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The Internet of Things (IoT) in Discrete Parts ManufacturingNEW YORK, Oct. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Chapter 1: Introduction The approach taken to quantify the world markets for IoT systems involved several steps. Primary among these was delineating the technologies involved in IoT systems and the companies that produce them. Because the market is evolving, clear boundaries among various categories can be difficult to discern. Autonomous product categories have been shifting as suppliers have been trying to deliver a more cohesive and integrated IoT solution. In addition, vendors have been broadening their product lines, so many offer products in numerous categories. Increasingly, they bundle these systems together to entice potential developers, so divvying up the revenue from different types of products can be difficult. Consultations with various vendors and industry experts helped to break those categories down as finely as possible. A quantitative understanding was then developed for the characteristics of various industries. In addition, assessments were made of regulatory policies governing with respect to IoT requirements— this step was done with varying degrees of granularity. A summary understanding of the markets was developed for component systems of IoT solutions. With this information in hand, trade publications and internet searches were performed, along with concurrent interviews with industry representatives, regulators and vendors to discern trends in the extent of implementation of fully deployed IoT systems. This report also focused on activities in specific markets for systems that integrate disparate component systems. Revenue from the various IoT products comes from two sources, new deployments and factory owners' decisions to upgrade their plants to become more efficient. Revenue was divided into different equipment sales associated with these projects. These numbers and market drivers were generated from public information based on a variety of sources, including vendor product and company information. Public information from Gartner Inc., Industrial Internet Consortium, International Data Corp., and Wikipedia supplied some of the background material used in the discussion. The world economy has become increasing complex, volatile and difficult to forecast. The projection numbers used in this report are from various economic monitoring groups, including the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the CIA World Fact Book, the United States Bureau of Labor and Statistics, and the United Nations. Input from these sectors was used to complete the five-year market projections. All revenues are expressed in U.S. dollars. Methodology Manufacturing represents a large and vital sector of the world economy. In 2016, global activities generated $75.2 trillion, with the bulk of that revenue coming from three regions: the U.S. ($18.6 trillion); the E.U. ($16.0 trillion) and China ($11.1 trillion), according to the International Monetary Foundation. The IMF expects the global economy to increase at modest rates, about 3.0%, in the next five years. China is seeing achieving growth of around 6% and more, while the U.S., E.U. and Japan are reaching increases of only about 1% to 2%. The world economy is quite volatile. In Europe, Great Britain's decision to exit the E.U. has created repercussions that are expected to impact there soon. In the U.S., the election of President Donald Trump in 2016 and the administration's decision to pull out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership will impact manufacturing markets. The projections in this report are based on modest world revenue growth and no disruptive events. A major negative event, like the economic downturn in 2008, will lower the growth numbers. Manufacturing generates $11.1 trillion, accounting for a large percentage of the overall world revenue (14.7%). The majority of the manufacturing income is concentrated in four countries: China ($2.9 trillion), the U.S. ($2.2 trillion), Japan ($1.3 trillion) and Germany ($1.1 trillion), according to the United Nations. Markets have been growing—the United Nations World Manufacturing Report reported growth of 2.6% in 2016 and expect even higher numbers in 2017. Developing countries have small manufacturing bases but are investing in infrastructure as well as education and changing regulations in order to spur economic growth. Consequently, their manufacturing output is increasing at high rates. Developed nations with larger bases and mature markets are seeing slower growth. The Internet of Things is game-changing technology, one that will dramatically impact the industrial automation market. The potential is enormous as technology has driven change in many markets. However, IoT technology is extremely complex and in a nascent stage of development. Consequently, it will make its impact slowly. First, IoT will be implemented in greenfield operations. As the benefits are seen and technology improves, it will then be used in existing plants. Product Breakdown In this report, the IoT market is categorized into three product areas (hardware, software and networking) and five vertical markets (automotive and transportation; electronics and computers; consumer goods; aerospace, aviation and defense; and heavy machinery). Hardware includes three types of factory floor devices: sensors, programmable logic controllers and distributed system controllers. Software consists of IoT platforms, big data and security. Networking comprises wired and wireless connections. The revenue numbers are for worldwide sales. Chapter 2: Summary and Highlights Computer technology has majorly impacted many businesses, accelerated development cycles, increased efficiency and provided a more complete operational outlook. At one time, applications such as accounts receivable and payroll operated autonomously with little to no integration. But applications such as these are now melded into cohesive financial systems. A similar transformation is about to occur in the industrial discrete parts manufacturing market. Intelligence, which was once housed in stand- alone devices, such as programmable logic controllers, is about to be shared throughout the enterprise from the start to the end of the supply chain. A new generation of intelligent endpoints, dubbed the Internet of Things (IoT), is being created. As a result, a manufacturer gains insight into real-time operations and can manage the operation more effectively. The change can positively impact the bottom line in many ways. Industrial automation corporations can determine the wear and tear on robotic arms and make adjustments as needed. While interest in the potential benefits is high, industry suppliers must clear some significant hurdles. One challenge has been extending networking capabilities out to these different elements. In general, assembly line items like sensors have had little to no intelligence and building the ecosystem to collect, interpret and proactively use the data represents a monumental undertaking—basically a revamping of the manufacturing process while the operations are running. Some have described the process as painting a bus while it is moving. Recently, new networking technologies, cloud computing, big data, analytics and security have emerged to help companies move down this path. Market changes have presented suppliers with new challenges. The traditional boundaries are blurring and suppliers need to determine their business focus. The success of Amazon illustrates the potential as the challenges for manufacturers today. The firm began as an online retailer but has emerged as a technology powerhouse. Amazon has been successful beyond the retail marketplace. Traditional industrial automation suppliers will need to figure out their value-add and role in this rapidly changing marketplace. Computer technology has been in a period of profound change, one that market research firm International Data Corp. (IDC) has referred to as the Third Rail. The company sees fundamental change in how systems operate as well as their capabilities. Cloud computing is becoming the new data center, with central resources no longer always located on the customer's site. Instead they may be located in the vendor's data center. Big data, which are large database management systems coupled with analytic solutions, are becoming the new way of running a business. The Internet of Things is adding intelligence to endpoints. Consequently, companies are able to use technology in new and exciting ways. But fitting the pieces together will not be easy. Manufacturing is a specialized market, one with high demands and significant competitive pressures. New interfaces and integration challenges await those who want to be on the leading edge—success is not guaranteed. The discrete parts IoT market is in the early stage of development. Startups have flooded the market, with hundreds of players selling IoT platforms, the central nervous systems for next generation solutions. Network elements, in particular the wireless elements, are still being developed. New sensors are emerging and vendors are layering virtualized software over their PLCs and distributed control systems (DSC), in order to have a presence in this new environment. But standards are being developed in a confusing fashion. Efforts to clearer standardization has already begun but major work is still needed—projects are now in the early development and pilot phases. The next few years will bring great challenges but also tremendous opportunity for suppliers and manufacturers to leverage IoT technology for competitive advantage. While IoT focuses on enhanced networking capabilities, the networking portion of the market is lagging. Networking vendors are busy working on new form factors to shrink traditional IP capabilities into small, energy-efficient solutions. In the meantime, gateways are emerging to link current industrial networks and devices to IoT systems. A handful of potential standards are under development in the wireless space. Hardware vendors have been pushing more intelligence out to endpoints. New sensors are emerging that have been built from the ground up to support intelligence and data collection. In addition, traditional industrial suppliers have been adding virtualization layers to their existing systems, so they can partake in IoT networks. Increasingly, software has been corporations' main business driver. New IoT platforms are emerging that promise to take the new endpoint intelligence and help companies streamline operations, improve system performance, lower defective products, and provide customers with more services. Big data and analytics are at the heart of the IoT movement. Manufacturers can now collect more information and use it to glean insight into their operations. These systems must be secure. Computer hackers have already demonstrated that they can use IoT devices to wreak havoc on enterprise networks. Consequently, a number of suppliers are trying to improve the security found with IoT devices. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05136799 About Reportlinker ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place. https://www.reportlinker.com __________________________ Contact Clare: [email protected] US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001 View original content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-internet-of-things-iot-in-discrete-parts-manufacturing-300534212.html SOURCE Reportlinker 
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