Representative End User Clients
Representative Automation Clients
Representative Software Clients
Internet-enabled digital transformation strategies, ranging from IIoT, I4.0, ET-IT-OT convergence, to similar initiatives, continue to gain traction in boardrooms across industries. These business improvement efforts are increasingly seen as the means to reduce production downtime, increase production flexibility, and/or enable innovation. As these initiatives evolve, the IIoT network edge infrastructure tier has emerged as a primary vehicle for delivering incremental business value.
Cloud integration, IT-OT-ET convergence, and the overall need to feed data from the field to enterprise-level applications are central to achieving these business objectives, as is seamless horizontal and vertical integration throughout the architecture. In the current environment, cloud-based architectures rely on the network edge to provide data communications, application integration, and security, among other key roles.
Automation professionals, suppliers, system integrators, original equipment manufacturer (OEM) machine builders, service providers, and other members of the manufacturing value chain increasingly face the integration demands these architectures represent and recognize their impact on the evolution of the network edge architecture. Concurrent with the push for device-to-cloud integration is the emergence of edge or fog computing strategies, which require that industrial network edge infrastructure products migrate from an integration mechanism to an application execution environment. Hardware, software, and service suppliers alike are responding to this evolution with a plethora of solutions targeted at the IIoT network edge.
So how many industrial network edge infrastructure devices are out there to accomplish these tasks? This includes the question of how many potential edge execution targets do and will exist, particularly from the perspective of what operating systems they support. Industrial Ethernet switches (IES) account for the overwhelming majority of installed industrial network edge infrastructure devices, but during this interim period of a clustered approach to edge-to-cloud integration it is the gateway devices that are the focus for edge execution. Ethernet, cellular, and wireless routers are also evolving as suppliers in those categories recognize the expanding market requirements and opportunities.
Assessing the Industrial Network Infrastructure Devices (IIoT Edge) Opportunity
Drawing on ARC’s longstanding coverage of fixed industrial network edge infrastructure, we have compiled a groundbreaking analysis that quantifies the market potential of this architecture tier from the perspective of both installed base and annual shipments. This analysis answers important questions such as:
- How many industrial network edge infrastructure devices are and will be available for incorporation into the IIoT?
- How does the market potential vary by device type, geographic region, and industry?
- How fast are infrastructure devices adopting standard operating systems, such as Linux and Windows?
- How many infrastructure devices will be used for edge computing, and how will that vary by device type?
ARC’s latest research on the Total Available Market for Fixed Industrial Network Edge Infrastructure 2017-2022 quantifies these and related issues from the perspective of Industrial Ethernet Switches, Industrial Ethernet, wireless, and cellular routers, and Ethernet, wireless, cellular and IPC-based gateways. ARC also invites you to participate in a short survey related to the role of the network edge in the era of cloud computing. Issues related to the IIoT-driven transformation of the industrial network edge will also be highlighted during the IoT Network Edge Infrastructure sessions at ARC’s 22nd Annual Industry Forum, which takes place February 12-15, 2018 in Orlando.