for frontline business, operational and technical leaders, line-of-business influencers and decision makers at all levels of any organization eager to take advantage of IoT technologies.
A supporting quote from someone else whom I’ve often interviewed, “We’re thrilled that IoT pioneer Maciej Kranz has followed up on his first book, ‘Building the Internet of Things,’ with this related workbook. The workbook’s pragmatic and usable methodology filled with valuable resources and considerations will be invaluable for anyone charged with rolling out an IoT project. From a scheme to score your company’s IoT readiness, to an ROI calculator and methods to measure success, this workbook can make a difference in the outcome of your IoT operations.” – Sujeet Chand, SVP and chief technology officer, Rockwell Automation
The workbook draws on Kranz’s more than two decades of pioneering, hands-on experience and research connecting technologies with networks for industrial applications before IoT became a buzzword. Kranz’s workbook will be used as the basis for curricula and courses developed by Elephant Scale <http://elephantscale.com/>, specializing in corporate training and educational courses on IoT, big data, data analytics and machine learning.
“Digital Transformation is so last year. While many legacy companies around the world are still grappling with “transforming” their digital ecosystems, the true leaders are already on to next hot topic: Digital Transformation 2.0. We’ll call it ‘Digital Reinvention.’ ” Media relations agencies, aka PR agencies, must be under constant pressure to get messages published however they can. I’m flooded with teasers such as this one. And few, if any, take the time to know if their target is a good place for the news. It’s almost like there is no strategy other than send out as many promos as possible and hope some land.
Most I just delete. Then I get the inevitable follow up, when are you going to run my news (that probably doesn’t apply to your coverage but I need numbers)?
I bit on this one. Is Digital Reinvention an attempt to coin a new marketing phrase? Is it a real thing with a real definition? Dr. Google told me that the phrase has been around for several years, but it has not caught on. Maybe Rick Bullotta will catch on with Industry 4.5? (Search on LinkedIn)
The press release introduced me to Alfresco co-founder John Newton. He was quoted, “the whole notion of infinite computing, infinite storage, and resilience is just completely different.” Those changes are having a profound impact on how companies think about their future. Cloud adoption is happening at the speed of light as companies embrace the idea that they are no longer limited by server space. Responsive design and responsive applications are driving not just apps, but the entire business model. Companies like Uber, Airbnb, TaskRabbit and the behemoth, Amazon, are taking those words to heart and constantly reinventing each day.
So, I talked with Newton. He mentioned they had done a survey on what companies were achieving with Digital Transformation, how fast they were growing—innovative, size, etc. That formed the foundation for his thoughts. He told me to look at platform, design, and business operations. How open are they to connecting to customers and suppliers. Innovators looked at Digital Transformation not as technology only but also as business operations stretching to customers and supply chain.
Newton called out ‘design thinking’ that looks from the users point of view to make technology human. Another type of today’s thinking is ‘open’—open source, open standards, open architecture. “This will trump all other forms. It is naturally attractive to customers. The more profound is platform thinking. This is dominating in the stock market. Five of the top 10 value companies are platform plays, including Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon. They have a long term relationship with customers. In manufacturing think after-service care, maintenance and service relationships. Product is almost a loss leader. Digital twin is part of the platform play, for example, using it to predict failures.
Twenty-five minutes into the conversation, Newton had not tried to sell me on Alfresco. I had looked him up and noted he had founded Documentuum before founding Alfresco. So, I had to ask. Always need to learn about new companies. “We help create and manage documents and processes,” he told me. “We have a different way of thinking—open, open source, architecture, cloud friendly, AWS templates, manage in a matter of minutes.” Sounds interesting. All of my favorite concepts.
HMI SCADA as a technology product continues to grow and adapt in this Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) world. Once a control room technology, new iterations make it a natural for the Internet of Things. Steve Hechtman, founder of Inductive Automation, approached me some 15 years ago (I can’t believe it’s been that long) at a trade show to explain a new HMI SCADA product built with Java and IT-friendly technologies. The product has evolved substantially over the years, but the IT-friendly aspect is proving valuable in this new IT/OT convergence atmosphere.
So, now we have HMI SCADA and Enterprise linked. Inductive Automation has named Brock Solutions as the first system integrator in the new Inductive Automation Enterprise Integrator Program. Inductive Automation defines Enterprise Integrators as those with a high level of Ignition certification, a global presence, the ability to take on enterprise-wide projects, and 250 or more engineers, among other requirements.
Ignition by Inductive Automation is an industrial application platform with fully integrated tools for building solutions in human-machine interface (HMI), supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA), and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). Ignition is used in virtually every industry, in more than 100 countries.
“We’re very excited to be the inaugural member of Inductive Automation’s new Enterprise Integrator program,” said Davin McDougall, operations leader at Brock Solutions. “This program focuses on organizations looking for an integration partner like Brock Solutions with global/national reach, technical expertise, and breadth of services to roll out enterprise-wide Ignition solutions that are repeatable, scalable, sustainable, and — most importantly — that drive business value.”
Inductive Automation first made the announcement at its Ignition Community Conference (ICC) in 2017. Also at ICC 2017, Brock’s John Southcott presented a session with R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company about how Brock aided Reynolds in its highly successful enterprise-wide transformation.
Brock Solutions worked closely with Inductive Automation on the development and launch of the Enterprise Integrator Program. “It’s been a pleasure working with Brock Solutions the past three years, and we’re very happy to designate Brock as our first Enterprise Integrator,” said Don Pearson, chief strategy officer for Inductive Automation. “Brock Solutions’ thorough knowledge of its customers, its committed team members, and its strong business processes have led to some very impressive installations of the Ignition software platform, and we look forward to seeing Brock put together more large-scale projects in the future.”
Brock Solutions is an engineering solutions and professional services company specializing in the design, build and implementation of real-time solutions for broad-based industrial/ manufacturing and transportation/logistics organizations globally. With more than 400 employees, Brock Solutions is a privately held, employee-owned organization with more than 30 years in the real-time solutions space.
Inductive Automation creates industrial software cross-pollinating IT with SCADA technologies.
[Disclaimer: Inductive Automation is an advertiser, but they do not dictate my coverage of either it or the space.]
Some people have told me that they prefer the YouTube versions of my podcasts. Not sure why. Here is the latest one. 173-Digital Twins and the Internet of Things. Discussing trips to San Diego and the Industry of Things World event (Internet of Things, Mindsphere from Siemens, OPC UA) and Siemens Manufacturing in America (university students, simulation, PLM, digitalization, cyber-physical systems, blockchain).
You can subscribe to the podcast version on Podcasts (iTunes) or on Overcast or wherever you find podcasts. Or click the podcast button on this website. Or click here.
One of the many dreams spurring development of the Industrial IoT was the ability to easily slap sensors around a plant on units and equipment and areas that would report to a database with attached dashboards. The resulting information and visualization would give plant managers and professionals an opportunity for better control of operations and maintenance. Following is a press release from a relatively new entrant in that market segment.
This system from Swift Sensors reminds me of the old ZigBee sensors from a long time ago brought into the modern IoT world with new technologies. This month, the company announced addition of user-defined dashboards to simplify and enhance viewing and analytics of critical sensor data. These new features will help Swift Sensors customers gain deeper insight into “big data” from wireless sensor networks and simplify IoT systems to deliver true value.
“Providing a simple, intuitive cloud dashboard is essential to driving value from a wireless sensor (IoT) system,” says Sam Cece, founder and CEO of Swift Sensors. “Our end-to-end system delivers simplicity and value at all levels — from installation to configuration to data analytics.”
The Swift Sensors cloud-based dashboard allows real-time asset monitoring and sophisticated analytics from anywhere. The enhanced dashboard will allow customers to show sensor data in the manner that’s most relevant to their business, including the option to create multiple views of data streams to identify patterns and correlations.
More details on the new dashboard features:
Custom Dashboards: Users can now create custom dashboards shared with all account users. Custom Dashboards are user-defined pages with a collection of panels with only the data users want to see, in the order they want to see it. Customer Use: Aerospace manufacturing company uses custom dashboard to track sensors measuring machine output and utilization.
Set Default Dashboard: Users can select their favorite dashboard to be their default view. When a Dashboard is marked as the default view, the user will be taken directly to this Dashboard upon signing into Swift Sensors.
Customer Use: A 1000 seat restaurant and banquet facility manager creates default view for walk-in coolers and freezers.
Combo Chart: The dashboard now supports a new Combo Chart panel. This panel allows up to four measurements to be rendered on the same chart, even if those measurements use different units.
Customer Use: A large food manufacturer tracks vibration and temperature data to enhance preventive maintenance program.
Expanded Language Support: Support for six new languages has been added. In addition to English and Japanese, users can now also choose Danish, German, Spanish, French, Italian, and Portuguese.
Full Screen App behavior on mobile devices: The Swift Sensors Dashboard behaves like a full-screen app on mobile devices, thanks to full-screen support when launched from a Home Screen icon on iOS and Android.
Incomplete Threshold and Notification Warning: Threshold and notification lists now show a yellow warning icon next to incomplete thresholds and notifications with missing assignments of users, measurements, bridges, and/or sensors
Swift Sensors products are available through a worldwide network of resellers and integrators. All features of the Dashboard are available to Swift Sensors customers through a low annual subscription to the Cloud Dashboard and Analytics, with configurations optimized for the size of the facility.