The Industrial Internet of Things to Transform Supply Chains by 2023, Says Inmarsat

The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is set to make a sizeable contribution to the global economy by 2023. This is according to a new study released by Inmarsat, the world mobile satellite communications company based in London.

According to researchers, supply chain managers expect IIoT to be increasing their annual revenues by 10 per cent within 5 years.

The report – “IIoT on Land and at Sea” – was compiled by the market research firm, Vanson Bourne, which surveyed 750 businesses with a combined turnover of $1.16 trillion annually. Respondents were drawn from a wide range of industries, including the agriculture, energy, maritime, mining and transport sectors.

Access to reliable and resilient connectivity, particularly in remote regions or at sea, where terrestrial networks are not available but satellite communications are available, will be essential to the success of many IIoT deployments.

“IIoT is emerging as a major force in the modern enterprise and it's clear that businesses are prioritizing satellite technology to transform their operations and achieve competitive advantage,” said Paul Gudonis, President, Inmarsat Enterprise.

He added that Data generated by IIoT infrastructure is expected particularly to bring greater transparency to the global supply chain, allowing businesses to automate processes, reduce operational waste and speed up rate of production, leading to higher revenues and lower costs.”

“However, many businesses are struggling with security, skills and connectivity challenges in large scale IIoT deployments,” Gudonis cautioned.

Mike Holdsworth, Director of Transport at Inmarsat Enterprise, told SCMR in an interview that some supply chains might also become vulnerable if proper procedures are not introduced.

“With hackers, activists and hostile state actors ever more intent on disrupting elements of the global supply chain, such as energy supplies or transport networks, IIoT devices and sensors may present a backdoor for destructive cyber-attacks on crucial operations,” he said. “As the global supply chain becomes ever-more connected, this could lead to subsequent elements of the supply chain being at risk of further cyber-attack with potentially damaging consequences.”

But Holdsworth stressed that it is here that satellite connectivity can play a critical role.

“By offering highly secure networks and integration with communications technology such LoRaWAN, it can ensure secure end-to-end data transmission,” he said. “In addition, to mitigate the risk of a loss of connectivity, satellite connectivity can offer logistics businesses a global communications network, guaranteeing constant secure and reliable data transmission wherever their IIoT infrastructure is located.”

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