Guest Post: Keep the Data Flowing in Oil and Gas
By Joyce Deuley, Sr. Analyst and Director of Content at James Brehm & Associates LLC State of the Industry This year has proved challenging for oil and gas companies: falling prices, crackdowns from environmental regulations, growing concern about the destabilization of land due to fracking, as well as an increasing gap between jobs and skilled engineers to name a few issues. Royal Dutch Shell, for instance, recently terminated its plans to drill off the Arctic coast of Alaska for the “foreseeable future”—this is after $7 billion dollars and more than five years spent on exploratory drilling (with disappointing results) and the purchase of costly leases and permits for the privilege to do so (Daily Mail). The Arctic Circle has been viewed by many as a “holy grail” in terms of rich oil and gas reserves—the largely untapped Great White North, if you will. Initiatives in the Baltic have also come under discussion lately, as Russia negotiates the political quagmire it has found itself in concerning territorial disputes. Still, it isn’t all doom and gloom. Our reliance on oil and gas for manufacturing, shipping, transportation, energy, and more hasn’t dissipated—rather, it will continue to increase with the rising population and result in rapidly expanding urbanization. More food will need to be shipped globally, more cars will be driven, more homes will be heated, more materials will need to be made, etc., providing rich opportunities for oil and gas companies to invest in scalable solutions, as well as to firmly root themselves as valued players in the market. Investors, and other interested parties, are paying close attention to the oil and gas markets to better determine how best to mitigate depleted reserves and improve overall productivity and efficiency: keeping their bottom lines low and profit margins high. To pull back from an environmental and global perspective on the state of the industry, let’s instead bring it into a sharp focus with its current business challenges. Problems with efficiency include legacy pipeline and refinery infrastructure that hasn’t been updated or modernized in decades, a shortage of skilled labor as qualified engineers approach retirement, the need for increased monitoring and control across remote areas, and the mission-critical need for the aggregation, interpretation and management of unprecedented amounts of data. But, effectively managing that data can present major challenges for oil and gas providers: with so many devices at the edge, they are practically drowning in the seemingly endless flood of information that is collected. The need to find reliable data management platforms that help remove complexities associated with data visualization is critical for these companies’ ability to identify and enact valuable business decisions. What to Do About It It is no secret that the Internet of Things (IoT) has proven to be disruptive across a myriad of markets. While the technologies and principles of the IoT have been around for decades, predominantly within the manufacturing and processing industries, its relatively nascent presence within the consumer electronics and wearables markets has helped rebrand the IoT with a level of “sexiness” it previously lacked. But at the heart of the IoT is a near-obsessive desire to decrease operational and deployment costs, meet compliance regulations and to dramatically increase productivity and efficiencies. The oil and gas industry happens to be one of the largest growing areas for IoT deployments and has found many ways to benefit from connected solutions, such as pipeline and wellhead monitoring. Oil and gas pipelines can span across hundreds of miles of rugged terrain. The ability to monitor such a territory can be challenging, as harsh winters and debilitating droughts, forest fires and or heavy rains can put stress on the integrity of a pipeline, plus the remote nature of its location can prevent technicians from being able to regularly service it. Another challenge is knowing when and specifically where a problem occurs. For instance, if there is a malfunction that results in a leak along one of the more remote sections of a pipeline and there is no sensor to alert someone, we could be looking at a nightmare of a situation: environmental damages, not to mention untold amounts of costly clean up, repairs and definitive losses to the oil and gas company at large. By utilizing connected sensors along the lengths of their pipelines, oil and gas companies can overcome these challenges and monitor flow, pressure, integrity of the pipeline and more. Empowered by the IoT, oil and gas providers can receive near real-time information about their entire operation, enabling decision makers to better manage their technicians, as well as improve overall production and reduce maintenance and operational costs. As oil and gas companies wait for the stock market to pivot from $50 a barrel, they need to look seriously at implementing business solutions that are going to help them weather this lull. The IoT provides many opportunities for oil and gas providers to tighten their belts by increasing efficiencies and production, ultimately reflecting in a more cushioned bottom line. Pipeline monitoring and control applications can help reduce non-productive times by up to 30%, which is just one small example of how dynamic transformations could be made by the IoT. About Joyce Deuley As Sr. Analyst and Director of Content, Joyce researches and interprets market trends, locates opportunities for growth, and researches the current happenings in the M2M and IoT space, providing our clients with up-to-date and actionable information. Joyce specializes in technical communication, translating complex data into layperson-accessible presentations, articles, and white papers. Additionally, Joyce manages, contributes, edits, and designs our newsletter, The Connected Conversation. She currently offices out of, and is a founding member of Geekdom, a tech accelerator-like co-working space in San Antonio, TX. Previously, Joyce worked as a Secondary Researcher at Compass Intelligence, learning the M2M markets alongside James Brehm. While at Compass Intelligence, she gained experience in market research, competitive analysis, content strategy, as well as qualitative research. Joyce graduated with a B.A. in English, focusing on Professional and Technical Communication, from the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) in San Antonio. She
Top Industrial IoT News Roundup
There is a lot happening in the industrial IoT (IIoT) space lately, as evidenced by all the recent news announcements, analyst insights and business transactions occurring on the daily. Some say there is a foggy forecast for the industrial internet of things, mainly because the success of cloud computing must extend beyond data centers, but real world use cases should continue to pave the way. In some respects, perhaps it’s just the fact that the ROI from the IIoT is still in its infancy, but many are clamoring that a more standardized infrastructure is needed to help solve the unique complexities that IIoT presents. In this week’s IIoT news roundup, you’ll find a little bit of everything – from oil and gas and manufacturing to fog computing, drones and sensors. Dive in and see if you have any other articles that you think are worth adding! And don’t miss the bonus update at the end of the news roundup. Deloitte: End-to-End Automation Real Value of IIoT Technology By @KarenBoman | Published on @Rigzone “Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) technologies such as machine learning and drones are now available, but the real value lies in linking these technologies together to allow for end-to-end automation, a Deloitte executive told attendees at the Internet of Things Oil and Gas Conference 2016 Wednesday in Houston.” Is Now the Time to Apply Fog Computing to the Internet of Things? By Dr. Vladimir Krylov @Artezio | Published on @IoTEvolution “With fog computing, latency is minimized if one uses fog nodes for data analysis without sending it to the cloud. All event aggregation in this case has to be performed in the distributed architecture deployed in the network where devices (sensors) and fog nodes are located. Thus, fog architecture moves the capacity question from the cloud to the network implementation.” Manufacturing firms investing in IIoT data analytics – even if other areas are slowing down By @James_T_Bourne | Published on @IoTTechNews “The research, the findings of which appear in the report ‘Data’s Big Impact on Manufacturing’, found that of the more than 200 North American manufacturing executives polled, 70% said investing in data analytics would lead to fewer equipment breakdowns, while less unscheduled downtime (68%), unscheduled maintenance (64%), and fewer supply chain management issues (60%) were also cited.” Go Ahead, Fly a Tiny Drone. The Man Doesn’t Have to Know By @luxagraf | Published on @WIRED “THE WILD WEST days of drone flight came to end earlier this year when the FAA began requiring that pilots register their aircraft with the agency. If you want to use your Unmanned Aircraft System (as the FAA calls them) for anything remotely commercial, you’ll need to go a step further and pass a test.” Could Optical Fibre Sensors Save Lives? By @loctier | Published on @euronews “This edition of Futuris looks at how optical fibre sensors could help monitor the stability of roads, buildings, bridges and other constructions – and save lives.” Discovering Value in the Age of IIoT By @lasher64 | Published on @automationworld “The solutions of tomorrow will be much more integrated between implementation tiers on the plant floor to the enterprise and beyond. Therefore, it is imperative that these solutions give strong consideration to network architectures and cybersecurity. As we continue to move forward, you will hear more about operational technology (OT).” IoT is not about radios; it’s all about data By Alan Carlton | Published on @NetworkWorld “The initial challenge for the Internet of Things (IoT) was how to provide physical connectivity of small and often remote devices to the Internet. This issue has basically been solved with the plethora of wireless connectivity solutions. The real challenge for IoT is data organization, sharing and search on an unprecedented scale.” BONUS NEWS This week, FreeWave announced a contest at a chance to win FreeWave’s award-winning WavePro WP201 shorthaul and Wi-Fi solution. Contest entrants must provide a high-level account of the application of the WavePro, along with a description of the need for the platform. Winners will be announced at the close of the entry period. To enter the contest, please visit: http://go.freewave.com/wavepro-network-giveaway. Submissions are due by September 30!
Where is RF Technology for Oil and Gas Headed?
The entire landscape of the oil and gas industry is changing. Not only has the industry downturn forced operators to rethink their business models, but the RF technology supporting industry operations is quickly changing. It is more important than ever to make intelligent business decisions with the right technology in place. As a decision maker for your organization, you need to be aware of the technology that is pointing towards the future of automation and RF technology. Challenge yourself to think beyond basic command and control and picture a fully connected network – from Sensor-2-Server. Here’s a quick snapshot of the technology movement we are seeing in the oil and gas industry right now: The installed base of wireless Machine-to-Machine (M2M) devices is growing. More technology in the field allows operators to access more data from more sensor access points – on a grander scale than ever before. The ability to leverage Big Data supports intelligent decisions that will optimize business operations and cut down on expenses. The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is the future of communication technology. With IIoT, data can be transported from its collection point to wherever it needs to go – anywhere in the network. This has sparked a convergence of OT and IT operations, driving RF technology networks closer to the concept of complete connectivity. With a fully connected network, decisions are made based on comprehensive data, which drives intelligent problem-solving. With that type of insight, you could better disperse your resources, leaving a positive impact on the organization for years to come. Sensor-2-Server (S2S) solutions that deliver intelligence to the access layer are critical to industry success. S2S solutions bring intelligence to the access layer, enabling edge devices to do more than simply transmit data. They support highly detailed data analysis such as predictive analytics. Imagine the operational decisions you could make with a complete set of data from the outermost edge of your network all the way back to the server. IoT App development is the next big thing. Programmable third-party applications are on the horizon of the wireless RF solutions market. These apps will support machine learning, distributed intelligence, predictive maintenance, and more at the edge of the network. Technology is being designed to enable these applications – which have the potential to lead the industry to the next frontier of RF technology.
Digital Oil: Wireless Means Safety & Efficiency
Production demands of the 21st-Century change at an extraordinary pace. Industrial markets, such as energy and oil & gas face challenges going forward, including the reliable monitoring of assets in the field, dealing with 24×7 production demands, and managing high costs in terms of both time and resources to manage assets in remote locations. These market forces have naturally led to the emergence of the industrial internet of things (IIoT) and wireless communications technology. If you’re an operator in the field, you’re well aware that wireless IoT technology is changing the level of safety, efficiency and monitoring available on the rigs. Let’s take a moment and look closer at how these changes are impacting the digital oil field of today. Why? The consequences of incidents, such as natural gas pipeline explosions, have contributed to the demand for more safety and monitoring regulations along pipelines. California for example, saw tightened state regulations as a result of the San Bruno disaster, which included more stringent requirements for pipeline monitoring. Across industries such as oil and gas, there are certainly areas with the presence of hazardous gasses and therefore potentially dangerous environments. Safety First Taking a closer look at safety on an oil field, we realize just how dangerous it can be for people to be on or even near a production site. Advancements in IoT are now more important than ever because they allow more oil and gas companies to enable a digital work environment – not just from an operational perspective, but from a worker health and safety point of view. Safety concerns to be addressed are the elimination of manually painstaking tasks related to checking on-site sensor data or heavy machinery that resides in potentially hazardous environments – for example where explosive gases are present. Safety is now being increased by taking away the pen and pad from the technician and automating wireless remote monitoring capabilities to enter readings, pressures, temperature and other production monitoring values from miles away. Because of this evolution, many technicians have updated their skills in order to provide value in a digital age and the skills gap here is also an emerging issue for energy producers to keep in mind. Jens Norgaard, SafeEx Business Development Director reports that, “There is no doubt that the younger generation…are running around with high tech equipment…and it’s much more sexy using an electronic tool than using pen and paper. Most technicians have taken a technical education because they want to use their hands and are not always very keen on doing administrative work. So if you can reduce the amount of that it will become much more attractive for younger people to do it.” Highly Efficient and Operational The hope with any advancement in technology is that our world will be able to run and function more smoothly. According to LR Energy’s annual 2015-2016 Oil & Gas Technology Radar survey of global oil and gas executives, “the top driver of innovation investment is operational efficiency.” As wireless IoT solutions continue to infiltrate the oil rigs and pads of today, it is only natural to question the operational and efficiency state of things. Over the next decade technological implementations are expected take more people off the drill floor and into the office allowing companies to fill the knowledge gap with remote drill sites, thus paving the way for more automated oil fields. Pierre Sames, DNV GL director of research and innovation in Norway suggests that, “These technologies will help the industry to be more cost efficient in operations, which is very much needed due to the current oil price crisis.” Keeping Production High with High-Tech Whether you are working with an offshore or onshore rig, the ability to seamlessly monitor and control the operations of a oil rig or well pad automatically from an office location is a key component of IoT and an evolution of the digital oilfield. Natural Gas Intel (NGI) informs us that, “One of the most anticipated technologies, automated drilling in the offshore and onshore, could reduce drilling times and costs by up to one-third versus conventional drilling rigs, ensuring more wells are economically feasible, able to hit smaller targets and generating more infill production.” It seems apparent that we are on the midst of an industrial revolution where blended technology ecosystems are going to be the core of what makes modern energy producers competitive. Just think of the combination that Voice, Video, Sensors and Data can have if applied together in a holistic fashion. “Expectations of fully automated drilling operations, autonomous pipeline inspections and the expanded use of natural gas to fuel trucks and railways are likely to be at the forefront by 2025,” industry consultant DNV GL said last month (see Daily GPI, April 6). By 2025, the energy industry will become increasingly “automated, digital and smarter,” according to DNV’s Technology Outlook 2025. What’s next for the oil and gas industry? Join us this week at the 91st International School of Hydrocarbon Measurements(ISHM) conference in Oklahoma. ISHM is designed to educate and update you on the latest technological advancements for the oil and gas industry. This year you will have an opportunity learn with both lecture and hands-on classes as well as network with fellow industry peers. Cannot join us in Oklahoma? Feel free to download the “Building the Digital Oilfield of the Future” white paper for insights into how wireless IoT technology is redefining oil field production and data communications.
XPONENTIAL Recap: Drones and so much more
New Orleans had its sights in the clouds for this year’s AUVSI XPONENTIAL conference. A leading national show for unmanned systems aimed to provide entertainment, education and networking opportunities for more than 8,000 industry leaders and professionals from 55 countries. XPONENTIAL focused this year on oil and gas; agriculture; energy and utilities; construction; and command and control defense applications. Starting off with a bang, national main stream media was drawn to those unmanned crafts in the sky, of all shapes and sizes headlining at this year’s XPONENTIAL. NBCs TODAY Show anchor Gabe Gutierrez captured a stroll through drone road, where every craft in a mile radius magically took to the sky as Gutierrez walked by. A common theme from this year was… The XPONENTIAL team consistently found ways to remind us all how intelligent robotics will continue to transform our business, travel and everyday security. This level of awareness was their way of educating everyone to embrace this technological shift. It’s about time for an FAA perspective! FAA Secretary Huerta found time during the action packed few days to sit down with Miles O’Brien to discuss trending topics and regulation over this coming year with more UAS registered and flying in the skies. Now let’s see what drones are charging into the agriculture scene this year! Farming will never be the same, now that Yamaha is creating a sprayer drone. This UAS wowed the crowds at XPONENTIAL in true rockstar fashion, reminding us all that the future of agriculture will be merged with technology. And it wouldn’t be proper to end this post without at least one brass band shot; we are in New Orleans, folks! This brass band gave the XPONENTIAL crowd a warm southern welcome as the show got under way! We also were thrilled to speak with the show organizers about how “IoT Rides on FreeWave Tech” in regards to debuting a beta version of new radio technology that leverages the Internet of Things movement to allow developers to program the product to perform functions previously unavailable on radios. Thanks to the XPONENTIAL 2016 Team and congratulations to all that made New Orleans a hit this year!
ENTELEC 2016 Conference News Roundup
This past week many of you migrated to Houston, Texas for the annual Energy Telecommunications and Electrical Association Conference (ENTELEC). This user association had around 200 vendors, that mainly focus on control technologies that are used by petroleum, natural gas, pipeline and electric utility companies. In honor of this being the 88th year of ENTELEC, Richard Nation, a fellow board member with Copano Energy gives us a brief history on how this association formed and evolved over the years. Now take a moment and watch this video, its only a few minutes long, so get to watching! A brief history on ENTELEC https://youtu.be/OaSMd2__naQ In case you missed it, we have a full recap here to fill you in on all the happenings at this year’s conference! ENTELEC 2016 started off with a bang, with the keynote address from Carey Lohrenz, the first female F-14 Tomcat Fighter Pilot with the Navy. Carey shared her winning experiences working aboard an aircraft carrier. These tools she explains, can be translated to everyday life in order to reduce error under pressure. Once the conference got under way, the ENTELEC team wanted to remind everyone, “they think you are kind of a big deal.” Inviting everyone to stop by their main booth throughout the conference. The Pipeline & Gas Journal snapped a picture of networking in action, as the communications and control technology experts got a chance to mingle during the opening day of ENTELEC. It was an action-packed conference, filled with speaking, networking, demonstrations and overall knowledge sharing. Hope you have enjoyed this week’s round up; as always tell us what we missed!
IIoT Top News: Industrialized
As machines are increasingly connected to the internet, it’s becoming easier to discover the numerous ways Industrial IoT (IIoT) is helping to shape the business world. This is exactly why we have decided to take a closer look at this pervasive movement and to examine the desire to connect more things! Now if you need a refresher on IIoT and how it is changing the world, take a moment and listen to Greg Gorbach with ARC Advisory Group. Gorbach believes, “IIoT will significantly change the world. You won’t participate with conventional thinking and an incremental approach.” So, you understand some of the ways IIoT will vastly improve how businesses function. But did you realize IIoT is more than just connected devices and smart machines? George Deeb with Forbes reminds us that IIoT impacts manufacturing, energy, oil and gas, healthcare, IT and much more. Deeb reports that, “Gartner predicts the IoT industry to be $1.9TN in size by 2020, and McKinsey thinks it could be as large as $6.2TN by 2025, in terms of economic impact.” Are we ready for it? Although the industry has excepted the new buzzword “IIoT” we still need to make sure the equipment and software are able to interact together or we are just adding more problems to the mix. Maria Ferrante at Packing World informs us that, “The Industrial Internet of Things has moved into the pantheon of 21st-century packaging buzzwords alongside RFID and Sustainability.” Alright! So how is IIoT changing the oil and gas industry? The Oil and Gas industry has seen an increase demand for more of wireless cloud IIoT technology and M2M solutions as the price of a barrel of oil dips down to a new all time low. Live Mint reminds us that, “Oil and gas companies are increasingly leveraging cloud technologies to more rapidly unlock the value of other digital technologies—especially analytics, IoT and mobility.” That’s all for this week’s recap, but there’s more! Now that we are into the beginning of Spring, it’s important to see how some of the 2016 IIoT predictions are shaping up. In case you have any thoughts on our IIoT predictions for 2016 (or have any new predictions your own), it’s not too late to iterate on them into the comments section below!
Video: What are the Future Uses of Drones?
While drones are responsible for one of the latest tech crazes to hit the mainstream, it’s safe to say that you should not expect them to invade your airspace anytime soon. However, the influx of these flying smart machines may not be as far off as you might think. With heavy-hitters like Amazon, Google and Walmart recognizing the immense opportunity of using drones for shipping and logistics purposes, its no wonder that people are saying “the drones are coming!” Industrial Applications for Drones What could prove to be more promising than the consumer-driven demand for flying drones is the use of that technology in industrial settings and applications. Already, we see companies using drones for the following scenarios: Emergency Response Enables immediate action, providing emergency response teams with fast, flexible visibility to assess critical situations. Utilities Safely allows for the quick inspection of high voltage power lines and wind turbines, helping mitigate worker risk and improve monitoring. Military & Defense Assisting with intelligent surveillance and reconnaissance missions to deliver timely, relevant, and assured information to thwart potential threats. Oil & Gas Protects and helps maintain extensive miles of pipeline covering large, remote areas that would otherwise require enormous amounts of time and resources. Agriculture Creates more efficient farms by monitoring inventory, growth, water and fertilizer levels, and crop health to facilitate production and increase yields. Public Safety Supporting firefighting operations by providing more up-to-date information at a lower cost, while reducing the number of responders in harm’s way. So what does the future hold for these next-generation technologies? It’s hard to say really. One of the biggest hurdles still to jump is figuring out how these aircrafts will fit into the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) existing airspace regulations. There is no doubt there will be new policies that are drone-specific on the horizon. In fact, the FAA has already taken steps in that direction by requiring drone owners to register their aircrafts as a first step in ensuring the safety of everyone who uses the skies. Let’s just assume that over then next five years policy and technology come together and we finally have lift-off in the drone world. What’s next? Check out this video courtesy of Be Amazed that explores 10 amazing futuristic uses of drones:
Sensor-2-Server (S2S): Implementing IIoT Communications
*This is part of a series of blogs examining Sensor-2-Server (S2S) communications, development and implementation. Last week, in part one of our series, we worked to define Sensor-2-Server (S2S) for IIoT communications, the access layer, and high-level applications. This week, we’re looking at the actual implementation of S2S communication systems. Implementing S2S Communications When implementing S2S networks, the operator needs to have a solid understanding of the following: What sensor data do I want to collect? What does the architecture look like? Where does the data need to come from and where does it need to go? For example, is it just going to SCADA or is it going to other data sources? These key details will drive the selection of the technology that best fits, in addition to the physical environment where it needs to transmit data. Carefully selecting the right pieces will help in architecting the network. In order to make S2S work, an operator needs to understand the physical environment needs. Everything is unique when it comes to RF in particular, and an operator must fully understand their environment if they want to be successful. The ability to collect the data is the first step in improving intelligence of Sensor-2-Server communication, which starts with technology selection. Four Tenets of Sensor-2-Server To establish the most effective S2S communications network, there are four core tenets that the technology must support: collecting the data, protecting the data, transmitting the data and controlling the data. Collect – The technology must allow the operator to collect data from any sensor – whether the sensors are analog or digital, wireless or wired. In some instances, the technology may need the extended ability to collect data at the access layer in a data logging fashion – allowing the operator to collect it, store it locally and make it available to SCADA systems. Protect- The intelligent communication must be able to protect the network against cyber-attacks. It must fix the boundary between the sensor and backbone network. Without ample security in the environment, many industries can be at risk for severe consequences such as compromised data or denial of service. Transport- The data must be transported to the appropriate location for analysis, no matter where the data is collected from. Operators should look for a system that offers seamless wireless data connectivity from Sensor-2-Server. Control- The Sensor-2-Server technology must add intelligenceto the access layer. Data logging is critical, and operators must have the capability to pull data in and control what happens with the data and where that data is stored. Users can leverage that data at the local level or back at the core network. S2S technology can be effectively deployed in the energy sector, whether it is oil and gas, electric power, solar, wind and or tide- based energy. Additionally, utilities, precision agriculture and irrigation can also benefit from intelligent S2S communication. With an intelligent communication system, operators can leverage new technology to improve the profitability of their businesses in ways previously considered impossible. For example, if an oil and gas company can use predictive analytics to estimate the price per barrel, the company can be more responsive – in real time – on its oil production levels. The data gathered from predictive analytics can help operators determine if production should be increased or decreased in certain areas, thus driving higher profitability. These technologies can also lead to cost reduction. For example, by deploying S2S technology at the oil well, the operator does not have to send as many workers out in the field to manually collect data. By enabling multiple benefits (profitability and cost reduction), S2S offers a value proposition that is getting the attention of many industrial operators. Next Week Next week, we’ll look at the benefits of intelligent Sensor-2-Server communications, as well as some of the important security considerations.
Sensor-2-Server: Intelligent Communication at the Access Layer
*This is the first in a series of blogs examining Sensor-2-Server communications, development and implementation. Throughout history, industrial revolutions have hinged on the power of automating processes. While automation today offers many benefits, imagine if you could automate thousands – or even millions – of processes simultaneously? This is the next potential wave of innovation, and it’s the organizations that are “geographically dispersed” or “automation heavy” that will benefit the most. While long-range communications and connectivity have become increasingly easier to attain, businesses need to be able to break down their isolated islands of automation in industry to achieve comprehensive and connected automation at scale. For example, there always has been a clear line dividing operations technology (OT) and information technology (IT) networks. The emergence of the Internet of Things (IoT) blurs that line as industrial operations head in the direction of complete connectivity for all devices on a network – including those remotely located in the field. With new dedicated access layer platforms, IoT data can be analyzed, acted upon and transmitted from anywhere in an Industrial IoT (IIoT) network. The increasing shift toward Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) tends to bring up a lot of questions about the continued value of Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems that have traditionally served as the driver for monitoring and control in industrial markets. Although OT and IT are beginning to converge, there is still high demand for SCADA data. However, new technology offers the opportunity for data to be used in ways that were previously not possible, such as predictive analytics. This doesn’t make SCADA obsolete, as many operators are using it and will continue to employ it. Going forward, industries will leverage new technologies designed to help them make better business decisions than with SCADA alone. Sensor-2-Server™ (S2S™) intelligent communications for the access layer can collect and transport the data that supports higher-level analytics. As IoT becomes adopted by industrial markets, there is going to be an increased demand for video, voice, data and sensor data communication from the outermost layer of the network (think sensors on oil pads or water tanks). Industries like oil and gas, electric power, agriculture and utilities are starting to pick up on the benefits of S2S when it comes to profitability and cost savings through more advanced data analytics. Defining Sensor-2-Server S2S is intelligent communication that begins at the sensor level and targets servers for specific reasons. These servers could include anything from a SCADA data server that collects and monitors through the SCADA system or a Big Data engine. S2S could be leveraged in a predictive analytics engine that compares data at rest stored in a database to data in motion in real time from the access layer of the network. The concept of S2S extends beyond transmitting data. It is about creating intelligent transmission from a specific location back to the appropriate server with the appropriate intelligence to drive action for change. What is the Access Layer? The access layer is the edge of the IT network. An IT infrastructure has a core that is home to all the Big Data and data analytics. At this core, the data is “at rest” because it has reached its final destination. Next is the distribution layer of the IT infrastructure which is where the major plants, sites and facilities are located. Further out is the aggregate layer where data at the next level in the network is collected. Extending out even further is the access layer. The access layer is the layer at the far edge of the IT network. In oil and gas, for example, oil pads would be part of the access layer because they are typically remotely located at the edge of the network. It is highly likely that sensors physically exist in this layer for monitoring and control of these devices. Additional examples of the access layer are tanks, refinery sites and ocean exploration vessels. In water/wastewater, the access layer could be the treatment facility that has the water meters, pumps, smart meters, etc. Essentially, in an industrial site, the S2S access layer is the furthest point at which the operators are collecting sensor data. Industrial organizations today need intelligent secure communication and transmission from the sensor data back to the appropriate server, and there are a number of available options. What’s Next? Next week, we’ll continue our Sensor-2-Server series with a look at implementation and some of the core tenets of communication system development.