How the Industrial Internet of Things is Driving Manufacturing Innovation

(Image courtesy of Plex.)

There’s a lot of excitement surrounding the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), but examples of how the IIoT is changing manufacturing are not always easy to enumerate. Moreover, given the abstract nature of the IIoT, the benefits of connected manufacturing can be difficult to discern.

Fortunately, Plex Systems, a provider of cloud enterprise resource planning (ERP) for manufacturing, recently announced the results of its annual survey examining the use of technology by leading manufacturers. The 2016 Plex State of Manufacturing Technology study provides insights from nearly 200 manufacturing organizations.

Key findings of the survey include:

Could technology improves manufacturers’ ability to manage changing business needs
- 64 percent of respondents said the cloud helped them manage fluctuating customer demands
- 55 percent said the cloud gave them stronger management of their global supply chain
- 48 percent said the cloud made introducing new products easier for them to manage
- 98 percent noted that connectivity to systems, machines, suppliers and customers delivers value to their business today
Consumer technology is making plant floor connectivity easier and more affordable
- 64 percent of respondents are using consumer tablets on the plant floor
- 10 percent have decreased the use of laptops
- Respondents noted significant growth in their deployment of iOS devices (up 9 percent year-over-year; 70 percent total) and Android devices (up 24 percent year-over-year; 56 percent total)

The full report is available on the Plex website.

Source: Plex