What began with mechanization during the industrial revolution, gave way to mass production and assembly lines, then computers and digitization streamlined operations for more efficient factories. Now a fourth revolution is taking hold, dubbed Industry 4.0, where companies use cloud computing, Internet of Things (IoT), real-time analytics, and machine learning for additional productivity gains at a lower cost.

Cloud-connected devices are powering today’s transformation of traditional industrial processes. A typical industrial factory is equipped with thousands of sensors generating vast volumes of operational data that make up the brains behind smart machines—also known as the Industrial IoT (IIoT). That embedded intelligence from billions of devices is instrumental in enabling an enterprise to digitize, monitor, and optimize their industrial operations. This generation of operational data will continue to grow as IIoT devices rapidly increase throughout operations and digitization of assets and legacy systems accelerates.