The Internet of Things (IoT) is a network of linked devices that interact with one another to carry out specific functions. Everything from smart home appliances to industrial machinery may be part of this network. The IoT has the potential to revolutionize industries and open up new business opportunities by utilizing the power of big data. As with any new technology, there are substantial obstacles that need to be overcome.

One of the biggest opportunities that big data and the IoT present is the ability to make data-driven decisions in real-time. For example, in the manufacturing industry, sensors on machinery can provide real-time data on performance, allowing for predictive maintenance and reducing downtime. Similarly, in healthcare, IoT devices can monitor patients and provide data to healthcare professionals, allowing for more personalized care.

However, with the amount of data generated by the IoT, there are also significant challenges in terms of managing, processing, and analyzing this data. Traditional data management tools and techniques are often not sufficient to handle the sheer volume of data generated by the IoT. Additionally, there are concerns around data privacy and security, as the IoT often involves sensitive data being transmitted over networks.

Here are few insights from Gartner or Forrester

According to a Gartner report, the combination of big data and the IoT presents significant opportunities for businesses, particularly in areas such as supply chain management, predictive maintenance, and customer engagement. However, the report also highlights the challenges associated with managing and analyzing the large volume of data generated by the IoT, as well as the need for businesses to ensure data security and privacy.

Similarly, a Forrester report emphasizes the potential of the IoT and big data to drive digital transformation in various industries. The report notes that businesses that effectively leverage these technologies can gain a competitive advantage by improving operational efficiency, reducing costs, and delivering better customer experiences. However, the report also warns that businesses must address challenges such as data management and security to realize the full potential of the IoT and big data.

Here are a few challenges and opportunities we should be aware of.

Opportunities:

Real-time data-driven decisions: The ability to collect and analyze real-time data from IoT devices can enable businesses to make data-driven decisions quickly and efficiently.

Increased efficiency and productivity: By using IoT devices to monitor and optimize processes, businesses can increase efficiency and productivity, leading to cost savings and increased revenue.

Improved customer experience: The IoT can be used to collect data on customer behavior and preferences, allowing businesses to offer personalized experiences and improve customer satisfaction.

New revenue streams: The IoT can open up new revenue streams for businesses by enabling them to offer new products and services, such as subscription-based models or pay-per-use models.

Challenges:

Data management: The sheer volume of data generated by IoT devices can be overwhelming for businesses, and traditional data management techniques may not be sufficient to handle it.

Data security and privacy: The IoT involves the transmission of sensitive data over networks, raising concerns around data security and privacy.

Interoperability: As the IoT involves devices from different manufacturers, there can be challenges in ensuring that these devices can communicate and work together seamlessly.

Skill gaps: As the IoT is a relatively new technology, there may be skill gaps in the workforce, making it challenging for businesses to effectively leverage it.

Use Cases:

One use case for big data and the IoT is in the transportation industry. By using IoT devices to collect data on traffic patterns and road conditions, transportation companies can optimize routes and reduce congestion. In agriculture, IoT devices can monitor soil conditions and weather patterns to optimize crop yields. In the energy industry, IoT devices can monitor power usage and detect inefficiencies, leading to cost savings and reduced carbon emissions.

How Indium Software can address

Indium Software has extensive experience in developing and implementing solutions for big data and IoT use cases. For example, our team can develop customized algorithms and machine learning models to analyze IoT data and provide real-time insights. We can also help ensure data privacy and security by implementing robust encryption and access control measures. In addition, our team can develop and deploy custom dashboards and visualizations to make it easy for businesses to understand and act on IoT data.

Here are a few real-time scenarios that illustrate how the combination of big data and the IoT is being used to drive innovation and growth across various industries:

Smart Manufacturing: A manufacturing company has implemented an IoT system to monitor and optimize its production processes in real-time. The system collects data from sensors embedded in manufacturing equipment and uses big data analytics to identify patterns and optimize production. By leveraging this technology, the company has been able to reduce downtime, increase productivity, and improve product quality.

Predictive Maintenance: A transportation company has deployed IoT sensors on its fleet of vehicles to monitor their performance and detect potential maintenance issues before they become major problems. The system collects data on factors such as engine performance, fuel consumption, and tire pressure, and uses big data analytics to identify patterns and predict maintenance needs. By leveraging this technology, the company has been able to reduce maintenance costs, increase vehicle uptime, and improve customer satisfaction.

Smart Agriculture: A farming company has implemented an IoT system to monitor and optimize its crop production processes. The system collects data from sensors embedded in soil and crop fields, as well as weather data and other environmental factors, and uses big data analytics to identify patterns and optimize crop production. By leveraging this technology, the company has been able to increase crop yields, reduce water and fertilizer usage, and improve overall farm productivity.

Wrapping Up

The potential of big data and the IoT is enormous, and businesses that can effectively leverage these technologies will have a significant advantage in the marketplace. However, it is crucial to address the challenges associated with managing and analyzing the data generated by the IoT. Indium Software has the expertise and experience to help businesses overcome these challenges and unlock the full potential of big data and the IoT.

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Introduction:

AMQP stands for Advanced Message Queuing Protocol, and it is an open standard application layer protocol. AMQP Message Protocol also deals with publishers and subscribers for the consumer.

One of the key features of AMQP is the message broker, which acts as an intermediary between sender and receiver. The broker receives messages from senders, stores them, and delivers them to their intended recipients based on predefined routing rules. The broker provides a range of features such as message persistence, message acknowledgment, and message prioritisation to ensure reliable and efficient message delivery. 

Several industries, including telecommunications, healthcare, and financial services, use AMQP. It has been widely adopted as a messaging protocol due to its reliability, interoperability, and flexibility.

Now there are four different exchange types:

• Direct Exchange
• Fan Out Exchange
• Topic Exchange and
• Header Exchange

Direct Exchange:

A direct exchange works by matching the routing key, when there is a match, the message is delivered to the queue. Each message sent to a direct exchange must have a routing key. 

If the routing key match, the message can be forwarded to the queue of the message.

For example, suppose there are three nodes named node A, node B, and node C, and a direct exchange named X. If node A is connected to X with a routing key of “key 1”, node B is connected to X with a routing key of “key 2”, and node C is connected to X with a routing key of “key 3”, then when a message is sent to X with a routing key of “key 2”, the message will be routed to node B.

Fan Out Exchange:

A fanout exchange works by sending messages to all of its bound queues. When a message is sent to a fanout exchange, the exchange simply copies it and sends it to all the currently bound queues.

For example, A real-time example of a Fanout Exchange can be a social media platform where a user posts a message that needs to be sent to all the users.

Topic Exchange:

When a message is sent to a topic exchange, the exchange will forward the message to all the queues. If queues have a binding key that matches the routing key, the message is routed to that queue, and finally each customer will receive the message from the queue.

Header Exchange:

A header exchange works by allowing the sender to attach a set of header attributes to each message. The header exchange looks at the headers and compares them to the header values specified in the bindings of each queue. If there is a match between the header of the message and the bindings of a queue, the message is delivered to that queue.       

Also read: Internet of Things in the Automotive Industry Blog.

Advantages of AMQP:

Message orientation, queuing, routing (including publish and subscribe and point-to-point), dependability, and security are the characteristics that set AMQP apart.

It employs techniques to ensure the secure transmission of critical data.

Flexibility:

AMQP includes publisher and subscriber request responses among the many message patterns it supports and point-to-point messaging, which makes it suitable for a variety of business use cases.

These services are provided using AMQP:

Healthcare services:

AMQP can be used to transmit medical data from wearable and implantable devices to healthcare providers, enabling remote monitoring and personalised treatment. It can be used to transmit patient data, test results, and other medical information securely and in real time. By using AMQP, healthcare providers can establish a reliable and secure communication channel to exchange data and messages between different services. The transfer of patient information among various healthcare providers, including hospitals, clinics, and laboratories

Financial services:

AMQP can be used to build reliable and secure messaging systems for financial institutions, including stock exchanges, banks, and trading platforms. It can be used to transmit market data, trade orders, and other financial information securely and efficiently. By using AMQP, financial services providers can improve the speed and efficiency of their communication systems and reduce the risk of delays or errors.

Internet of Things (IoT) services:

the AMQP protocol is designed for reliable, interoperable, and secure communication between different components of distributed applications, including Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

Device-to-cloud communication:

The AMQP protocol enables IoT devices to transmit messages to cloud services for further processing and analysis. For instance, a temperature sensor can utilise AMQP to transmit temperature readings to a cloud-based analytics service.

Overall, AMQP provides a flexible and scalable messaging infrastructure that can support various IoT services, from simple device-to-cloud communication to complex event processing and analytics.

Security:

AMQP provides a range of security features, such as authentication and encryption, to protect messages and prevent unauthorised access.

Conclusion

AMQP is a powerful messaging protocol that enables different applications to communicate with each other reliably, securely, and flexibly. With its client-server architecture and components such as a broker, exchange, queue, producer, and consumer, AMQP provides a robust framework for message-oriented middleware.

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From IoT sensing to cloud

The IoT sensing architecture consists of three main components: sensors, gateways, and cloud platforms.

Sensors are physical devices that capture data from the environment. They can be wired or wireless and come in various forms, such as temperature sensors, humidity sensors, pressure sensors, and motion sensors. Sensors also can include cameras, microphones, and other types of sensors that capture data in different formats.

Gateways are the intermediate devices that receive data from sensors and transmit that data to a cloud platform for processing and analysis. Gateways can perform data filtering and aggregation, as well as provide security and connectivity to different types of networks.

Cloud platforms are the central systems that receive and process data from sensors and gateways. Cloud platforms can store data, run analytics, and provide dashboards and visualizations for end-users. Cloud platforms can also integrate with other systems, such as enterprise resource planning (ERP) or customer relationship management (CRM) systems

Here are a few examples of IoT sensing protocols

• MQTT – One commonly used protocol for IoT sensing is the MQTT (Message Queuing Telemetry Transport) protocol. MQTT is a lightweight, publish-subscribe messaging protocol designed for IoT applications with low bandwidth, high latency, or unreliable networks.

• CoAP – It can be used for IoT sensing CoAP (Constrained Application Protocol), which is designed for constrained devices and networks. CoAP uses a client-server model, where the client sends requests to the server and the server responds with data.

An example of using CoAP for IoT sensing could be in a smart agriculture system. Let’s say we have a soil moisture sensor in a field that sends data to an IoT platform using CoAP. The sensor would send a request to the CoAP server on the platform, asking for the current soil moisture level. The server would initially respond with the data, which the platform could use to determine if the crops need watering.

There are many other protocols that can be used for IoT sensing, including HTTP, WebSocket, and AMQP. The choice of protocol depends on the specific requirements of the application, such as the level of security needed, the amount of data being transmitted, and the network environment.

Also read: IoT Testing Approach on Devices

IoT Sensing Use Cases

IoT can be used in a variety of applications, such as Smart Homes and buildings, Industrial Automation and Healthcare.

• In smart homes and buildings, IoT sensing can be used to control heating, lighting, and ventilation system based on environmental conditions. For example, a temperature sensor can be used to adjust the heating system based on the current temperature, while a light sensor can be used to adjust the lighting system based on the amount of natural light.

• In healthcare, IoT sensing can be used to monitor patients and improve patient outcomes. For example, a wearable sensor can be used to monitor a patient’s heart rate and transmit that data to a cloud platform for analysis. The cloud platform can then alert healthcare professionals if the patient’s heart rate exceeds a certain threshold.

IoT Sensing and Predictive Maintenance

The Internet of Things (IoT) has revolutionized predictive maintenance by enabling real-time monitoring and analysis of equipment and systems. By deploying IoT sensors, organizations can collect data on various factors, including temperature, vibration, energy consumption, and more. This data is analyzed using machine learning algorithms to identify patterns and anomalies that can predict equipment failure.

Predictive maintenance in IoT sensing has numerous benefits, including

• Reduced Downtime: By predicting equipment failures before they occur, maintenance can be scheduled during planned downtime, and reduce the impact on operations.
• Lower Maintenance Costs: Predictive maintenance allows organizations to replace or repair equipment before it fails and reduce the need for emergency repairs and overall maintenance costs.
• Increased Efficiency: By monitoring equipment in real-time, organizations can identify inefficiencies and optimize operations to reduce energy consumption and increase efficiency.
• Improved Safety: Predictive maintenance can identify potential safety issues before they become a hazard, reducing the risk of accidents and injuries

For example, consider a fleet of trucks used for transporting goods. Each truck is equipped with IoT sensors that collect data on factors such as speed, fuel consumption, and engine performance. This data is analysed using predictive maintenance algorithms to identify when maintenance is required. For example, if the algorithm detects a decrease in fuel efficiency, it may predict that the engine needs to be serviced. The maintenance team can then schedule a service appointment before the engine fails, minimizing the risk of costly breakdowns and repairs.

Condition Monitoring and prognostics Algorithms

It is used in a variety of industries to evaluate the efficiency and state of machinery and systems. Condition monitoring is the process of keeping an eye on the health of machinery or other equipment to spot any changes that could indicate a potential problem. Prognostics, on the other hand, is the process of determining an equipment’s or system’s future health using the data gathered during condition monitoring.

Algorithms for condition monitoring and prognostics are generally required to maintain the effectiveness and functionality of equipment and systems. By utilising these algorithms, organisations can reduce the risk of equipment malfunction or damage, reduce downtime, and boost productivity.

Conclusion

IoT sensing, to sum up, is a rapidly expanding field that uses sensors and other smart devices to gather and transmit information about the physical world to the internet or other computing systems. Organisations and individuals can make better decisions and achieve better results by using the data collected by these sensors to provide insights into a variety of processes and environments

The post The Ultimate Guide to Understanding IoT Sensing: Everything You Need to Know appeared first on Indium.

The era of the Metaverse, when virtual worlds resemble our real world more than ever before, has replaced the times when having a computer was a luxury. Technology for virtual worlds has advanced recently, particularly Facebook. To increase its influence in emerging industries, it was rebranded as Meta Platforms, and it quickly gained a lot of popularity. With the active involvement of international business units, metaverse technology has developed into a full-fledged business domain. In the metaverse, tech experts have discovered their favourite hub for experimentation. They are looking into novel approaches to capitalise on the metaverse’s potential as a source of industrial innovation. But this growth cannot be achieved alone, and the Internet of Things assumes a fourfold greater significance.

The Internet of Things (IoT) as we define it is a resilient digital network of interconnected physical devices that we use every day. Use the connection between the physical world and the technical realm. In IoT, billions of technological devices are connected through wired or wireless channels to exchange information, interact, and access data resources.

IoT is a key pillar of the metaverse infrastructure that relies on the former to unlock its full potential. The combination of IoT and the Metaverse could open up new opportunities for growth and development in the technology space. This article provides insight into how the integration of IoT and the Metaverse brings the real world closer to the rapidly shifting virtual world.

About Metaverse Technology

The Metaverse, to put it simply, is a virtual world where you can get away from the stress of the real world. This refers to a network of digitally replicated real-world environments where users can interact, engage in work, play, and earn money. The use of blockchain technology, which offers much-needed decentralised capabilities, enhances the power of the Metaverse. The Metaverse blockchain cluster ensures top-notch security, transparency, and immutability while preventing interference from centralised authorities.

This technology uses virtual reality, augmented reality, and artificial intelligence to blur the lines between the virtual and real worlds. Immerse yourself in the realm of the Metaverse with special gear like VR-AR assist headsets, smart glasses, and remote-control grips. Neil Stevenson created the idea of ​​virtual space in his popular novel Snow Crash.

Consider it a high-tech, advanced version of the current internet. Without being confined to a computer screen like in the present situation, you can browse the Internet. All you must do is let your fantasy horse loose by unbuckling it. The Metaverse immerses users in a virtual world where technology further enhances the realism and interactivity of the setting.

For example, playing a Metaverse game allows you to sit on your favourite couch and really feel the fun of a real battlefield.

As a result, the metaverse community will be able to interact more freely. The beauty of one of the Seven Wonders of the World can be admired while a user is playing games, watching movies, shopping, chatting or visiting the mall. Users can travel the globe from the convenience of their own homes with the aid of the Metaverse. With cutting-edge VR and AR capabilities, it provides a 3D representation of what you see for an improved experience. The Metaverse is made more interesting by the use of digital avatars. In the metaverse, these digital IDs stand for actual people. With the introduction of these virtual characters, video games have become incredibly popular. To ensure a secure Metaverse experience, users can use his wallet solution.

What is the Internet of Things?

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a network of connected computers, digital machines, objects, things, and people that was first introduced in 1999. A unique identifier (UID) code assigned to each participant enables data transmission over the network without the need for human or machine interaction. The ecosystem includes web-based intelligent devices that gather information, wire it, and react to it using integrated tools like sensors, processors, and communication resources.

The concept of a network of intelligent devices was first conceived when a Coca-Cola vending machine at Carnegie Mellon University was unveiled as his first ARPANET-enabled device in 1982. However, Kevin Ashton at his P&G used the phrase,,Internet of Things” for the first time in 1999, despite referring to it as an industrial sector.

Participating device shares sensor data by connecting to a gateway or another IoT device. Most of the work in the cluster is done without human intervention. However, humans can interact with the device to give instructions and access data from the device. IoT helps companies easily extend their functional capabilities around the world. The technology is also helping several industries revolutionize their work paradigm. Sending data from one source to another has become more secure, transparent, and trustworthy with the expansion of the IoT.

Metaverse + IoT: The Future We Are Heading To

Judging by the speculation of the experts and the rumours circulating in the market, the Metaverse and he can affirm that the IoT will forever reshape the tech space. Integrating the Metaverse and IoT opens new possibilities for industrial sectors, individual needs, and societal demands. The scope of this partnership will help Metaverse overcome its limitations and extend its usefulness into more diverse areas. IoT enables virtual spaces to seamlessly interact and access the real world. Metaverse technology, on the other hand, provides the 3D user interface needed for IoT device clusters. This gives users a user-centric IoT and Metaverse experience. This combination enables optimized data flow to support data-driven decision making with minimal training and effort.

The Importance of IoT in the Metaverse

The Internet of Things will play a key role in combating one of the darkest challenges hanging over the Metaverse realm. Namely, the metaverse’s ability to extract data from the physical world and inject it into the virtual world. To achieve desired results, it is critical that data mapped from real-world environments is accurate, planned, secure, relevant, and real-time. IoT has been doing business with thousands of cameras, sensors, and technology in clusters for many years, so it’s a good time to introduce the Metaverse.

Your most valuable possessions, if they were gems and precious stones, are now data. Our vulnerability to the outside world has been increased by the “new gold,” as we refer to it, particularly given our growing enthusiasm for social existence. Your most valuable resource is data because it provides colour. The success of the metaverse will therefore depend on its capacity to extract real data and incorporate it into virtual ecosystems. IoT-Device-Flows are also involved in most of the data ingestion. It’s critical to maintain user security and accessibility while presenting this data in the metaverse as meaningful patterns. Businesses are spending a lot of money on metaverse projects that use data intelligence solutions.

IoT’s primary objective is to establish the necessary links between the physical world and the digital realm. It is crucial to develop a more sophisticated IoT infrastructure that can easily handle the growing complexity of the digital environment to power the metaverse. People can easily transition between the two worlds thanks to IoT. The IoT ecosystem’s use of digital avatars will contribute to reimagining what the next-generation internet will look like.

How will IoT connect the real world and the Metaverse?

IoT and the Metaverse are similar twin technologies that have the potential to revolutionise how we communicate, connect, and make money. They picture making it possible for users to access the Internet actively rather than passively.

IoT and Cloud Technology

The hints given here clarify how IoT links the physical world to the metaverse. Cloud service providers encourage innovation that gives industries access to cutting-edge capabilities. The structural infrastructure that developers aim to build considers scalability, resilience, and seamless functionality. The best data services are available to developers and businesses on well-known cloud platforms like Amazon’s AWS and Microsoft’s Azure.

Data flow is hampered by a lack of robust cloud computing, which subsequently affect cluster workforce. This affects how much processing power is necessary to link data gathered from IoT systems to the Metaverse group in real time. The conception of cutting-edge solutions that solve actual problems is accomplished by improved interoperability between AR VR devices and IoT data supplied by cloud services.

Digital replicas and simulations to create real-world experiences

The digital avatars of the Metaverse are powered by a robust connected IoT architecture and data analytics developed on cloud technology. IoT provides improved simulations of these digital human counterparts. For instance, when a user plays an online game, the avatar’s breathing and heart rate might speed up, giving the experience a more realistic feel.

Engineers will be able to produce digital twins or replicas thanks to the Metaverse and the Internet of Things. Through virtual people and digital replicas, the Internet of Things (IoT) offers immersive use cases and experiences for the metaverse. They are essential to the Metaverse’s ability to offer users such lifelike virtual experiences. IoT serves as a catalyst for the metaverse industry by giving users easy-to-use virtual shopping, real estate, and gaming experiences, among other things. Through metaverse training programmes, students can develop cutting-edge projects for users that are powered by IoT and other technologies.

To replicate smart cities in the Metaverse and build a virtual ecosystem for testing vehicles with virtual avatars rather than actual humans, businesses are investing in R&D. Simulators and virtual models are used to accomplish this, and the Internet of Things is crucial in generating user-interesting experiences.

Conclusion

The intersection of IoT and the Metaverse allows technology professionals to uncover creative thinking that would be unobtrusive in traditional setups. Since the metaverse is in a growing stage, it is not possible to clearly define its possibilities and assign them specific tags. On the other hand, IoT has been around for years, so a collaboration between the two concepts would be very useful. While the Metaverse can seek deeper penetration through collaboration, the IoT can unlock new working capabilities from it. Despite all this, we should remain vigilant against cyber threats that could deepen the vulnerability of the Metaverse ecosystem. Users should take advantage of growth and explore Metaverse-IoT to explore new opportunities within the sector.

The post The Role of IoT in Metaverse appeared first on Indium.

The stress on improvement in process and quality led to the development of methodologies such as Lean and Six Sigma to increase throughput but was still driven by humans with the technology used only for metrics and advanced analysis.

Though manufacturing companies did derive much benefit from these methodologies, the advent of Industry 4.0 technologies such as cloud, artificial intelligence, and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) devices has magnified the benefits manifold.

IIoT has made it possible for manufacturers to create smart factories and integrate systems. This has provided them with a unified data source that enables advanced analytics to identify patterns and trends and facilitate informed decision making.

End-to-end connection of machines right from production to delivery provides manufacturers with visibility improving the formulation of strategies and policies for accelerating growth.

Fast-Paced Adoption of IIoT

The integration of systems enables manufacturing companies to have better control of their inventory and supply chain as well as improve energy management. This naturally leads to cost reduction, resource optimization, increased profitability and overall enhanced operational efficiency due to industrial automation, centralized monitoring and predictive maintenance of assets.

No wonder then that the market for IoT in manufacturing industries is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.1%, from USD 33.2 billion in 2020 to USD 53.8 billion by 2025, according to a ResearchAndMarkets.com report.

A PwC survey of around 1,000 industrial manufacturers revealed that 71% were already building or testing IoT-related solutions in both active and in-development projects and 68% intended to increase their investment in the next couple of years.

The surveyed companies were investing in better technology infrastructure, data management, workforce culture and change management to reap the benefits of digital transformation.

Benefits of Smart Factories

A smart factory with interconnected systems can automate workflows across functions and manage complex processes with greater visibility and traceability. Some of the key areas where they can see the advantages of IIoT devices include:

1. Predictive Maintenance: The breakdown of machinery and the resulting disruption to production is one of the biggest challenges manufacturing companies face. This causes unexpected delays in addition to the cost of repair. In smart factories, sensors embedded in the machinery provide data that can help analyze machine performance as well as receive alerts in case of any issues or deviations from preset specifications for preventive maintenance. This improves the longevity of the machinery, effects cost savings as well as enables scheduling maintenance in a more planned manner.

2. Product Quality: A piece of faulty equipment can also affect product quality. Embedded technologies can help manufacturers keep their machines well-calibrated to ensure that the machinery is as per specifications and can produce the desired product.

3. Supply Chain Management: The IoT devices can be connected to the ERP or SCM system to track inventory and draw real-time insights about product movement from raw materials to finished goods for a smooth supply chain management. It enables the different departments to have a view of the production process and also removes the need for manual documentation, thereby reducing manual errors and the resultant costs.

4. Safety and Security: Worker safety and security in the plant are becoming important due to regulatory requirements as well as to reassure employees and improve their engagement with the business. IoT systems can make it easier for safety leaders to be alerted in case of any potential hazards and risks and monitor Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) of health and security to not only improve compliance but also make the shop floor safe.

5. Energy Efficiency: Not only is energy one of the highest areas of expenditure for manufacturing companies, but it is also one of the most important areas where conservation is the most needed. IoT devices can help identify inefficiencies at the device level to enable businesses to address them effectively. This can help reduce waste and also meet regulatory standards more efficiently and effectively.

The integration of systems also ensures access to enterprise-wide data that facilitates better visibility into operations and more informed decisions. This provides a competitive advantage in addressing potential challenges before they become a problem and helps managers take a proactive approach rather than a reactive one.

At Indium Software, serving the manufacturing sector has been one of our key focus areas and, over the last decade, we’ve picked up immense expertise in serving fast-growing manufacturing companies in industrial, energy, automotive, and diversified segments.

The core of Industry 4.0 revolves around data. And, Indium’s experience in data management and data engineering are key assets while serving this segment.

Challenges to IoT

IoT comes with its own challenges too: Cost, Security, and Lack of Standards, to specifically name a few points.

Manufacturing companies with legacy equipment may find that customizing their existing machinery to scale up to become an embedded device comes at a cost. However, this can be more cost-effective than investing in new equipment and provide the flexibility they require.

Therefore, identifying the right partner who understands their business and can develop bespoke solutions that enable digital transformation at a reasonable cost would be a prime requirement.

The second is security. As more and more devices get added, the security environment becomes that much more complex. Ensuring encryption and other protection to safeguard data would be the second criterion that a partner should be able to ensure.

Using open frameworks and modern software development tools to write IoT firmware can help overcome the limitations of the lack of standards.

A partner such as Indium Software, with more than two decades of experience in cutting edge technologies, can help manufacturing companies experience painless digital transformation.

Our team of experts has experience in Industry 4.0 technologies, IoT, open frameworks, data engineering, security and testing, which is combined with cross-domain expertise to deliver best-fit solutions meeting the unique needs of our customers.

If you would like to know how we can help you improve your operational efficiency with IoT on your shop floor, contact us now.

https://www.indiumsoftware.com/inquire-now/

The post Enhance Efficiency in Manufacturing and Production with IoT & Advanced Analytics appeared first on Indium.

The market size is expected to grow Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 16.5% from USD 469.8 billion in 2020 to USD 1009.8 billion by 2025. The COVID-19 pandemic too has nearly doubled the acceleration of cloud adoption, with the market research firm International Data Corporation (IDC) predicting the total worldwide investment on cloud services growing at a double-digit CAGR of 15.7% to touch $1.0 trillion in 2024.

Among the private, public and hybrid cloud platforms, hybrid cloud has experienced the strongest growth, with a forecast of a five-year CAGR of 21.0%, accounting for more than 60% of overall cloud revenues worldwide. This enables businesses with legacy systems to protect their investments in on-premise infrastructure while leveraging the benefits of cloud.

The distributed environment also allows businesses to keep their data secure on their on-premise infrastructure but use cloud computing solutions to run apps and microservices to meet their digital transformation needs. Another IDC report predicts that by 2022, more than 90% of businesses globally will opt for hybrid infrastructure to meet their transformational needs.

Why Hybrid Cloud Works Well

One of the key reasons for the fast growth of the hybrid cloud is the fact that businesses cannot completely replace their existing legacy infrastructure for cloud, which can be time consuming and expensive.

Moreover, cloud architecture too has its own limitations that have to be weighed even for businesses who are starting their IT journey afresh. Public clouds, for instance, deliver cloud infrastructure as a service (IaaS) and are cost effective, scalable, elastic and fully automated. However, the operational expenditure can be high, increasing as you scale, and data security may be a challenge.

Private cloud, on the other hand, ensures higher levels of data security with firewall protection, is highly flexible and customizable, and over time, operation costs come down. However, they need a steep investment on the required infrastructure, resources to maintain the data centre, ensure security and compliance, are less flexible and scalable.

What businesses need are solutions that can integrate the security of the private cloud with the scalability of the public cloud. In a hybrid architecture, workloads are distributed between on-premises data center, private and public cloud resources. A data management solution enables applications and components to interoperate between the infrastructure, moving around dynamically based on evolving needs.

The on-premise infrastructure or the private cloud hosts the business-critical applications and sensitive data while the public cloud acts as the platform for transformation that pulls up the required data for further processing.

A Data Fabric provides access to a common set of data services across all your IT resources using a software-defined framework. This is especially useful in workloads that change frequently or are dynamic and separation of critical workloads from those that are less sensitive is also possible. Using a hybrid architecture also lets you scale as per your computing needs, thereby reducing cost on infrastructure.

In a word, using a hybrid approach makes businesses agile, ready to adapt and change as needed, which is the promise new age technologies make. This makes businesses future-proof by protecting their IT investments and enabling them to leverage the Industry 4.0 technologies with minimal disruption.

Ensuring Success of Hybrid with Cloud Native Apps

For businesses to reap the benefit of the hybrid architecture, application migration from legacy and on-prem systems in what is popularly called the “lift and shift” model will prove ineffectual. To truly experience the cloud promise of greater agility, faster innovation and lower IT costs, rather than migrating apps to the cloud, they will have to adopt a ‘cloud-native’ approach.

Cloud Native Computing Foundation defines it as a technology that empowers organizations to build and run scalable applications in the cloud. Cloud-native technologies such as containers, microservices, and dynamic orchestration, enable the development of loosely coupled systems that are resilient, observable and manageable.

Along with robust automation, developers can make high-impact changes periodically and predictably with minimal effort. According to an IDC forecast, by 2022, 35% of production apps will become cloud-native to accelerate legacy app modernization and net-new development.

To leverage this trend requires a change in processes, people and workflows to accommodate a development lifecycle that is collaborative right from the start inception to coding, testing and deployment. This ensures not only speed and efficiency but also a faster response to market trends and customer needs.

The Key Attributes of Cloud-Native Applications

Being modular and flexible, these cloud-native, open platforms can help businesses with their digital agenda, faster development and greater business agility. Some of the other attributes that make them very next-generation and well-suited for a hybrid environment include:

• Lightweight Containers: Cloud-native applications are lightweight containers that bring together a collection of independent and autonomous services and can scale-out and scale-in as per need.
• Framework-Based Development: The languages and frameworks used to develop an app depends on the requirement and offers an element of flexibility to the developers of greater efficiency.
• Loosely Coupled Microservices: The application runtime enables services belonging to the same application to discover each other while remaining independent of other services. This decoupling of applications enables the developers to deliver fine-grained functionalities and lifecycle management of the overall application with greater efficiency.
• Separate Stateless and Stateful Services: By separating stateless and stateful services, there is an assurance of higher availability and resiliency of persistent and durable services because of how the storage plays into container usage.
• Separate Server and Operating Systems: Cloud-native applications are OS-agnostic, operating at a different abstraction level and deployed on elastic, virtual and shared infrastructure. They can expand or contract based on the available load.
• Automated Capabilities: Each application follows an independent life cycle developed in the agile DevOps environment and multiple continuous integrations/continuous delivery (CI/CD) pipelines work in parallel. As the parallel deployment and management of the applications can be complex, it requires automation.
• Aligning with Data Governance: Cloud-native applications are governed by defined data policies with role-based access and ownership.

The use of Kubernetes makes it easy to deal with the disparate infrastructure. Further, moving the CI/CD pipeline into a cloud environment will be important for handling immutable infrastructure as well as bring the pipeline closer to the apps for faster deployment.

Indium’s Hybrid-ready, Cloud-Native Approach

Cloud-native development for the hybrid environment is complex and needs a team of experienced developers as well as agile and scalable development models to unlock the potential of the hybrid cloud infrastructure. Indium Software, the software solution provider, has an experienced team of developers with expertise in agile, cloud-native development. With more than two decades of experience in cutting-edge technologies, Indium not only has the technical capabilities but can also work closely with its customers to identify the most suitable approach based on their needs and maturity levels.

To know more about how Indium can make you cloud-ready with cloud-native applications development, contact us here.

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