Modern IoT solutions enable digital business models. They increase efficiency, provide deeper insight into production processes, and deliver immediate value.
The IoT approach of moving as much functionality as possible to the Cloud often fails in an industrial environment due to the amount of data to be transported and limited connectivity.
This is where "on the edge" solutions can help. They are close to the point of data generation and enable early interventions, initial analyses or applications that were previously only typical for the Cloud.
The combination of cloud-based applications with edge applications leads to coherent overall solutions in the industrial environment. At the same time, edge technology opens up the possibility of designing OT-related applications without reference to the Cloud.
Edge introduces the technology of IT (Information Technology) into OT (Operational Technology).
The IT:
The world of offices, the Internet, ERP systems, the Cloud, etc.
The OT:
OT systems automate production.
IT/OT convergence = connecting the real world of automation with the digital world of information technology.