IIoT Growth Requires Connectivity
The growth in many of the emerging technologies we discuss—industrial internet of things (IIoT), the metaverse, digital twins, and AR/VR to name a few—require scalability in connectivity.
The technologies providing real-time data and even making real-time decisions need to be in communication with each other and the broader network. Sensors that feed a digital twin need to be able to collect data; process it or send it elsewhere for processing; transmit the data for additional processing, analysis, and storage.
All of this requires a massive amount of computing power and fast, reliable networks. Most enterprise approaches currently can be considered “hybrid,” a convenient blanket term for using multiple of the following:
Enterprise data centers
Colocation data centers
Cloud hosting
Private clouds
4G/5G networking
Fiber connectivity
Wireless connectivity
There’s no “one size fits all” setup. In fact, there’s rarely a setup perfectly that meets the needs of two different enterprises. Through the digital transformation process, each organization has to make decisions about networking, connectivity, data storage, and more.
The success of a digital transformation can rely on the behind-the-scenes computing details, so enterprises need to pay attention. It’s all connected.