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Think Big, Start Small, Scale Up

Every so often we get reports of how things are going with Industrial IoT and digital transformation projects. Although our customers keep us informed, it’s also interesting to hear from the rest of the world, through trade shows, conferences, industry publications and the like. In a recent event in Singapore hosted by ARC Advisory Group, executives and technical experts shared their experiences with colleagues, suppliers, and industry gurus. A summary of three of these presentations was published in a blog titled Lessons from the Industry of Things.

Funnily enough, among those three presentations, two of them had an almost identical approach to implementing Industrial IoT. They even had similar terminology, which is essentially: Think Big, Start Small, Scale Up Fast. The idea is to keep your thinking about IoT as broad as possible at the beginning, with no idea left off the table. Then start with small, inexpensive, easily-managed pilot implementations. As soon as something starts working well, scale up quickly.

“Prototype small is about telling people to stop writing business plans and give it a go―quickly and at low cost,” said the Executive VP and CTO of Australia’s largest producer of natural gas, Shaun Gregory. “And because you lower the consequence of getting things wrong, as long as you’ve learned something, I don’t really care if you fail. Once you have a working prototype, if you do not scale this into your business, you won’t reap the benefits you anticipated.”

The challenge: Scale Up

It all sounds very good. But there is more to the story. There seems to be a challenge in moving from step 2 to step 3, the “Scale Up” step. The article goes on to say, “Mr. Gregory admitted that scaling solutions is the aspect the company has struggled with the most.”

He’s not alone. User surveys from industry analysts show that there is a significant drop in IoT project completion and success compared to the number of working pilots and prototypes. There are probably several factors at work here, including:

  1. Industrial IoT is very different from consumer IoT. In production-level implementations data volumes are much higher, real-time performance is typically a must, and security requirements are much more stringent.
  1. Industrial IoT is very different from in-plant industrial data communication. Again, security is a big issue, as well as protocol translation, gateway technologies, and the need to integrate with IT.
  1. Human factors, like adapting to new ways of thinking, a need for retraining, and new approaches to security, are often overlooked.

All of these factors can be addressed―the first two with the right technology, and the third by appropriate human resource development. Our focus is on the first two. Skkynet technology works equally well on turn-key projects as it does for pilots. For hundreds of connections, or just one. For thousands of data points or just a handful.

The DataHub technology, with its secure-by-design architecture and ability to seamlessly integrate the most important industrial protocols, meets the most stringent requirements for security, throughput, and ease of use that the world’s top engineering and system integration companies value.

Just last month we announced a new partnership with Siemens to use the DataHub with their DCU (Data Capture Unit) to offer “Bulletproof IIoT”. This partnership came after extensive testing of the DataHub to ensure that it meets Siemens’ high standards for security, robust performance, and ease of use that Industry 4.0 and Industrial IoT demand. Customers installing the DCU, or any other DataHub connected system, can rest assured that when it comes time to scale up, they will be fully-equipped and ready.

Skkynet and Siemens Mobility collaborate on Secure IIoT

Hardware/software combination provides secure access to industrial data, vendor-neutral connectivity, and support for main industrial protocols.

Mississauga, Ontario, September 16, 2019Skkynet Cloud Systems, Inc. (“Skkynet” or “the Company”) (OTCQB: SKKY), a global leader in real-time data communication for industrial systems, is pleased to announce a cooperative agreement with Siemens Mobility GmbH to provide a highly secure Industrial IoT hardware and software combination.  Siemens Mobility’s Data Capture Unit (DCU) ensures one-way data flow will be connected to industrial and corporate software using Skkynet’s DataHub real-time middleware, allowing secure access to plant data by corporate IT staff and cloud services in real time.

“Through digitalization, Siemens Mobility is providing transportation operators with intelligent infrastructure and this collaboration will expand our ability to bring secure connectivity to critical systems across industrial sectors,” said Andre Rodenbeck, CEO Mobility Management, Siemens Mobility. “We see value for and need within the Industrial IoT market to mitigate the risk of connectivity to the cloud as well as IT Networks.”

“This agreement couples the best features of both products,” said Harry Forbes, Research Director at ARC Advisory Group. “The Skkynet DataHub software has been designed to enable outbound data flow with no changes to corporate firewalls. Together with the Siemens DCU data diode functionality, the combination provides real-time asset data with security from both hardware and software.”

The Data Capture Unit (DCU) from Siemens Mobility is a small, reliable and cost-effective hardware implementation of data diode technology designed for Industrial Internet connectivity. It is designed to eliminate any direct wired (optical or copper) physical connections.  This allows the DCU to meet all major cybersecurity regulations for critical infrastructure and to operate in rugged environmental conditions (industrial and transportation).  Typically located on the edge of the network, the DCU provides boundary protection for the Operations Technology (OT) network, and a secure bridge when connected to the Information Technology (IT) network.

The DataHub from Skkynet has been extensively tested by Siemens Mobility to act as a secure and easy-to-configure One-Way Gateway (OWG) for the DCU.  The DataHub software collects and filters data on the OT side, supporting protocols OPC UA, OPC DA, OPC A&E, and Modbus. The data is then sent via the DCU to a second DataHub on the IT side, which pushes it along by TCP or ODBC to IT applications, or by MQTT to Siemens’ IoT platform MindSphere or other cloud services. The DataHub’s secure-by-design architecture is fully compatible with the DCU’s one-way model, and allows industrial protocols like OPC UA and others to function seamlessly with the DCU.

“This collaboration offers industrial users in all sectors—healthcare, energy, oil & gas, and transportation to name a few—a highly secure and cost-effective Internet gateway,” said Paul Thomas, President of Skkynet.  “Equally effective for both new and legacy systems, it allows virtually any company to easily make secure connections to the Industrial IoT.”

Working together, the DCU and DataHub provide a secure OT – IT bridge and vendor-neutral connectivity, supporting main industrial protocols. The DCU ensures the highest safety and security level for the protected assets, while the DataHub enables real-time secure connectivity across a wide range of protocols on both sides of the connection.  Both the hardware and software have been proven in the field for many years and are used in thousands of applications in virtually all industrial sectors.

About Skkynet

Skkynet Cloud Systems, Inc. (OTCQB: SKKY) is a global leader in real-time cloud information systems. The Skkynet Connected Systems platform includes the award-winning SkkyHub™ service, DataHub® middleware, and Embedded Toolkit (ETK) software. The platform enables real-time data connectivity for industrial, embedded, and financial systems, with no programming required. Skkynet’s platform is uniquely positioned for the “Internet of Things” and “Industry 4.0” because unlike the traditional approach for networked systems, SkkyHub is secure-by-design.  For more information, see https://skkynet.com.

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