Key Insight

The industrial internet of things (or IIoT) refers to all of the hardware that’s collecting, sharing and using data within industrial settings. Some of what’s being collected is metadata, which describes the data that’s being generated.

Why It Matters

Metadata is important because it lets us take a deeper dive into what’s happening, allowing us to see relationships, keywords, associations, descriptions and other factors used in algorithms and indexes.

Examples

In an industrial setting, there is a tremendous amount of data generated by sensors, switches, and connected devices. Those data can be mined, refined and analyzed for cost savings, greater efficiencies and even new product development. For example, Palo Alto-based Maana extracts metadata to optimize a company’s processes by revealing previously unknown relationships. Austin-based SparkCognition uses metadata for predictive maintenance applications in energy, gas and utilities.

What’s Next

There is no unified approach for how to handle metadata in manufacturing and other IIoT settings—and at the moment, not all systems and devices are interoperable. The metadata itself could help solve that problem, by identifying communication protocols that would facilitate the exchange of data throughout a network.

The Impact

Metadata will make it easier for businesses to organize the data generated from all of their connected machinery within the IIoT. Advancements in artificial intelligence will offer deeper levels of insight into process automation.

Watchlist

Augury, Axzon, Bayshore Networks, Foghorn Systems, KMC Controls, Maana, Plataine, SparkCognition, Tenna, Thetaray, Valarm.