Promoted content: Connected compressors and Industry 4.0 – from then to now

The term Internet of Things (IoT) has become ubiquitous in recent years and is now seemingly being applied to any instance in which a device is connected, communicative and data-driven; whether it is a smartphone, fridge freezer or car. However, it is arguably the manufacturing sector that stands to benefit the most, with the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) envisaged as a positive force for change that is already beginning to see the introduction of sophisticated robotics in the workplace and smart components that communicate their own assembly instructions to the production line. The challenge for equipment suppliers is that companies are now moving beyond talking about the theory behind Industry 4.0 to wanting to know how it can and will be applied in practice. To highlight this, the International Data Corporation recently published research estimating that global IoT spending will total nearly $1.4 trillion by 2021, with manufacturing predicted to be the leading industry for investment¹.