Business Strategy and Innovation Framework
4 INDUSTRIAL IOT STRATEGY
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An enterprise must define its vision and overall IIoT strategy before embarking on an IIoT journey . Are the motivations for engaging in the IIoT purely economic , or are there broader imperative in terms of societal benefits ( in the case of smart cities applications , for example )? What is the overall market and competitive environment in which the enterprise plans to engage ? How is this likely to change in the coming
The strategy should reflect the extent to which the enterprise it plans to shift toward IIoT and the speed at which this shift is to take place . Should the enterprise become a pioneer and attempt to gain rapid market share , accepting a higher risk of failure ? Or should it become a follower , only implementing a new IIoT solution if certain that its customers will accept it and buy into its new product or service ? Some enterprises regard IIoT as just one of several important paradigm shifts occurring today , and are willing to invest only limited resources in IIoT adoption . Others see it as the paradigm shift of the next decade , and have already invested significantly in IIoT programs and established far-reaching internal change-management processes . Each strategy must set out a vision , goals , and guiding principles appropriate to the enterprise ’ s viewpoint to shape its overall approach to IIoT .
When the strategy is perceived to be important , or its effects likely to be wide ranging , it can be beneficial to appoint a senior stakeholder from within the enterprise ’ s management team to lead and coordinate IIoT initiatives across the enterprise . This approach can ensure consistency between different IIoT initiatives and minimize the chances of pursuing conflicting goals or investing in less-than-optimal supporting infrastructure . Areas within which the senior stakeholder could facilitate cohesion include the management team ’ s understanding of market potential and approaches to new technologies and standards . The stakeholder would also help to define corporate strategy with regard to alliances and partnerships , as well as overall governance frameworks that apply to IIoT initiatives .
Enterprises will also need to define an appropriate guiding set of principles for collaborating with partners and working within the overall IIoT ecosystem . In parallel , they will need to identify , at a high level , the capabilities that they are likely to need to engage in IIoT projects .
Adopting a well-defined and clear approach to IIoT and appointing a dedicated leader to navigate the IIoT journey on their behalf , enterprises will significantly improve their chances of achieving successful outcomes .
4.1 INITIATING THE INDUSTRIAL IOT JOURNEY
Although the IIoT journey resembles the traditional planning and implementation approaches seen in IT and machine-to-machine ( M2M ) projects in a number of ways , one important difference is the emphasis placed on adding IIoT concepts to the strategic agenda ( a changemanagement effort ) and on establishing partnerships ( need for a collaborative approach ).
IIC : PUB : B01 : V1.0 : PB : 20161115 - 20 -