Industrial Internet Consortium pivots focus to serve technology end users

The Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC) announced a new program designed to stimulate IIoT adoption across industry to help IT and OT users solve real problems they face in their businesses.

Named the IIC Accelerator Program, it encompasses several initiatives to appeal to end users of IoT technology who want to discuss challenges with their peers, get advice from IIC experts, or seek guidance to solve complex technical problems.

Since 2014, the IIC has developed seven foundational documents that have become de facto guidelines for enterprises seeking to adopt IIoT technology solutions. To invigorate the next phase of digital transformation, the IIC focus is to apply these frameworks and member expertise to industry-specific use cases for the benefit of technology end users.

"Kudos to IIC for filling this gap in the market. The initial hype around IIoT has dissipated and technologists must move from designing to deploying solutions. End users of IIoT technology are looking for real examples of applying the new business models needed to compete. The leaders will use these offerings to realize the potential of IIoT to cut costs and improve the safety, efficiency and productivity of their operations," said 451 Research VP, Christian Renaud.

With the Accelerator Program, the IIC enables technology end users to achieve tangible results by assisting from ideation to implementation: with problem definition, helping to identify technologies, offering a neutral platform for innovation and delivering pilots. Vendors and systems integrators have a new avenue to develop, test and offer solutions to technology end users across all industries, fostering a vibrant end-to-end solution development ecosystem.

"Our goal is to reduce technology end user uncertainty around IoT and to help guide the industry users through their IoT journey. Most companies have a few security, analytics or deep learning experts on staff, but the IIC has them all," said IIC VP, Industry Programs Howard Kradjel. "Our neutral platform fosters partnering and helps technology end users solve real problems via our member ecosystem."

The Accelerator Program includes:

End User Leadership Councils – collaborative councils of senior executives representing various industries interested in establishing vision and influencing direction in IoT in an industry and implementing, testing or using IoT solutions in their facilities.

Testbeds – experimentation platforms for conducting rigorous, transparent and replicable testing of new concepts, new business models and emerging technologies.

Test Drives - short-term, rapid engagements with technology end users that are focused on ideation, technology identification, and partnering to get to a pilot deployment quickly. Test drives reduce uncertainty of technology adoption and intend to produce validated, market-ready solutions to be rolled out throughout an enterprise.

IoT Challenges – public contests aimed at solving real problems and advancing the validation of industrial internet applications and solutions.

Special Interest Groups – groups of members and non-members created for the purpose of collaboration with essential experts in a particular area of technology. The first SIG is dedicated to Over-the-Air (OTA) Updates and seeks to create requirements for OTA solutions for the automotive and other industries.