Smart Industry conference promises real-life approach to IIoT

About the author

Jim Montague is the executive editor for Control, Control Design and Industrial Networking. Email him at [email protected].

Despite the buzz around the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), many potential users don't understand IIoT's basic concepts or how to implement the IIoT to secure new efficiencies and achieve competitive advantages in their daily work and applications. To foster these crucial skills—and help engineers, designers and managers separate the reality from the hype—Putman Media is holding its inaugural Smart Industry 2015 conference and exposition Oct. 5 to 7 at the Radisson Blu Aqua Hotel in Chicago.

Control Design readers get a 20%-off discount if they register before Aug. 31. Use the promo code CD815.

Learn more about Smart Industry 2015

"The potential for improved operations and efficiency combined with the development of new business models and enhanced customer value have attracted rapidly growing interest in use-cases and pathfinder projects," says Tony D'Avino, publisher of Smart Industry's magazine and website. "This is a critical time to promote education and awareness of the developments paving the way for real-world IIoT applications and solutions, so we developed Smart Industry 2015 to bring together IIoT initiative takers, industry thought leaders and technology providers."

"Attendees at Smart Industry 2015 will gain the valuable insights, ideas and practical knowledge needed to influence decision-making inside their companies," says Tony D'Avino, publisher of Smart Industry's magazine and website. "Our goal is to contribute to the action plans that companies are seeking as they consider the challenges and opportunities of this latest wave of technological change."

To help attendees customize their experience and get the specific knowledge they need, the conference is organized into individual tracks: Business of IIoT and Technology of IIoT.

The three-day event will bring together leaders in engineering, design and implementation of IIoT systems and strategies to demystify it, and give attendees practical understanding, context and real-life applications about IIoT and its future. Speakers from BASF, Boeing, Honda North America and others will share their experiences and advice on IIoT topics, such as digitization of manufacturing, technological trends and business-model transformation.

For example, Edward Rodden, CIO at food processor SugarCreek will show how the company worked with Cisco to build its new IIoT-enabled factory, and David Lawrence, technology development manager at Duke Energy, will show how it and PrismTech are bridging the IT/operation technology (OT) divide with field-to-cloud implementations.

Smart Industry 2015's keynote addresses will include:

Kevin Miller, principal program manager for Azure IoT at Microsoft, will demonstrate how it embraced and adjusted to IIoT technologies;
Dr. Colin Parris, vice president of software research at GE Software, will show how industrial-strength Internet can enhance asset reliability, improve operational efficiency and reduce downtime;
Beth Parkinson, market development director for the , Connected Enterprise at Rockwell Automation, will describe how information-enabled, connected enterprises create competitive advantages, and how others can do it in their organizations;
Dr. Richard Soley, executive director of the Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC), will describe the entire IIoT concept and report on the IIC and its plans;
Stan Schneider, CEO of Real-Time Innovations and IIC steering committee member, will introduce IIC's new Industrial Internet Reference Architecture, which is a common language to enable faster IIoT development and a blueprint for standards development; and
Peter Zornio, chief strategy officer at Emerson Process Management, will show how IIoT in the process industries can stay focused on delivering ROI and achieving measurable value.

Additionally, interactive panel discussions at the end of each morning's keynote sessions will be joined on Oct. 6 by Rory Smith, director of strategic development for the Americas at ThyssenKrupp Elevator, and on Oct. 7 by Dino DeSalvo, principal reliability instrument and electrical engineer at Lyondell Basell.

"Attendees at Smart Industry 2015 will gain the valuable insights, ideas and practical knowledge needed to influence decision-making inside their companies," adds D'Avino. "Our goal is to contribute to the action plans that companies are seeking as they consider the challenges and opportunities of this latest wave of technological change.

"For this year's event, we worked with fellow members of the IIC to develop topics and programming. The combination of Putman's editorial management with the IIC's leadership has delivered a can't-miss program for companies seeking IIoT strategy development and implementation.

"Our program combines the knowledge of leading technology providers and IIoT enablers with those who lead and execute applications inside their industrial organizations. Smart Industry 2015 uniquely addresses the IIoT because it's concerned only with applications in manufacturing companies and allied industries."

Smart Industry 2015 will take place Oct. 5 to 7 in Chicago.