Business Strategy and Innovation Framework
considerations, on issues such as adherence to standards-based technologies and membership of industry ecosystems, when selecting IIoT platforms and service providers.
6.2.3 STANDARDS IN THE INDUSTRIAL IOT
The internet and mobile industries have demonstrated the importance of widely adopted open standards. They both benefit from a competitive supplier base that encourages innovation and economies of scale. As a result, business and consumer users have enjoyed affordable prices for communications products and services that have led to near-universal adoption. Standardization will play an equally important role in securing the long-term success of IIoT.
The number of standards that claim to support IoT runs to many dozens if not hundreds. Often they apply to specific industries or relate to different layers of the IIoT stack. OPC-UA, for example, is a specific communications protocol for process control applications, whereas CoAP( IETF and OASIS) and DDS( OMG) are general-purpose standards for communications and data management. Both CoAP and DDS were produced by recognized standards development organizations( SDOs).
Enterprise and industry alliances represent a less formal approach to standardization, achieving this through de facto solutions or individual certifications. In the smart home domain, examples include Google’ s Thread solution and the approach proposed by the Open Connectivity Foundation( OCF). 1 In the healthcare sector, the Continua Alliance 2 has published an open implementation framework for interoperability between personalized, connected healthcare devices and solutions. This framework draws explicitly on communications and healthcare standards produced by SDOs. The Continua Alliance enforces this framework through a certification process.
CoAP, DDS, Google Thread and OCF are examples of standardization that build up from the networking protocol layer. To ensure end-to-end service quality, IIoT platforms must be able to operate across multiple devices and sensors using different networking protocols and application technologies.
The SDO community has begun to address this integration challenge through new IoT architecture and horizontal platform initiatives. The first step in this standardization process is usually a review of the market and existing standards. The following timeline maps the activities of several SDOs in terms of the three main milestones associated with initiating a new standard— opportunity discovery, IoT program launch, and release of a first deliverable.
1
Merger of AllSeen Alliance( Qualcomm) and OIC( Intel, Samsung) initiatives targeting the home and small-office segments.
2
The Continua Alliance recently merged with the mHealth Summit and HIMSS to form the Personal Connected Health Alliance( PCHA), which operates as a membership association.
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