One of the many promises of the industrial internet of things is that it can help companies generate massive amounts of data. However, this data is only valuable if it can be accessed and acted upon quickly, efficiently and safely. Effectively accessing data can be especially challenging when you have “things” — such as sensors, devices, flow computers and more — that live on remote areas of the network. Often referred to as the “edge,” these remote areas can host trillions of machines that contain important industrial data.
The edge could be remote tools in the field, machinery on a plant floor across the world, or any other asset that provides data in a location far from where data is acted upon. The data from these remote sites has the potential to generate valuable business, but is often too far away, too expensive or too insecure to transmit for time-critical operations. Paradoxically, the importance of processing edge data grows as that edge gets farther away and harder to access — such as on an offshore oil platform, where accessible data can help proactively address high-risk safety issues and high-cost maintenance concerns.
Edge computing devices can solve the challenge of making this data available in real time. Here are three reasons why Edge computing should be a key component to your IIoT plan:
1. Edge computing is the next evolution of cloud computing Companies often look to the IIoT to bridge the gap between information technology and operational technology. Many data-rich resources live in the cloud, but are not directly accessible between these two vital departments. Edge computing is the key to the proverbial data kingdom that exists within the cloud. Edge computing pushes the intelligence, processing power and communication capabilities of a gateway or appliance directly into devices. These devices can then use edge computing capabilities to determine what data should be stored locally and what data should be sent to the cloud for further analysis. As the IIoT grows in capability and connectivity, there will be a move away from cloud computing and a move towards edge computing. Increasingly, edge devices will begin to handle their own processing and storage, while the cloud will morph into the strategic “brains” behind it all. These devices will send only the most important data to the cloud and the cloud will analyze and then share what it learned with all the devices.
