The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is set to make a sizeable contribution to the global economy by 2023 — this is according to a new global study launched today by Inmarsat (LSE:ISAT.L), which found that organizations, across the global supply chain, expect IIoT to be increasing their annual revenues by 10 per cent within five years.

The IIoT is set to revolutionize how businesses function in the next few years. There will be significantly increased automation and operational efficiency through the use of real time data and Machine-to-Machine (M2M) communication directly across the planet. Access to reliable and resilient connectivity, particularly in remote regions or at sea, where terrestrial networks are not available but satellite communications are available, will be essential to the success of many IIoT deployments.

These latest results have emerged from the 2018 edition of Inmarsat’s research program into IIoT trends — IIoT on Land and at Sea — for which market research specialist Vanson Bourne surveyed 750 businesses with a combined turnover of $1.16 trillion from across the globe. Respondents were drawn from a wide range of industries, including the agriculture, energy, maritime, mining and transport sectors.

Executive Comments
 
Commenting on the findings, Paul Gudonis, President, Inmarsat Enterprise, said that IIoT is emerging as a major force in the modern enterprise and it’s clear that businesses are prioritizing satellite technology to transform their operations and achieve competitive advantage. Data generated by IIoT infrastructure is expected particularly to bring greater transparency to the global supply chain, allowing businesses to automate processes, reduce operational waste and speed up rate of production, leading to higher revenues and lower costs. However, many businesses are struggling with security, skills and connectivity challenges in large scale IIoT deployments.  Over half (56 percent) require additional cyber-security skills and 34 percent do not yet have access to the connectivity they need. For global businesses that require a global communications network, satellite connectivity will play a key role, guaranteeing constant secure data transmission wherever their IIoT infrastructure is located.

Trends such as this, which are becoming increasingly common in the SATCOM ecosystem, will be discussed in depth at Satellite Innovation 2018 by the world’s most qualified experts.  Reserve your ticket for this major event to ensure you partake of the knowledge that will be imparted to attendees by those in the know...