Glossary · IIoT, data and AI
Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)
Also known as: IIoT, Industrial IoT
German: Industrielles Internet der Dinge (IIoT)
The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is the application of Internet of Things technologies in industry: networked sensors, machines, controllers and software that collect, exchange and analyze data to monitor, optimize and control industrial processes. IoT vocabulary is standardized in ISO/IEC 20924.
- IIoT
In one sentence
The Industrial Internet of Things connects sensors, machines and software so that industrial data can be collected, shared and analyzed.
Example
Compressors in several plants report energy consumption and running hours via an IoT gateway to a central platform that detects leaks and schedules service.
How it applies
- Engineering: IIoT typically adds a data path next to the control path: sensors, Edge devices and gateways that deliver data to analytics platforms without changing the PLC program.
- Security: Every connected device is a potential entry point. Apply IEC 62443 segmentation and consider product cybersecurity requirements such as those of the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) for products with digital elements.
- Documentation: Connected products need documentation of data collected, network requirements, update behavior and security settings, in addition to the classic operating and maintenance information.
IIoT vs. IoT
Internet of Things (IoT) is the general concept, including consumer devices. IIoT has stricter requirements for availability, determinism, lifetime, safety and security, and it has to integrate with existing automation systems and protocols such as OPC UA and MQTT.