AT&T, CISCO, GE, IBM and INTEL Form Industrial Internet Consortium to Improve Integration of the Physical and Digital Worlds
Technology leaders drive industry ecosystem to accelerate more reliable access to big data to unlock business value

• Identify requirements for open interoperability standards and define common architectures to connect smart devices, machines, people, processes and data
• Open membership for any public or private business, organization or entity interested in driving global market development for the Industrial Internet

March 27, 2014 – Boston, MA – AT&T, Cisco, GE, IBM and Intel today announce the formation of the Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC), an open membership group focused on breaking down the barriers of technology silos to support better access to big data with improved integration of the physical and digital worlds. The consortium will enable organizations to more easily connect and optimize assets, operations and data to drive agility and to unlock business value across all industrial sectors.

An ecosystem of companies, researchers and public agencies is emerging to help drive adoption of Industrial Internet applications, a foundational element for accelerating the Internet of Things. The IIC is a newly formed not-for-profit group with an open membership that will take the lead in establishing interoperability across various industrial environments for a more connected world. Specifically, the IIC’s charter will be to encourage innovation by:

• Utilizing existing and creating new industry use cases and test beds for real-world applications;
• Delivering best practices, reference architectures, case studies, and standards requirements to ease deployment of connected technologies;
• Influencing the global standards development process for Internet and industrial systems;
• Facilitating open forums to share and exchange real-world ideas, practices, lessons, and insights;
• Building confidence around new and innovative approaches to security.

“We are at the precipice of a major technological shift at the intersection of the cyber and physical worlds, one with broad implications that will lead to substantial benefits, not just for any one organization, but for humanity," said Janos Sztipanovits, E. Bronson Ingram Distinguished Professor of Engineering and Director of the Institute for Software Integrated Systems (ISIS), Vanderbilt University. “Academia and industry understand the need to identify and establish new foundations, common frameworks and standards for the Industrial Internet, and are looking to the IIC to ensure that these efforts come together into a cohesive whole.”

As founding members, AT&T, Cisco, GE, IBM and Intel will each hold permanent seats on an elected IIC Steering Committee along with four other elected members. The Steering Committee will provide leadership and governance to help organizations capitalize on this vast opportunity.

Given the importance of this technology, the federal government is investing over $100 million/year in R&D related to cyberphysical systems, and has been partnering with the private sector on a series of testbeds in areas such as healthcare, transportation, smart cities, and increasing the security of the electric grid.

“By linking physical objects to the full power of cyberspace, the Industrial Internet promises to dramatically reshape how people interact with technology, “ said Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker. “The Administration looks forward to working with public-private collaborations like the new IIC to turn innovative Industrial Internet products and systems into new jobs in smart manufacturing, health care, transportation and other areas.”

The IIC is open to any business, organization or entity with an interest in accelerating the Industrial Internet. In addition to gaining an immediate, visible platform for their opinions, consortium members will join in developing critical relationships with leaders in technology, manufacturing, academia and the government on working committees. The IIC will be managed by Object Management Group (OMG), a nonprofit trade association in Boston, MA. The fee structure and membership application forms are available at www.iiconsortium.org. 

Additional Quotes:

“The Industrial Internet builds upon AT&T’s vision of enabling people to operate anything remotely, anytime and virtually anywhere,” said Mike Troiano, vice president, Advanced Mobility Solutions, AT&T Business Solutions. “The IIC is an assembly of the world’s leading technology innovators working to mobilize devices and machines around the world, whether they’re in an office building or on a ship in the middle of the ocean. Together, we share a common goal of building a more connected world.”

“Ninety-nine percent of everything is still unconnected. As the world looks to connect more things over the Internet, it is creating the next industrial revolution. Cisco is collaborating with Industry leading companies to break through the barriers of connecting things in industrial environments safely and securely, and paving the way for the Internet of Things,” said Guido Jouret, vice president of Internet of Things Business Group for Cisco.

“As leaders we have come together to drive the ecosystem and market development of Industrial Internet applications and ensure organizations around the world can more easily create better services, access better data, and most importantly, seamlessly connect all the pieces together,” said Bill Ruh, vice president, GE Global Software. “The IIC has been established to achieve this goal through the creation of common architectures and use cases that will enable businesses in aviation, transportation, healthcare or energy to ‘plug-and-play’ Industrial Internet technologies anywhere, anytime.”

“IBM's vision of a Smarter Planet is being realized as we connect more of the physical world with the Internet, pairing the Internet of Things with advances in analytics, mobile and cloud computing in ways that lead to new insights and efficiencies that can be harnessed for competitive advantage. Smarter cities, utility grids, buildings, and machines are becoming more instrumented, interconnected and intelligent, and through this consortium we will accelerate both innovation and technology advancement," said Ron Ambrosio, Distinguished Engineer & CTO, Smarter Energy Research, IBM.

“The IIC aligns well with Intel’s vision for the Internet of Things which centers around accelerating business transformation through a robust end to end IoT solution, connecting both existing systems and new systems into a secure infrastructure,” said Ton Steenman, vice president, IoT Solutions Group, Intel. “Enabling IoT scale requires an open solutions architecture facilitated by standards and a strong ecosystem. The IIC will help accelerate the momentum and make the Internet of Things a reality more quickly.”

"The Industrial Internet is ushering in a new era of explosive industry growth and innovation, unlike anything we've seen in decades," said Dr. Richard Soley, executive director, Industrial Internet Consortium and Chairman and CEO of the Object Management Group. "OMG has spearheaded technological developments that have - and will continue to - enable the Industrial Internet. We are applying our 25 years of experience to the IIC to set the groundwork for the technological revolution to come."

"The Industrial Internet Consortium provides an outstanding vehicle for transitioning into practice the foundational research that the National Science Foundation has long supported through investments in cyber-physical systems (CPS)," said Farnam Jahanian, assistant director of the National Science Foundation for Computer and Information Science and Engineering. "We believe adoption by the private sector of fundamental CPS advances is an important part of the R&D innovation ecosystem."

Visit www.iiconsortium.org, send an email to [email protected] or call +1-781-444-0404 for more information.