The Industrial IoT Blog
IIoT Insights by Henry Costa
Category: Architecture
Principles, patterns, and blueprints for scalable Industrial IoT architectures.
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Moving SAP OEE to a Modern IIoT Platform
Read more: Moving SAP OEE to a Modern IIoT PlatformI’ve been working with automated OEE systems for several years. Starting from early SAP MII implementations, I’ve built and supported solutions that collect real-time data from PLCs, calculate availability, performance and quality, and provide operators with live dashboards. These systems…
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What Is IIoT? The Basics You Should Know
Read more: What Is IIoT? The Basics You Should KnowIf you work in manufacturing, you’ve probably heard people throw around “IIoT” (Industrial Internet of Things) like it’s the answer to every plant problem. Sometimes it sounds like magic. It’s not. But it is changing how we run factories, and…
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The Five Things That Surprised Me About Industrial Data
Read more: The Five Things That Surprised Me About Industrial DataIf you’ve spent years in manufacturing IT, you know that industrial data isn’t just “data.” It’s messy, stubborn, and full of surprises. When I first started connecting machines and systems back in the SAP xMII days, I thought the challenge…
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Birth Certificates for Machines: How Sparkplug NBIRTH Messages Work
Read more: Birth Certificates for Machines: How Sparkplug NBIRTH Messages WorkLet’s talk about something I see a lot in real-world industrial IoT projects, but that’s rarely explained in plain English: Sparkplug NBIRTH messages. If you’ve heard the phrase “birth certificate for machines,” that’s what we’re talking about. These NBIRTH messages…
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From the Purdue Model to Event-Driven Architecture (EDA): What’s Really Changing
Read more: From the Purdue Model to Event-Driven Architecture (EDA): What’s Really ChangingLet’s talk about the shift from the Purdue Model to Event-Driven Architecture (EDA) in manufacturing. I’ve experienced this transition firsthand—on the shop floor, in IT meetings, and across countless architecture reviews. Here’s what’s truly happening, why it matters, and what…
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Inside an IIoT Platform: The Layers That Make It Work
Read more: Inside an IIoT Platform: The Layers That Make It WorkWhen people talk about “IIoT platforms,” it often sounds like some magic box that connects machines and sends data to the cloud. In reality, it’s not a box — it’s more like a layered system, with several moving parts working…
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IIoT Journey: Edge-First, Cloud-Second
Read more: IIoT Journey: Edge-First, Cloud-SecondI want to talk about why, after two decades in Industrial Smart Manufacturing, I’ve become a strong believer in an “Edge-First, Cloud-Second” approach for connecting plants, machines, and people. This isn’t some theory — it’s the result of real projects,…
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Integrating Autonomous AGVs: Lessons from the Field
Read more: Integrating Autonomous AGVs: Lessons from the FieldSome projects stay with you — not just for the technology, but for how they reshape what you think is possible on a shop floor. A few years ago, I was part of a large automotive manufacturing initiative that brought…
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Naming Conventions Aren’t Boring—They’re the Backbone of Scalable IIoT
Read more: Naming Conventions Aren’t Boring—They’re the Backbone of Scalable IIoTLet’s get this out there: naming conventions are not glamorous. But in every serious IIoT project I’ve lived through—across oil & gas, pharma, automotive, and beyond—they’re the difference between a system that scales and one that becomes an unmanageable mess.…
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From SCADA to Cloud Analytics: The Evolution of Shop Floor Data I’ve Witnessed
Read more: From SCADA to Cloud Analytics: The Evolution of Shop Floor Data I’ve WitnessedIf you’d told me in 2005 that one day I’d be streaming millions of shop floor data points to the cloud, running AI on them, and visualizing everything in real time from anywhere in the world, I’d have probably laughed.…
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Kafka or MQTT for Data Streaming from Edge to Cloud?
Read more: Kafka or MQTT for Data Streaming from Edge to Cloud?If you’ve ever had to pick between Kafka and MQTT for streaming data from the plant edge up to the cloud, you know it’s not a simple “one size fits all” answer. I’ve lived through this choice in real projects…
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When Kepware isn’t Enough: Rethinking the Edge Connectivity Stack
Read more: When Kepware isn’t Enough: Rethinking the Edge Connectivity StackFor a long time, Kepware has been the go-to tool for connecting machines and pulling data from PLCs, DCS, and all sorts of shop-floor equipment. I’ve used it at dozens of sites — from auto parts to steel mills, pharma,…