IoT will change industrial sector, says Rockwell CEO

At the Internet of Things World Forum 2014, held in Chicago, keynote speaker Keith D Nosbusch, chairman and CEO of Rockwell Automation, addressed how industry is at a major inflection point, driven by the convergence of information technology (IT) and operational technology (OT) and enhanced by the industrial ‘Internet of Things’.

Nosbusch explained how manufacturers are creating The Connected Enterprise, built on standard Internet Protocol-based networks. He discussed current customer applications, as well as Rockwell Automation’s own journey with The Connected Enterprise, highlighting productivity and competitive gains realised from these efforts, which have included faster time to market, lower total cost of ownership, improved asset utilisation, and enterprise risk management from a safer, more-secure operating environment.

“Today we see an inrush of technology that’s changing the landscape, from labour intensity to highly productive production processes; from older industrial-age plants to clean, safe, efficient production facilities; from isolated operations to an integrated, responsive supply chain,” said Nosbusch.

“The Connected Enterprise brings together people, processes, and technology to achieve enhanced productivity, sustainability and economic performance. It is enabled by integrated control and information that allows us to provide a smarter, more productive and more-secure environment. In the next several years, IoT technologies will help change the industrial sector.”