Paucity of skillset, hampering IIoT adoption in India

What should be the IT infrastructure readiness for having a robust IIoT platform. for e.g. data platform, analytics, AI, storage, networking, connectivity, etc.
IT infrastructure requirements for IIoT deployments vary depending on the size of businesses. For small and medium scale units, cloud IoT solutions should be able to resolve the requirements and IT teams should be able to manage the data integration with third party applications; some might be required to handle light weight data internally in in-house data centers and sufficient capacity planning should be done. In case of large scale enterprises , huge volume of data are involved and security compliance is another critical factor. In such cases IT teams should plan server capacity, business continuity, disaster recovery dedicated for IoT implementations and appropriate data center security. Maximum value can be derived out of Industrial IoT data by integrating it to other enterprise applications like the ERP, CRM, support help desk etc and create a wholesome approach towards data driven business. IT managers and operational heads should look for Industrial IoT platform and solutions that are robust enough to seamlessly merge the physical and digital infrastructure of manufacturing industries.

IIoT platforms are vulnerable to security breach. Please discuss guidelines for a secure IIoT setup?
Security breach is a universal challenge. Especially when volumes of data is involved, it is highly salient to identify potential vulnerabilities and deploy a solution that is secure enough to guard against breaches, remains resilient to security attacks and provide maximum protection throughout the value chain. When it comes to Industrial IoT solutions, it is necessary to choose and implement a solution that offers total security right from data acquisition and storage to data exchange between IoT server and  third party enterprise applications. WebNMS places monumental focus on IoT security and is constantly trying to improve the security standards of the platform. Currently WebNMS offers robust security in order to face the dynamic challenges of the industry. WebNMS IoT platform offers 360 degree data life cycle security through secure protocols like HTTPS, valid authentication tokens, data encryption and integrated secure standards.

How is your solution different from other IIoT solutions?
WebNMS IoT Platform addresses the complexities involved in building custom IoT solutions for enterprise and industrial customers. In a survey conducted by WebNMS among visitors at a technology trade show, it was found that at least 80% of the respondents faced challenges during their IoT implementation. The prime challenges in implementation were found to be Data acquisition from devices, data security concern, finding the right hardware – software combination and scaling for large scale deployments. It is necessary to have an IoT platform that can address these challenges and deliver harmonious functioning of data across the ecosystem.

WebNMS platform establishes a middle ground between large IoT frameworks that are complex and cloud based open source platforms that are easily available but have limited scope for customization. WebNMS IoT platform aims to balance these trade offs by offering a unique IoT platform experience for customers with multiple enterprise capabilities, tools and features integrated into a single stack.

Some of the key differentiating factors of the WebNMS platform are 1. Integrated Edge Computing agent 2. All devices and protocol compatibility 3. APIs for third party platform integrations 4. Multiple capabilities offered on a single stack ( energy, asset management, industrial IoT and fleet) and 5. customizable User Interface with drag and drop features.

What is the kind of maturity do you see in the Indian Channel partner ecosystem in a) innovation on top of your IIoT solution b) implementing IIoT solutions?
The Indian Channel which is predominantly IT driven is now moving towards disruptive technologies like IoT, blockchain, AI et al, in order to strengthen their portfolio, create new revenue streams and sustain competition and also offer value added services to their customers. IoT solution adoption has moved past the initial hype cycle and it is in a more comfortable plateau now.

However there would be more adoption only if complexities are resolved and the product become more of ‘off the shelf’. Currently, although there are hundreds of IoT players in multiple categories, no particular player rules the roost. IoT solutions are more of a collaborative ecosystem involving multiple layers like devices, software platform, connectivity and application implementation. SIs today have identified the potential of IoT in Indian market and are working with multiple layers of the ecosystem.

One way to expedite adoption and stay ahead of the competition would be to engage with a robust IOT platform player who can offer the complete IoT experience and IoT partner ecosystem. Although the Indian IoT channel isn’t fully mature, taking the route of working in conjunction with multiple players of the ecosystem in a consultative manner will stir the segment in the right direction for niche and large scale customer implementations in a short duration.

Do you see any hindrances in the adoption of IIoT in India ?
India is growing fast in terms of technology. However, there is a gap in skill set needed for IIoT technology adoption and implementation. Although there are several product vendors who offer enterprise IoT technology to the Indian market, the rate at which the vertical solution players and SI channel is growing is slower. This is mainly due to lack of enough data and information available about the technology, cost of IoT hardware even during the testing period and not enough resources to scale up to the specific needs of enterprise customers. The solution is to find the right IoT partner who can give maximum results with optimal cost and resources. To begin with, the solution providers should start in incremental steps and scale up.

What are the training programs you are Running for the CPs and SIs
WebNMS has defined partner training programs. WebNMS offers free trial version for SIs and Solution providers to play around with the platform. To try niche solutions. Whenever support needed is given. Once partners are signed, free training and consultative collaboration for POCs and actual implementations are taken care of.

Have you built partnerships with the likes of Accenture, Capgemini …. Basically consulting companies for implementing IIoT projects ?
We are open to the consulting partnership models. We are currently partnered with some of the leading IoT device manufacturers like Option, HMS Networks, BB Advantech, Dell, AdLink, Sinocastel etc for various enterprise and industrial IoT use cases and technology System Integrator like EML, Haya Solutions, StandOut, Vitel etc across various regions. WebNMS itself works on a consulting model along with partners for large deployments based on the use case.

If you have an interesting article / experience / case study to share, please get in touch with us at [email protected]

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