A Single Unified IIoT Data Ecosystem: Why Architecting a UNS is Priority #1

Despite the vast amounts of data generated, a staggering 98% of companies struggle to harness these insights for business value. It’s no surprise to many in the industrial automation and manufacturing industry that building a single, unified, Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) data ecosystem has quickly risen to the top of the priority list. 

Organizations have long tried to rationalize data from OT and IT systems in order to improve operational efficiency and glean insights from data. Frameworks such as Unified Namespace (UNS) are trending among IoT architects and developers as a way to harness that data and get it ready for downstream use cases. Taking advantage of the popular protocol, MQTT, will make this a reality and allow companies to democratize their data and improve collaboration.

Here are a few of the use cases businesses can experience by creating a UNS with MQTT.

Democratizing Data Access

One of the primary hurdles in leveraging data effectively is the traditional barriers to access. However, with a UNS framework in place, companies can break down these silos, empowering stakeholders beyond those used to working with data. Engineers, production managers, and decision-makers would have access to insights and interpret data effortlessly, driving operational improvements and innovation.

Bridging the Gap Between OT-IT

The convergence of IT and OT within a unified data ecosystem paves the way for better communication and collaboration between different departments and systems. This alignment leads to improved operational efficiency, reduced downtime, and enhanced product quality as stakeholders work together towards common goals.

Accelerating Innovation and Agility

By streamlining data access and collaboration, organizations can expedite product development cycles, resulting in faster time-to-market. With MQTT and UNS at the forefront, businesses can accelerate their data integration processes, leading to quicker insights and decision-making. This agility enables swift responses to market demands, keeping companies ahead of the competition and fostering a culture of continuous innovation.

Building for the Future

With 40% of companies prioritizing breaking down data silos and improving visibility, investing in a strategic approach such as UNS becomes imperative for sustained success. Standardizing IIoT data ensures that it is structured, consistent, and readily available for analysis. By preparing data in a uniform format, manufacturing companies can leverage advanced analytics and machine learning algorithms to derive actionable insights, optimize processes, and drive continuous improvement.

Architecting a UNS for IIoT

Both UNS and MQTT are key components to standardizing data communication and ensuring interoperability. By democratizing data access, fostering collaboration, and accelerating innovation, manufacturing companies can unlock the full value of their data, driving operational excellence and achieving their business objectives in a rapidly evolving landscape

Building a UNS has a multitude of benefits but starting the journey may appear overwhelming. While many companies have legacy architectures, chock full of point-to-point connections, those will not be able to externalize contextualized data across domains and into a real-time semantic hierarchy. 

Download Architecting a UNS for IIoT, a practical guide for architecting a UNS for your organization. This ebook is full of best practices to build a foundational framework for UNS and help readers understand how to design, establish, and secure a UNS.