EMQ Revealed the Internet of “Anything” at the IoT Tech Expo and IIoT World Manufacturing Day
Morgan Hill, CA, May, 31, 2023—IoT isn’t often associated with compelling stories. More often it’s limited to a presentation of tech stacks meant to impress or beguile with the idea that IoT is about productivity, efficiency, automation, accuracy and other features. That is IoT, of course, but perhaps many miss the mark on what IoT should also be: what about perhaps the ‘story’ behind the IoT data collected at the source of a manufacturing plant? Or the reason why anyone would want a kitchen stove to be ‘smart’ at all?
There’s a story for [the Internet of] anything just begging to be told. The real value is in why anyone would want to implement an IoT infrastructure. Is it just for the mere tech advancement? Or is it also for a specific human benefit? EMQ likes to focus on the latter.
EMQ shares the stories behind IoT at two recent conferences
EMQ was present in excellent fashion at both the Santa Clara IoT Tech Expo and IIoT World Manufacturing Day virtual conference in May, tackling the issues of today regarding industrial IoT manufacturing data strategy and factory floor digitalization.
Left to right: Moderator John Jiang, PhD, EVP of Acteon Group Ltd. Sudhir Pai, VP of Brambles Sandeep Bandil, AGCO Corporation Director Susanne Lauda, EMQ President & CEO Dylan Kennedy, former Director of Levis Strauss & Co. Martin Miller
In particular, notable highlights included EMQ CEO Dylan Kennedy on a panel discussing everything from LEAN principles to sustainability, including thoughts on digital innovation and predictive analysis. He had this to say:
“I think many of us don’t fully understand what IoT can do, or should do. It doesn’t just do something for us. It tells us why it’s doing it, so we can understand the purpose.”
The key takeaway wasn’t simply on how ‘impressive’ IoT could be for industrial manufacturers. Rather, it was about why.
EMQ’s stance has always been to figure that out – getting into the story behind the real value of digital innovation; which is all about, for example, a fridge not just offering recipes on a display, but maybe providing options for a human being who needs to focus more on non-GMO or gluten-free as part of a diet plan. Or perhaps a smart home designed to recognize not just the homeowner with a simple robotic ‘hello’, but an intruder in the event of a break-in.
It’s not about the innovation or even the ‘communication’ devices offer – it’s the long-term benefits behind that communication that carry the most weight.
Moreover, it’s plain to see the industrial manufacturing space in particular has gone far beyond simply making everything ‘convenient’ or ‘automated’ just for its sake. The real value has to come from looking into the data devices collect and knowing the story behind it. That’s how far beyond.
Speaking of IIoT data….
Josh Eastburn at the IoT Tech Expo
EMQ Director of Technical Marketing
Josh Eastburn, EMQ’s Director of Technical Marketing, was also on deck for the IIoT World Manufacturing Day virtual conference (while also participating at the IoT Tech Expo) to discuss that exact value – going from merely acquiring data at scale to turning it into a valuable asset. The discourse helped the audience understand what they could do better with their data, such as enhance interoperability or data integrity, factors that could make the difference between an IoT project succeeding or failing.
At the endhhh of the day, IoT data’s useless unless the story behind that data’s front and center. And a good data strategy can reveal that story – or stories – so manufacturers don’t miss the big picture, staying open to the kinds of applications to build or use cases to discover. Josh, in fact, said it best:
“How about we don’t start by deciding what we’re going to use the data for? What if we first think about what good data should look like, then go build infrastructure that delivers that? After that, the applications will flow easily.”
The story behind IoT then drives growth for the future with an understanding of all that information – where it’s produced, what it represents, how it could penetrate the rest of the organization for a deeper digital transformation.
It makes the Internet of Anything possible.
What’s next for IoT, IIoT, IoV
Left to right: EMQ Solutions Engineer Don Fadel, EMQ Account Executive Steve Reinhart, EMQ Event Manager Rosemary Guy, EMQ Sales Development Representative Hollie Maddux, EMQ Head of Global Sales Development Adam Henrich
The sky’s not the limit. There’s even more out there in the outer space of IoT. It helps, though, when thought leaders not only have an eye for what’s possible – but why the tech space should reach for it, what the benefits can be, and how to achieve ROI to make it make sense in the long term. The IoT Tech Expo and the IIoT World Manufacturing Day virtual conference were explorations of that. Even more good news moving forward: expect EMQ to tell even more compelling stories about what IoT has to offer for the future.