A use of old technology in a new way is transforming the potential capabilities of IoT.

Myriad Group, a mobile software company that originated in Switzerland in the 1990’s, have created Pressto, a connected bundle built on Myriad’s IoT platform, ThingStream.io.

The device uses the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) protocol to send 182 character messages to the Pressto server across cellular networks. Pressto bundles a connected button, GSM connectivity, and management platform in a single package which allows you to focus on building the application that the button press triggers. The press of a button transfers a small payload of information to your application which includes GPS coordinates along with time/date and simple button status information.

What is USSD?

USSD is a protocol used by Global system for Mobile Communications (GSM) cellular telephones to communicate with the service provider’s computers. It can be used to provide independent calling services such as a callback service (to reduce phone charges while roaming), enhance mobile marketing capabilities or interactive data services, people know it most commonly as a means to query a phone’s available credit.

I spoke to Neil Hamilton, VP Business of development at Myriad Group to find out more.

USSD is commonly used for mobile money transfers in developing markets such as Africa, India and Latin America where many people do not possess bank accounts. This application has allowed for payment of utility bills or money transfers. Hamilton explained that:

“If we start thinking about IoT use cases where a device needs to transmit small data payloads (not videos or big files, but kilobytes per day) then we could use the USSD network to do that…  We kind of enable a GSM equivalent of a LP-WAN because USSD doesn’t need as much processing power. It also uses far less battery power and therefore devices can be much cheaper when compared to if I’m trying to roll out on LTE where I need more expensive components model to communicate via LTE.”

Myriad Group have established global roaming network access with 600 plus carriers and through the use of supplied embedded sim cards their users can transmit data and submit signals from almost anywhere in the world.

“Then effectively we provide a small code library to whoever is making their devices. And that enables the translation of the data. If it’s a sensor with a motion control we make sure we convert that into a format that we can be transported over USSD. Don’t forget there’s no internet involved. So we kind of spoof an internet language over USSD, our gateway converts that back into internet language and it goes downstream to an application.”

What kind of use cases suit USSD?

The USSD as a conduit for transferring data works particularly well in small, fast moving, remote scenarios such as logistics and tracking, as Hamilton explains:

“Cargo companies work with different end-to-end carriers and they don’t know where cargo is going. if you want to get a heartbeat on a container from almost anywhere, it’s difficult to do. We purchase wholesale connectivity and enable GSM to compete with LPWAN services, business the carriers are missing out on.  We don’t want to say ubiquitous service at any time but it’s definitely one where things are remote or moving.”

Agricultural and environmental services companies can be faced the challenge of trying to monitor hectares of farming land or agtech solutions when they’re often near roads that get busy at certain times of day or cell base stations get really and they can’t always have ubiquitous connectivity.

See also: How to turn hardware into IoT by simplifying connectivity?

Hamilton notes that the more they discuss USSD as a data conduit for industrial applications, the more use cases emerge. Today, a number of sensor manufacturers are exploring sensing-as-a- service model. If you’re a high-value sensor manufacturer you typically sell to a distributor who sells to someone who makes something and so on.

“If you start to sell your device completely connected, then it will work anywhere. And then someone could log onto a corresponding app from the sensor manufacturer to then point the data to whatever application you want to deliver it to. It means there are potential opportunities opening up right out on the edge for people to change their markets.”

The Pressto button was originally designed for proof of concept purposes to demonstrate use cases, but it has attracted a surprising amount of interest according to Hamilton but they’ve got more in development:

“We’ve got a very interesting workflow platform coming for how to manage connected devices and that’s where we’re heading now, building up the platform side to offer some more value added and useful services for industrial companies that want to connect up their things.”

Companies in the manufacturing sector for years have been striving for lean production or processes to create more efficient operations. One of the latest trends in technology, the emergence of the Internet of Things (IoT), could give lean efforts a major boost.

Lean manufacturing, a systematic method for eliminating waste within a manufacturing system, is based on the concept of making obvious what adds value by reducing everything else. It’s a management philosophy that stems mainly from the Japanese manufacturing sector, and specifically Toyota Production System, which focuses on the reduction of waste to improve overall customer value.

Lean encompasses a set of tools that help in the identification and steady reduction of waste. And as waste is eliminated, quality improves and at the same time production time and cost are reduced. The ultimate goal of lean is to get the right things to the right place at the right time and in the right quantity, in order to achieve perfect workflow while minimizing waste and being flexible.

The Internet of Things involves the linking of physical objects such as devices, consumer products, vehicles, corporate assets, buildings and other “things” via the Internet. These “smart” objects are embedded with electronics, sensors, actuators, software and network connectivity that allow them to gather and share a variety of data and respond to control messages.

The IoT enables connected objects to be sensed and controlled remotely via an existing network infrastructure. This connectivity creates opportunities for a more direct integration of physical objects with digital systems. The potential benefits include increased efficiency, improved product development and enhanced customer service—to name a few.

The potential scope of IoT is enormous. Research firm Gartner Inc. has estimated that 6.4 billion connected things were in use worldwide in 2016, up 30% from 2015, and 5.5 million new things were being connected every day. The firm forecasts that the total number of connected things is forecast to reach 20.8 billion by 2020.

In the enterprise, Gartner considers two classes of connected things. One consists of generic or cross-industry devices used in multiple industries, and vertical-specific devices found in particular industries. Cross-industry devices include such items as connected light bulbs and building management systems.

The other class includes vertical-specific devices such as specialized equipment used in hospitals and tracking devices in container ships. Connected things for specialized use are the largest category, but this is quickly changing with the increased use of generic devices, Gartner says.

Taking lean to the next level

Within the context of building IoT-based manufacturing solutions, IoT opens up all kinds of possibilities, such as the ability to monitor the performance of products after they have been purchased to ensure adequate maintenance and customer satisfaction, optimizing supply chain logistics and streamlining the distribution chain. Information about product usage can be fed back to companies so that they can analyze the data to make improvements in design and production.

With this constant exchange of data, combined with the new automation technologies that are emerging and advancement in data analytics, manufacturers can achieve the dream of the truly “smart factory”.

IoT intersects with lean methodology and has the potential to take lean to the next level. The information gleaned from connected devices, including users’ experiences with a variety of products, can be fed back to instrumented factories to provide unprecedented opportunities to enhance manufacturing processes and reduce waste.

As consulting firm Deloitte has stated, “in operating the existing business, IoT and analytics are helping companies to connect a diverse set of assets. This results in efficiency gains throughout the manufacturing process.”

The firm describes a number of areas in which efficiencies can be added. One is through the acceleration of planning and pre-manufacturing. The processes of choosing suppliers, considering risk and managing material costs can be fine-tuned through the interconnectivity IoT and analytics bring, Deloitte says.

“Analytics can deliver insight to help companies gain a better understanding of customer preferences and desires, potentially resulting in improved predictability and performance in the marketplace,” Deloitte says. “Understanding the products, and the specific features, that are being purchased allows companies to plan production to meet market needs.”

Another potential benefit of IoT is streamlining the manufacturing process, which is changing dramatically as more companies incorporate IoT and analytics capabilities. “Predictive tools and machine learning allow potential problems to be identified and corrected before they occur,” the firm says. “The value of lean manufacturing and just-in-time processes like Kaizen and Kanban improves exponentially” when intelligence obtained via IoT and analytics can be applied.

And a third area where IoT can add value is in improving post-manufacturing support and service. In the past, Deloitte says, manufacturers often lost track of their products once they were sold. Now, because of new levels of connectedness and the greater insights provided by IoT and analytics, manufacturers can gather information from their customers effectively while improving service and support in the aftermarket.

The benefits of IoT for lean manufacturing extend well beyond processes within a single organization. IoT can help optimize the interaction of manufacturers and their business partners, enhancing the flow of materials along the pipeline based on more accurate data on product demand and usage. An IoT service creation and enrichment platform such as Accelerite Concert can go a long way in making such collaborations happen.

Manufacturers will be able to fully realize production efficiencies that were extremely difficult and in some cases impossible to achieve through traditional, manual processes.

Dean Hamilton, Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Service Creation Business Unit, Accelerite

The vital need for analytics

Organizations that successfully leverage the Internet, mobile technology, business analytics, digital performance dashboards, and integrate other enabling technology with strategic improvement end up with a much more advanced version of lean and continuous improvement in general, according to Terence Burton, president and CEO of The Center for Excellence in Operations Inc., a management consulting firm.

Enterprises “need a higher order paradigm of lean to benefit from these complex emerging technology-enabled innovations in business models, rather than suffer the inevitable waste creep and margin erosion,” Burton says. “The Internet of Things will undoubtedly play a large role in evolving lean to a higher order, enterprise-wide and technology-enabled paradigm of improvement.”

The potential benefits IoT can deliver for manufacturers stem from improved availability of timely and precise data. The ability to instrument, at low cost, almost every aspect of the manufacturing process and to deliver that data quickly to business stakeholders via the Internet is already transforming business operations and business models. But the promise of an evolved “higher order paradigm of lean” is entirely dependent on manfacturers’ ability to derive meaningful insight from data.

As valuable as IoT data can be for manufacturers’ lean efforts, it’s important for them to keep in mind that having enormous volumes of information will not necessarily be of help if they don’t have a timely and effective way of analyzing the meaning and context of the data.

Only advanced analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies (such as machine learning and predictive maintenance), combined with the flexibility, processing and storage capabilities of cloud computing, will give manufacturers the ability to optimize IoT data and leverage it as part of their lean methodologies.

The smart factories of tomorrow will need to deploy a next-generation, cloud-based, big-data analytics platform that enables them to use newly acquired information to the fullest. The platform should be capable of analyzing structured as well as unstructured data, both at-rest (in databases) and in-flight (from streaming data sources) and include a single tool for data acquisition, storage, transformation, AI and visualization.

Manufacturers need to be able to drill down into IoT data via easy to understand dashboards, so they can find patterns and detect anomalies that can directly contribute to creating more lean operations. They need to be able to quickly identify useful correlations and make inferences that can lead to enhanced processes.

While business intelligence (BI) and data visualization tools are nothing new, current technologies often require the use of data analysts, BI developers and ETL developers before insight can be exposed to business users. The next generation of analytics tools, such as Accelerite ShareInsights will place more power in the hands of business owners and subject matter experts who fully understand the factory processes instead of data scientists and programmers. They also will be made accessible to factory operations teams and development teams, who can help provide an integrated flow of data to make products and processes more efficient.

Ultimately, the most significant transformation in how lean methodologies will be applied to smart factories will come from the use of AI to perform sophisticated forms of big data analysis that are impossible for human analysts. AI algorithms now drive semi-autonomous vehicles; recommend what we should watch on TV, read or listen to; recognize our speech patterns and faces; diagnose our illnesses and so much more.

These algorithms are not just capable of learning; they are also capable of detecting patterns, correlations and anomalies in large data sets that would go undetected by humans. They’re able to predict the behavior of complex, inter-connected systems and recommend the optimal course of action to accomplish a particular goal.

This type of capability will be especially important as manufacturers move toward product personalization, where products can be catered to specific users and predictive insight will be needed to configure production lines and supply chains in the most efficient manner.

The next generation of IoT analytics will place the power of AI directly in the hands of business stakeholder to drive continuous optimization. And AI-powered lean methodology will not simply be better at eliminating waste that inevitably creeps into complex systems; it will predict that waste before it occurs and take steps to ensure that it never does.

Manufacturing in the future will be about building the product the customer wants at just the right time, and together lean processes, IoT, big data analytics and AI will allow the smart factories of tomorrow to operate with unprecedented efficiency.

This article was produced in partnership with Accelerite. The author is Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Service Creation Business Unit at Accelerite.

Is industrial IoT new or old?

It’s a more complex question than you think. If you’ve experienced the advertising barrage of the past decade, you might have concluded that large industrial companies are just discovering the power of data. Ports are being rigged with sensors and software to optimize boat traffic. Cities are saving millions by switching to smart LEDs that cut energy and reduce maintenance demands. People are scurrying up and down escalators in an artsy blur.

The underlying message is that the 19^th century has suddenly discovered the 21^st.

But when you dig into it, you’ll soon discover that data—and systems animated by data—have been an essential player on the factory floor for decades. The first industrial robot, Unimate, went live in a General Motors facility in 1959. SCADA systems for controlling industrial equipment have been around so long many have forgotten, or never learned, what the acronym stands for. Oil and gas producers played a big part in bringing technologies like GPS and data visualization to the mainstream.

Here’s another fun fact: the average age of a transformer in the U.S. is now around 43 years and some are 70, or well beyond the 35-year length of their warranties. (The picture you’re looking at is a collection of pipes and pumping equipment from a wastewater treatment center in San Francisco. The equipment dates back to the 1950s. It’s no longer in use but it’s still in place.)

So what’s the right answer? Both.

See also: Industrial IoT set to turbocharge lean manufacturing

What we are seeing in industrial IoT is a marriage of young and old. Manufacturers aren’t racing out to replace aging equipment with intelligent new models. Instead, they are grafting on IoT gateways and wireless radios to effectively get the same (or better) results with far fewer headaches. Old becomes young again.

Take, for example, J.D. Irving. The 135-year old Canadian conglomerate is the fourth largest supplier of frozen French fries, produces paper for magazines like Vogue and plants approximately 20 million trees a year in Canada’s largest reforestation project.

It also makes toilet tissue. At its factories, a large roll of luxuriously soft paper goes in one end of a piece of equipment called a log saw and out comes a cascade of identical six-inch rolls. Even though they are located in factories, however, logs saws are “remote,” i.e. the information inside the control system is effectively landlocked. Replacing the existing system to would have cost close to $31,500, mostly due to labor and cabling.

Adding wireless sensors ran $9,600, says Keith Flynn of RtTech Software, which collaborated with J.D. Irving on the project. As a result, the company can now do things like vibration analysis, preventative maintenance or peak power management. Wireless also opens up options for things like managing traffic for the automated forklifts.

Likewise, rail operators are looking at ways of rigging rugged wireless sensors onto freight cars to prevent mishaps and conduct forensics better.

Not everything is a retrofit

Not every situation is a retrofit. Dell monitors power consumption and equipment health of its micro-modular data centers with IoT gateways. Think of the micro modular as your neighborhood Netflix outlet. Carriers and content providers will install these to locate the most popular videos (or business documents) closer to users to cut down lag time and telecommunications costs.

Are retrofits the answer to everything? No. Many of these assets were put into place decades before computer viruses were weaponized. Installing gateways means reviewing and tightening security policies. Companies will also have to go through the process of determining whether they want to keep and analyze most of these data locally and in-house, or whether to outsource it.

Still, the declining cost and increasing sophistication of sensors and algorithms, along with the growing portfolio of analysis platforms, mean that wireless upgrade will increasingly become the de facto choice. It’s simply an easier way to experiment.

And that means that a lot of equipment nearing retirement age will get a new lease on life.

The author is a technical analyst at OSIsoft.

The industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is a major part of the “fourth industrial revolution”, but only 26 percent of decision makers have a well articulated digital transformation strategy.

That’s according to a 2017 Survey Report conducted at the Industry of Things World, which surveyed 1,124 decision makers. It found that most knew the importance of IIoT deployment, but were taking a ‘wait-and-see’ approach to the new technology.

See Also: How IoT is disrupting the world around us

The results are similar to other IIoT surveys conducted in the past twelve months.

45 percent of people surveyed said their company did not have a strategy for digital transformation, while 29 percent had only a basic strategy.

Less than a quarter have a comprehensive roadmap

Only 16 percent of people said that their company has a comprehensive roadmap, while 69 percent said they have a modest roadmap. This typically includes a pilot program or consultation with IIoT developers to find out the benefits.

Even with the rather slow move to IIoT, 88 percent of people said the Internet of Things was critical for the future success of their company. The report does not go into the disconnect between a company’s thoughts on the future and their investments. One reason could be the lack of comprehensive strategy from the industrial giants.

IIoT investment could surpass $1 trillion in the next ten years and GE Digital anticipates $60 trillion in connected industrial assets by 2030. This huge surge of investment might mean that the company’s only thinking about deployment could be swept by rivals that have a comprehensive strategy for the digital future.

A lot has been said about the Internet of Things (IoT) — a broad development in various technologies across industries that is fundamentally changing the innovation cycle everywhere —  but how much is real?

“One of the things that we should grasp about the IoT is that we are currently in that stage when technology gets incredibly hyped,” says Jason Collins, Vice President of IoT Marketing at Nokia.

Continuing further, he describes the hype by comparing the early days of the internet when static pages and hyperlinks did not ignite the full potential of the internet and the crazy boom and predictable bust over web-based businesses came and went.  Still, the world was left with the valuable piece of network and services infrastructure we now call the Internet.

“So the internet turned out to be kind of a big deal,” says Collins half-jokingly, before getting serious about how we can size the Internet of Things.

Keeping that outcome in mind, what is the potential size of the Internet of Things and how do we value it?

Valuing the Internet is tough.  Today we are going online with our computers and smartphones and connecting billions of nodes; however, the value will extend well beyond that. 

“Members of our Bell Labs team analyzed this and determined that it will be 36x the value of today’s Internet,“ he says. “That potential value of the IoT is dependent upon the number of devices connected and users’ perceived and experienced value of IoT devices and applications.”

If you think about that potential, we quickly recognize that we’re in the very early stages of how this connected technology can change the very fundamentals of digital transformation and business growth in the next decades.

How can enterprises leverage this growth opportunity?

Prior to the dawn of this new machine-type (M2M) connectivity, there were two main drivers of business — developing products and services and the sales of those products and services.

But this approach is now getting a major upgrade thanks to IoT technology. Key to this pivotal transformation is the data being produced in torrents by the connected devices that are expanding rapidly across businesses.

“But while this new connected world seems to be allowing enterprises and their customers alike to benefit from a huge pool of data, it’s not as simple as that,” says Marc Jadoul, Market Development Director in IoT at Nokia.

Perhaps it’s best to think of this in terms of “analog to digital.” Machines and networks that learn about their effective behavior through gathering data, and analyzing how to use them.   He explained further that we should think of the IoT beyond an environment of communicating things and instead as a “connective tissue” or a “global nervous system” that provides context, and – why not? – meaning.  This is the first step towards getting value out of the IoT.

Building upon that, the IoT then provides a “platform to solve problems” like the Internet once did via search and discovery. “Platforms like Google not only gave us access to the information but provided context,” says Jadoul. “In that same sense, Uber has provided a disruptive model for public transport and Airbnb a new platform for guest housing.  They use connectivity and data to transform business models today and, eventually, you will see the IoT becoming an innovation platform in many other areas, like connected cars, digital healthcare, or smart homes.”  The possibilities are endless because big data and new services will be driving the growth. 

Wireless sensor networks are evolving into analytics-enabled applications, making IoT into a “bigger and richer experience than the current M2M,” says Jadoul.

However, digital transformation must go beyond the platform, the data, and the (still too often) siloed applications. It requires a shift in the culture and mindset of organizations in order to generate significant benefit from this technology.

Who’s leading the growth within an enterprise?

New innovation found in M2M often came from internally focused and driven cost savings and process optimization efforts, a.k.a. command and control.  This is what we often call the Industrial IoT, or Industry 4.0.

While the early days of the IIoT were focused on these drivers, a new emerging Enterprise IoT approach will enable greater growth through product and service innovation, and yet-unseen business models.  With that in mind, it isn’t surprising that the early enthusiasts of this new technology are not only on the traditional IT side of the corporate “houses,” but also in their product management ranks, the people who face the customers and are looking for portfolio innovation, an enhanced customer experience, and of course new revenue opportunities.

“The sooner that companies start seeing IoT as a catalyst for growth rather than a way for the IT guys to trim costs, the faster IoT will get off the ground in enterprises,” says Jadoul.

Where is IoT headed?

As connected technology matures and a shift in mindset occurs, IoT will create new value for its stakeholders.

“Companies have to start looking at solving business problems and extend their thinking beyond vertical, point applications,” says Lee L’Esperance, Business Modeling Principal at Nokia.”If they remain strictly verticalized, its siloed and the value is limited.” But seeing the benefit across traditional business groups, products and services will unlock true value, he adds.

IoT can be very impactful to business but it needs to be architected for creating a connective tissue rather establishing than point-to-point links.  Motivating the ability to architect an IoT solution within a business context is about getting the business models right – and finding the sweet spots for creating value, growth, and RoI.  We will explore developing business models in the next article and how you can create new value opportunities for your stakeholders.

This article was produced in partnership wth Nokia.