The Industrial IoT Blog
IIoT Insights by Henry Costa
-
The Future of IIoT Applications: Where Industry Meets Innovation
Read more: The Future of IIoT Applications: Where Industry Meets InnovationBack in 2005, when I first worked with SAP xMII, the idea of “smart factories” lived mostly in PowerPoint decks and a few brave pilot lines. Today, machines, data, and people are more connected than ever. But the future of…
-
Why Edge Data Contextualization Is Key for AI in Manufacturing
Read more: Why Edge Data Contextualization Is Key for AI in ManufacturingIf you’ve ever tried to get meaningful insights from a plant’s data, you know the struggle. You wire up a sensor, push the data to the cloud, and… good luck figuring out if “Tag_123” is a temperature, a pressure, or…
-
Top 10 Data Platforms to Watch in 2026
Read more: Top 10 Data Platforms to Watch in 2026If you work in manufacturing or industrial data, you already know how fast this space moves. Every year, there’s a new “must-have” platform, while the existing ones evolve, rebrand, or quietly add powerful new capabilities. After spending years working close…
-
Closing the Loop: Agentic AI and IIoT in Self-Correcting Manufacturing
Read more: Closing the Loop: Agentic AI and IIoT in Self-Correcting ManufacturingIf you work in manufacturing today, you’re probably hearing a lot about “Agentic AI” and self-correcting systems. I’ve spent the last two decades watching factories evolve from islands of automation to fully connected, data-driven environments. We moved from PLCs talking…
-
Top 10 OPC UA Servers to Watch in 2026
Read more: Top 10 OPC UA Servers to Watch in 2026Connecting machines is easy on paper. Doing it reliably, securely, and at scale in a real manufacturing environment is not. OPC UA servers sit at the center of that challenge. They are the layer that quietly determines whether your IIoT…
-
Top 10 MQTT Brokers to Watch in 2026
Read more: Top 10 MQTT Brokers to Watch in 2026If you spend any time around Industrial IoT, MQTT shows up very quickly. It has become one of the foundational building blocks for IIoT architectures, especially when the goal is to move time-series data from machines to higher-level systems in…
-
Top 10 IIoT Platforms to Watch in 2026
Read more: Top 10 IIoT Platforms to Watch in 2026If I could summarize the last two decades of my work in manufacturing, it would be this. I’ve watched factories move from isolated automation islands to increasingly connected, data-driven environments. Along the way, I’ve seen Industrial IoT platforms promise a…
-
Why Industry 4.0 Needs Event-Driven Architecture
Read more: Why Industry 4.0 Needs Event-Driven ArchitectureIf you have spent any time in manufacturing IT or OT, you already know the Purdue Model. For decades, it has been the reference for how plants should be designed and secured. I started my own journey back in 2005,…
-
IIoT Skills Gap: What Engineers Need to Learn to Stay Relevant
Read more: IIoT Skills Gap: What Engineers Need to Learn to Stay RelevantLet’s talk about the IIoT skills gap in 2025. It’s real. It’s growing. And it is now affecting production, quality, and delivery in very visible ways. If you work in manufacturing. As an engineer, a tech lead, or the person…
-
SAP MII End of Life: What Comes Next for IIoT and Shop-Floor Connectivity
Read more: SAP MII End of Life: What Comes Next for IIoT and Shop-Floor ConnectivityIf you’re running SAP MII (Manufacturing Integration & Intelligence) as the backbone for edge connectivity and IIoT use cases, you’ve probably heard by now: the clock is ticking. SAP has officially announced end-of-life for MII, with mainstream support ending in…
-
IIoT at Scale: Containerization, Docker, and Kubernetes Explained
Read more: IIoT at Scale: Containerization, Docker, and Kubernetes ExplainedI’ve spent the better part of two decades watching manufacturing tech evolve from isolated systems to today’s cloud-connected, agile factories. Lately, the biggest leap I’ve seen is how containerization (with Docker and Kubernetes) is making it easier to scale IIoT…
-
Top 10 Data and Analytics Trends Transforming Manufacturing in 2025
Read more: Top 10 Data and Analytics Trends Transforming Manufacturing in 2025If you work in manufacturing, you’re probably tired of hearing how “data is the new oil.” I get it — but after years of connecting machines, data, and people, I can tell you: the right data and analytics tech really…