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Have you ever wondered how the on going IIoT revolution will play out? You are not alone. I’ve also given it a fair share of thought and in this article I want to argue why I believe the cloud’s days as the focal point of this revolution are numbered and how decentralised edge computing is best positioned to takeover.

Cloud centralized systems are currently the most widespread model for IIoT applications. These systems directly control the operation of the “things” and flow of information from a single center as shown below. All things are directly dependent on the central power to send and receive information and to be commanded. The model of data ownership is also centralised in IIoT application servers.

Of course, the idea of connecting everything to a server in the cloud makes for a simple approach, both conceptually and programmatically. It is the easiest and cheapest thing to do and it works. IIoT platform providers maintain the infrastructure and profit from users utilising the software on it. That’s it. But as far as the vision of a connected world is concerned, the approach is short sighted. The client/server architecture is after all an old model. There isn’t any change of fundamental principles to necessitate an industrial revolution. Cloud based IIoT solutions may be likened to Henry Ford’s “faster horse”, only this time its a cheaper one. In essence, what is happening currently is that we are moving from many small silos of data in factories and plants to multiple big silos in the form of IIoT platforms providers.