The context of the Internet of Things: Industry 4.0 & the Industrial Internet

IoT, whats in a name?

“The internet of things is far more than just gadgets. What are we really talking about, and what is the context of the bigger picture? Cisco talks about Internet of Everything, General Electric about the Industrial web, Microsoft calls it the Web of the World, the Germans speak of Industry 4.0 and Bosch about the Internet of things and services. Still there is no end at the list. Here a few more definitions:

  • Industry 4.0
  • Internet of Sensors and Actuators
  • Internet of Everything
  • Internet of Things & Services
  • Smarter Planet
  • Ambient Intelligence
  • Machine 2 Machine
  • Social web of Things
  • Industrial Internet
  • Web of the World

Image credits

A piece of the “Pervasive Interaction Engine” pie

All these type of synonyms and definitions are marketing buzzwords from large companies, research institutes and independent organizations or governments. Companies like Microsoft, IBM, Cisco, Intel, Ericsson and so on, who are trying to be an industrial driver of the phenomenon Internet of Things. Internet of Things? Yes, Internet of Things, as Kevin Ashton found it in 1999 at his job as Brand Manager at Procter & Gamble. When we combine these perspective we can generate (if you ask me) a definition that deals with what IoT is really about:” Source: Internet of Things Council & “Internet of Things: for business and beyond (1/2)” as appeard on the ViNT (Vision Inspiration Navigation Trends) of Sogeti.

Industry 4.0 & the Industrial Internet

In special the German Industry 4.0 & General Electric’s Industrial Internet of Things makes me think. For that reason I started a community on LinkedIn around these specific topics called: “Industry 4.0 & the Industrial Internet”. In this group thought business leaders are discussing the context of the Internet of Things such as:

“How to adept the Internet of Things in our Supply Chain?”

“How is the Internet of Things creating a whole new eco-system?”

“How can my company in the Manufacturing branche benefit out of this new technology?”

Please feel free to invite like minded people to this Group, to participate in the larger discussion. Maybe colleagues are also interested in this sub-domain of the ‘Internet of (Things)/ (Everything).

I hope to see you around in our Industry 4.0 & the Industrial Internet community!

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