The Industrial IoT Blog
IIoT Insights by Henry Costa
Tag: Manufacturing
The process of producing goods by transforming raw materials into finished products. It combines people, machines, and systems to deliver quality, efficiency, and scale.
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IIoT Vendor Demo vs Reality: What They Don’t Show You
Read more: IIoT Vendor Demo vs Reality: What They Don’t Show YouIf you’ve ever sat through an IIoT vendor demo and thought, “Wow, this looks easy,” you’re not alone. I’ve been in this industry for over two decades, and I can’t count how many times I’ve seen a slick demo only…
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The Power of Storytelling with IIoT Data
Read more: The Power of Storytelling with IIoT DataIf you’ve been in manufacturing for a while, you know the plant floor is noisy—not just with machines, but with data. Every sensor, robot, and PLC is constantly spitting out numbers. But here’s the thing: all that data is just…
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IIoT Risks: What Manufacturers Need to Watch Out For
Read more: IIoT Risks: What Manufacturers Need to Watch Out ForWhen you start connecting machines, systems, and people across a factory, you open up a world of opportunities — but also a minefield of risks. I’ve spent years helping manufacturing teams roll out machine connectivity and IIoT platforms, from the…
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Industrial IoT Market Size in 2025: What the Data Really Shows
Read more: Industrial IoT Market Size in 2025: What the Data Really ShowsWhen I walk through a modern plant, what stands out isn’t just the hum of machines or the glow of control screens—it’s the invisible web of connections tying everything together. IIoT has become the backbone for smarter, more responsive operations.…
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MQTT Quality of Service (QoS) Explained
Read more: MQTT Quality of Service (QoS) ExplainedIf you work in manufacturing or IIoT, you’ve probably heard the term “MQTT Quality of Service” (or just MQTT QoS) thrown around. It sounds technical, but it’s actually a pretty simple idea — it’s about how sure you want to…
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Why Your OT Team Hates Your IT Architecture (And How to Fix It)
Read more: Why Your OT Team Hates Your IT Architecture (And How to Fix It)If you work in manufacturing, you’ve probably felt the tension between IT and OT (Operational Technology) teams. I’ve seen it at every level—from shop floor engineers rolling their eyes during architecture reviews, to IT folks wondering why “those OT guys”…
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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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What Vendor Documentation Won’t Tell You About IIoT Integration Complexity
Read more: What Vendor Documentation Won’t Tell You About IIoT Integration ComplexityIf you’ve ever flipped through vendor documentation or attended a software demo, you’d think IIoT is plug-and-play: connect a few devices, map some tags, and watch the dashboards light up. But after two decades living in the trenches — from…
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Why UNS Is Important in an IIoT Journey: Real Lessons from the Field
Read more: Why UNS Is Important in an IIoT Journey: Real Lessons from the FieldLet’s get right to it: if you want to make your plant smarter, faster, and truly connected, you need a Unified Namespace (UNS). I’ve spent over two decades in digital manufacturing, and I can tell you — the difference between…
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Ignition 8.3: Leveling Up Industrial IoT
Read more: Ignition 8.3: Leveling Up Industrial IoTHere’s what really stands out to me: Ignition 8.3 isn’t just a “point release.” It’s a shift in how we think about deploying and managing automation software. The core lesson? If you want to run at enterprise scale — multiple…