By Peter Winkle, Vice President of Marketing
The Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT) is an ecosystem of devices, sensors, applications and networking equipment that work together to collect, monitor and analyze data from operations. While this interconnected network may not seem relevant to marketing departments, there are aspects that are extremely helpful when increasing brand trust, including increased security, product authentication and quality assurance.
Data security and privacy
With IIOT systems, it’s easier to encrypt data both at rest and in transit. The encryption process scrambles data so that it is unreadable without a specific key, ensuring data is secure from anyone without authorized access. The devices can also utilize secure communication protocols such as transport layer security (TLS) or datagram transport layer security (DTLS) to establish secure connections with over devices or cloud services. Once implemented, these additional safeguards should be communicated to an organization’s audience to ensure that you are using the most effective and secure strategies to protect their information.
Product authentication
By utilizing RFID tags or blockchain, consumers and organizations can authenticate products to ensure they are not counterfeit. This added layer of verification can reinforce trust in a brand’s products, allowing consumers to rest easy knowing they’ve purchased genuine products developed by the company.
Quality assurance
IIOT enables real-time monitoring of manufacturing processes, which ensures quality standards are consistently met. This monitoring reduces the liklihood of defective products being produced, which enhances the consumer’s trust that your organization is committed to quality. Quality traceability is also enhanced with IIOT by enabling the tracking of raw materials and components throughout the production process. This end-to-end traceability ensures accountability at all stages, giving the organization assurance that all components of the product are meeting quality standards.
IIOT has a clear benefit for manufacturing and organization managers, but there are also clear benefits in utilizing the increased data to increase the trust in your brand. It’s imperative for marketing leaders to be aware of the potential IIOT offers and ensuring your workflows adapt as more data and technology is available. Not only is it important to update your workflows, but it’s also essential to communicate these changes to your audience so they are aware of these changes and know your organization is up to date on the available technology and data.