Bob McIlvride, Director of Communications

About Bob McIlvride

Bob McIlvride is the Director of Communications at Skkynet, as well as Communications Manager at Cogent Real-Time Systems, and is responsible for writing and editing technical documentation and marketing communications, as well as keeping in touch with sales partners and customers. He has a Master’s degree in Professional Writing, and 25 years experience writing and publishing in the natural gas and process control industries. He has lived on three continents, speaks three languages, and considers the whole world as his home.

Entries by Bob McIlvride

Down-to-Earth Cloud: Fog Computing on Edge Devices

by Bob McIlvride

Fog computing happens as close as possible to the data collection, detection and control, for quicker response, and more efficient and meaningful data collection.

ExxonMobil Seeks Open Automation Solutions

by Bob McIlvride

ExxonMobil is not satisfied with business as usual for industrial automation, and are looking for something far superior to what is currently being offered.

Value Propositions for Industrial IoT

by Bob McIlvride

Among all the fanfare and hoopla over the Industrial IoT, the more practical-minded among us quietly but persistently raise the question, “So, where’s the value?” It’s a fair question. The IoT represents a new area of influence for industrial automation. Before embarking on such a venture, it’s good to have some idea what the benefits may be.

Fitting In with Industrial IoT

by Bob McIlvride

Industrial systems are like snowflakes–every one is unique. Each facility, factory, pipeline, or power plant relies on a wide range of machines, tools, and sensors, using proprietary and home-grown software and data protocols. Industrial IoT should connect to any of these with a minimum of fuss. It should be compatible with multiple data protocols and legacy systems, and integrate seamlessly with future hardware and software. Like putting on a new suit, the ideal is to ease into the IoT without disrupting anything.

Top Performance for Industrial IoT

by Bob McIlvride

The Industrial IoT is different from the regular IoT. Mission-critical industrial systems are not like consumer or business IT applications. Performance is crucial. Most IT systems are built around a relational database, a repository of data that clients can add to or access, where a response time of a second or two is acceptable. IT data is typically sent across a network via HTML or XML, which adds complexity to the raw data, and consumes bandwidth. Although fine for office or home use, these technologies are not sufficient for the Industrial IoT.

IoT Valued in Aftermarket Services for Connected Machines

by Bob McIlvride

Sal Spada, Research Director of Discrete Automation at ARC Advisory Group, highlights the value of the IoT for machine builders looking to improve their aftermarket services.