The Industrial Internet (II) is the idea that money can be saved and consumer services improved by widespread data sharing across sectors like energy, utilities, transportation, healthcare, and manufacturing. For example, wind turbines could manage themselves according to wind speed and energy demand.
While the internet we all know and love creates dollar value largely from ads, the II creates a wider variety of tangible benefits, especially in efficiency savings. But there's a catch: “... the lack of industry-wide standards that govern how II-related data is formatted, collected, shared, analyzed and secured. Such standards are required because the full value of the II can only be unlocked when machines and data are connected and architected in such a way as to enable the orchestration of industrial processes across geographic locations and between equipment from different manufacturers.”
It's a familiar pattern. Specialized islands of activity grow to maturity and become efficient in their own terms. But then they start to converge and collaborate. The newly emerging whole is inefficient because of local differences. In order to reach the next level, standards are essential. Research company Wikibon estimates II could generate $1.3bn in value by 2020. Better get started on those data standards. The benefits are there for the taking. Data Economy