The Internet of Things (IoT)—that fascinating vision of a world in which all manner of devices, machines, and systems are connected to the internet—is everywhere in the business press these days. We are now well past the infancy of IoT as a concept (which is generally credited to an MIT professor from the late 1990s). Unfortunately, almost two decades later, we still find ourselves sorting through the hype and searching for the real value of IoT.

For the last several years, the Gartner Group has pinned IoT at the “peak of inflated expectations” on their annual Hype Cycle. Nevertheless, hundreds of startups and hundreds of millions in venture capital have been pouring into this space since the end of the Great Recession. Corporations, large and small, across all sectors of the economy have formed initiatives to purse this prize. Are we on the cusp of a real breakthrough in this space, or are the expectations still beyond the reach of the available technologies and business models?

For many industrial leaders, this represents a significant new challenge. For years, the corporate agenda has been dominated by globalization and operating excellence priorities such as outsourcing and lean operating practices. However, now we find ourselves at a time where effective technology adoption, particularly digital technology, has become the new imperative. Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and related technologies, such as analytics, machine learning, and cloud computing, all promise to impact our products, processes, and the workflows of our people.

Blue Canyon partnered with Founder and President of Cobble Creek Solutions, Joe Kann (a former executive at Rockwell Automation who led strategy development and business partnering), to explain how executives have the opportunity to dramatically change the way they compete and add value for their customers. To be successful, they must embrace this challenge, rethink their business model, and build the competencies to leverage IIoT and the skills of other stakeholders.