The statements from exhibitors at embedded world were unanimous: Yes, there is a huge amount of interest in IoT-compatible or Industry 4.0-capable devices, but when it comes to getting down to the nitty-gritty and prospective customers are supposed to buy, the consistent pattern of behavior is one of intense reluctance!
Where does this reluctance come from? Gunther Koschnik, Managing Director of the ZVEI Automation Association, has an explanation: "When it comes to Industry 4.0, we have been very much at the conceptual level so far - we have defined models and frameworks!" he explains in the follow-up interview. According to him, it is now time to build a bridge from theory to the development departments of companies in order to fill these concepts with life.
So are all those companies that are already offering an end-to-end communication solution from the sensor to the cloud way too early? Are perhaps even those innovative pioneers who already list flexible device concepts for edge cloud computing in their sales prospectus failing simply because they are too fast?

The worst thing is: there is no one-size-fits-all recipe for IoT success! And when the right market entry point for which IoT-capable device, for which IoT-enabling software or for which IoT-capable communication concept actually is, is more or less written in the stars! In their statements, the two industry experts Michael Volz and Heinrich Munz give a striking example of the timeline for the establishment of the IoT, which cannot be defined more precisely: the question of when the fieldbus will be replaced by Ethernet technology, which is necessary for an IoT landscape, raises a big question mark.

One person who believes and trusts that he has found the right way into the IoT world is Marco Riedesser. He has developed the Controllino programmable logic controller based on Arduino. My colleague Günter Herkommer investigated why companies such as VW, Audi and Sony are already interested in this small controller. But also why established system houses such as Logi.cals are relying on this platform in the industrial environment. And finally, how can it be that the initiator of a crowd-funding project launched in 2014 is already expecting 50,000 to 70,000 controllers to be sold in 2016 and 2017? We cannot yet say whether Marco Riedesser's strategy and optimism will ultimately prove correct. However, the fact that the established manufacturers of small controllers are alarmed and are keeping a wary eye on further developments surrounding Controllino speaks for itself!