Software company PTC has this week launched a new range of role-based applications for the industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).
The new Kinex product family is claimed to unify data from enterprise systems and physical objects on the plant floor through sensors to improve decision-making for industrial companies.
The applications will be built on PTC’s ThingWorx IIoT platform, which provides companies with the tools they need to build IoT solutions, from connectivity and development tools to the analytics that drive insights.
The Kinex range “will enable customers to rapidly adopt and realize value from their digital transformation initiatives,” according to Peter Vescuso, chief customer journey officer at PTC. Essentially, companies will benefit from having universal access to data from a number of disparate sources.
Simplifying IIoT
Already developed and now in the adoption stage is a product that PTC calls Kinex Navigate.
This application simply provides a role-based interface through which employees across the company can access and use product data from multiple systems in one place. Having access to such data should allow employees to make better product decisions.
PTC says Navigate has seen “rapid adoption, with more than 125,000 seats sold to date”.
One company already benefiting from what Navigate offers is Indian multinational technology and engineering company Kpit.
The company is using Navigate to gain better insights into data from medical devices.
“Data from medical device manufacturers resides in multiple business systems,” said David Bartlett, North America head, extended PLM, Kpit.
“By leveraging the ThingWorx Industrial IoT platform and Kinex Navigate solution, Kpit is able to aggregate data from various business systems and apply our business process and medical device expertise to bring useful role-based apps to the market.”
Read more: Cybersecurity attacks on IIoT infrastructure expected to increase this year
More applications to come
PTC has confirmed that further Kinex applications are coming soon, built on the ThingWorx IIoT platform.
Vescuso added: “As we work with hundreds of our global manufacturing customers worldwide, we understand the challenges and technology requirements that Industrial IoT presents. We will deliver more new and innovative Kinex applications that support and enable Industrial IoT initiatives.”
Speaking about the importance of universal access to data in IIoT environments, Ian Hughes of 451 Research told Internet of Business that “the interface between the traditional IT world and the operation technology [OT] world, not just in terms of data but of skills and mindset, is a key challenge in IIoT.
“It is why groups such as the Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC) and standards definitions such as OPC-UA are made up of both IT and OT players, where they can come together to solve industry specific problems and reach consensus on how to operate together.
“IoT data is a great silo-buster and the benefits of it come from insight gained combining sources that have previously not been tied together.”
Read more: Why Schneider is bringing IIoT, Blockchain and robotics to the supply chain
