Back in May 2024 we posted an article about the different phases of the Industrial IoT life cycle, and what businesses may be experiencing during those phases. We want to follow that up with a look at how a business gains increasing benefits as their IIoT adoption matures across the organisation.

To recap, we identified 5 phases of increasing maturity for IIoT adoption within an organisation, which are summarised by the following diagram:

There are five critical areas where businesses will see substantial benefits as they move through the different levels of maturity, and we summarise the benefits as follows:

• Strategic Alignment and Unified Vision - unified goals and long-term vision align the organisation’s efforts.
• Stakeholder Engagement and Skill Development - stakeholders are more engaged and better equipped to leverage IoT technologies.
• Operational Efficiency and Automation - automation streamlines operations, saving time and resources.
• Data Management and Utilisation - advanced data management leads to actionable insights and smarter strategies.
• Innovation and Competitive Advantage - a focus on innovation and cloud-first principles keeps the business competitive and forward-thinking.

We’ll now take a slightly more detailed look at each.

Strategic Alignment and Unified Vision
Initially, in the Exposure phase, stakeholders have varied perspectives with no immediate drive for action. As the business matures, it develops a unified vision during the Evaluate phase, solidifies stakeholder alignment in the Adopt phase, and establishes a clear, long-term vision. The benefit is a cohesive strategy ensures that all departments work towards common objectives, enhancing overall efficiency and effectiveness. The business has gone from disparate perspectives to unified goals.

Stakeholder Engagement and Skill Development
Early stages involve increasing internal awareness and exploring IoT knowledge. As the business moves forward, it identifies skill gaps and bridges them, fostering a culture of continuous learning. The benefit is improved skills and stakeholder engagement that lead to better decision-making and more innovative solutions, as teams are well-equipped to handle IoT challenges. The business has gone from IIoT awareness to IIoT expertise.

Operational Efficiency and Automation
The Initial phases focus on exploring IoT and validating ideas. As the business adopts and scales IoT solutions, it begins streamlining operations through automation. The benefit of automation reduces manual efforts, minimises errors, and accelerates processes, leading to cost savings and increased productivity. The business has gone from exploration of IIoT to streamlined operations.

Data Management and Utilisation
In the early stages, data might be underutilised due to concerns about security and ROI. As the business scales, it adopts data lakes across the organisation and, eventually, harnesses these data lakes for tackling larger and more rewarding business challenges. The benefit is effective data management that enables better analytics and insights, driving informed decision-making and uncovering new business opportunities. The business has gone from having segregated data silos to harnessing data lakes.

Innovation and Competitive Advantage
Initial concerns about security and ROI give way to embedding Cloud Center of Excellence (CCoE) principles and upholding cloud-first strategies in the Automate phase. The benefit of embracing innovation places the business at the forefront of industry advancements, offering a strong competitive edge through leading technologies and practices. The business has gone from caution to adopting cloud-first principles and innovation.

To conclude, by advancing through the IoT Maturity Model from Exposure to Automate, businesses not only improve in these areas but also position themselves for sustained growth and success in an increasingly connected and competitive world.