The Internet of Things (IoT) describes the growing trend in which a wide range of objects—sensors, switches, video cameras, tools, thermostats, lights, microphones, speakers, etc.—are given unique identifiers and the ability to communicate with each other over a network without requiring human intervention. The IoT enables these objects to upload data that they have sensed to a central processing facility which in turn can make decisions based on this data and command the objects to take actions to implement these decisions. The IoT creates the potential for a world in which physical objects can in effect respond intelligently to changes in the environment and become active participants in business processes. There are currently more than 12 billion devices connected to the Internet and Cisco estimates that 50 billion devices will be connected by 2020.
The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), sometimes called Industry 4.0, is the subset of the IoT that involves manufacturing and distribution. The IIoT is all about connecting smart sensors to the Internet and using the information they capture to make better business decisions. The IIoT is growing at least as fast as the IoT as smart sensors and devices proliferate up and down the manufacturing supply chain. A major difference between the IoT and the IIoT is that the IIoT is designed to be a relatively closed environment focused on communicating within a company and its partners while being closed to intrusions from the outside. It has been estimated that manufacturing companies worldwide will spend $500 billion a year by 2020 on IIoT technology and that the value generated by the IIoT will reach $15 trillion per year by 2030.