All of today's fields of application in the domestic environment can be found here: in addition to voice assistants, these include intelligent systems such as refrigerators or heating controls.

The so-called Industrial Internet of Things or Industry 4.0, on the other hand, focuses more on fields of application in the business environment. This includes, for example, control systems for machines and systems such as wind turbines or computer tomographs. The aim is to establish fully networked and intelligent production, through which new and future-oriented business models can be developed. This poses two major challenges for companies.

Secure data communication for data analysis

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On the one hand, companies must understand how to collect data from the systems and process it in a meaningful way. This makes it possible to assess whether the treasure trove of data is suitable for leveraging new sales potential.

Secondly, it is important to secure communication within production, IT and the connected systems to the outside world, as networked systems and Industry 4.0 approaches open up completely new gateways for attacks. In recent years, communication between machines and a cloud, and therefore IT security in production, has not played a major role.

Today, for example, the approach of forming so-called "IIoT islands" of connected machines and systems within production is helpful. IIoT island segmentation ensures a high level of protection for production and limits potential risks. In addition to a clean production structure, the clear added value is the containment of a cyber attack or security incident on the respective island. This isolates the damage in a single island and massively limits the spread of any malicious code.

Data communication and remote maintenance

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Since mid-March, machines have been at a standstill in large parts of the European economy due to the coronavirus pandemic. Companies are now hoping to get back to normal. However, the presence of service technicians is often necessary to get systems up and running again. As long as travel is only possible to a limited extent, this is a major challenge for many companies.

Companies that have already switched to Industry 4.0 and IIoT concepts are clearly at an advantage. This is because their production facilities and machine halls are accessible to service technicians via data lines. A secure connection between service technicians and machines is at the heart of all considerations. This link is provided by a virtual private network (VPN), which gives the technician direct access to the machine within a few minutes when servicing is required.

NCP Smart Maintenance

Sebastian Oelmann is Product Manager Industry 4.0 | IIoT at NCP engineering.

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With the help of the NCP Smart Maintenance solution, this scenario is no longer a vision of the future. Within minutes, a technician receives secure, time-limited remote access to the machine to be started or maintained. By quickly establishing the connection, production downtime for the company is reduced to a minimum.

NCP has the right software components for secure data exchange for a wide range of Industry 4.0 scenarios: IIoT remote gateways ensure secure communication between plants, machines and systems. In addition, there is a central IIoT gateway that connects them securely, as well as a management system for administration, monitoring and integration into existing infrastructures. With Secure NCP Management, employee access can be secured and the identities of machines can be managed at the same time.

Its multi-client capability predestines the management system for use in cloud environments or in Industry 4.0 structures, as it allows the use of a common platform for several production sites or company divisions. NCP thus offers a holistic solution in the interaction of the numerous components so that companies can exploit the full spectrum of Industry 4.0.

Web Seminar: Smart Maintenance - A good model for Managed Service Providers?

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Sebastian Oelmann, Product Manager Industry 4.0 | IIoT, has been working in business development and product management for IT solutions in the enterprise sector for almost 10 years and will present the NCP Smart Maintenance solution in the web seminar:

October 14, 10:00 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.

Register now! Simply scan the QR code, enter your details and you're done.

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