Industrial IoT

The industrial IoT (IIoT) (related concept: Industry 4.0) is the industrial subset of the Internet of Things and refers to manufacturing industries where assets are connected.

Latest Insights: Industrial IoT

The top 10 industrial automation trends—as seen at SPS 2025

The top 10 industrial automation trends—as seen at SPS 2025

In short The IoT Analytics research team updated its list of top 10 industrial automation trends after attendance of SPS (the Smart Production Solutions fair) in November 2025 . IoT Analytics had a team of 4 analysts in attendance, together producing a 79-page event report. Key standout trends based on observations and extensive interviews with industry experts on-site include: Software-defined...

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OT cybersecurity: How IT/OT convergence and AI are changing security architectures

OT cybersecurity: How IT/OT convergence and AI are changing security architectures

In short While industrial executives often cite AI and IT/OT convergence as the most promising future developments, these technologies create new and complex cyber attack surfaces. IoT Analytics’ 49-page OT Cybersecurity Insights Report 2026 identifies several trends related to IT/OT convergence and AI integration affecting OT security, with 5 discussed in this article:1. The shift to hybrid...

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Manufacturing Execution Systems: The 300+ vendors looking to displace pen, paper, and spreadsheets in the factory

Manufacturing Execution Systems: The 300+ vendors looking to displace pen, paper, and spreadsheets in the factory

In short 54% of small- and medium-sized plants use some combination of pen & paper or spreadsheets as their manufacturing execution system (MES), according to IoT Analytics’ 163-page MES Market Report 2025–2031. While the use of these methods is pervasive, they are not reliable sources of data for digital transformation and operational AI integration. Over 300 vendors are serving the $5.5B...

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SPS 2025: How Siemens, Beckhoff, Rockwell, ABB, and peers are positioning for industrial automation’s future

SPS 2025: How Siemens, Beckhoff, Rockwell, ABB, and peers are positioning for industrial automation’s future

In short The current state of industrial automation was on full display at SPS Fair 2025. IoT Analytics had 4 analysts on the ground to uncover the latest trends. The team shares its initial highlights from 8 of the biggest industrial automation vendors here. Why it matters SPS is one of the world’s most important industrial automation fairs. The showcased technologies are widely applicable to...

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Digitalizing industrial motors & drives: 4 upgrades enabling the next era of efficiency

Digitalizing industrial motors & drives: 4 upgrades enabling the next era of efficiency

In short 99% of companies that build motors into their equipment believe that the digitalization of industrial drives will lead to greater operational efficiency, according to IoT Analytics’ Digitalization of Industrial Drives — Adoption Report 2025 (published September 2025). Energy savings through the digitalization of drives could yield 164 TWh in reduced electricity consumption worldwide,...

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Smart manufacturing check-in: 6 learnings from ongoing digital transformation initiatives

Smart manufacturing check-in: 6 learnings from ongoing digital transformation initiatives

In short 6 key learnings stand out from the 2025 IoT Analytics’ Industry 4.0 Case Studies from Leading Manufacturers 2025 report, which delves into 10 recent smart manufacturing case studies from leading, award-winning manufacturers. The highlighted manufacturers prioritize operational needs and people before technology, invest in data readiness and scalable architecture, and increasingly stress...

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Insights By Category

Our View On Industrial IoT

The industrial IoT (IIoT) (related concept: Industry 4.0) is the industrial subset of the Internet of Things and refers to manufacturing, energy, oil and gas, and similar settings in which assets are connected to the internet.

The industrial IoT research stream covers the core elements:

1. Connected Industry Building Block
  • Hardware, such as chips, sensors or gateways
  • Connectivity protocols and services
  • Hosting environments, IoT platforms, and data analytics & AI
  • Applications that are built on top of the software layer
  • Cyber security technologies and methods used throughout the stack
  • Systems integration, connecting systems both vertically and horizontally
2. Disruptive Trends

The technologies and standards which are being be altered or replaced by disruptive trends caused by I4.0 technologies.

3. Supporting Technologies

Six technologies frequently deployed alongside the connected industry building blocks to support the I4.0 key use cases.

  1. Additive Manufacturing (AM)
  2. Augmented and Virtual Reality
  3. Collaborative Robotics
  4. Connected Machine Vision
  5. Drones/UAVs
  6. Self-Driving Vehicles
4. Key Use Cases

Use cases implementing connected industry and/or supporting technologies.

5. Adoption Strategies

OEMs, factories, and industrial automation suppliers are all leveraging I4.0 technologies to differentiate themselves in the market.

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