Maintworld 1/2020

PARTNER ARTICLE
(HMI/SCADA, historian, analytics, etc.)
systems are backed up securely off site
from where the data originates, keeping
it safe from equipment damage or natural
disasters.
Such decentralized security measures
are compelling for businesses/organizations
that outgrow one central geographical
location. Global enterprises,
especially, see the benefits in trusting the
security options provided through their
cloud service providers and the integrated
software that utilizes them. ICONICS
IoTWorX, for instance, can connect multiple
buildings, factories, and equipment
through secure TLS encryption and popular
cloud platforms, such as Microsoft
Azure and Amazon Web Services. Data
can be accessed from anywhere through
a pub/sub architecture for real-time
visualization of KPI data at the edge.
IoTWorX delivers an efficient, secure
connection to the cloud through bidirectional
AMQP for Microsoft Azure,
as well as MQTT, REST, and WebSockets
for third-party cloud providers.
Expanded Connectivity
Another benefit of utilizing cloud-based
automation solutions is that there is often
an increase in the number of available
communication protocols that can be
used. This is in addition to the advanced
security measures (bidirectional AMQP
transport protocol [for Microsoft Azure]
and MQTT, REST, and WebSockets [for
third-party providers]) that cloud-based
solutions provide.
For maintenance operations, it’s definitely
a benefit to be able to “talk to” as
many of the machines within the organization
as possible. As an example, ICON-
ICS IoTWorX software is compatible
with multiple standard communication
protocols. These include protocols specific
to plant floor applications; such as
OPC Classic, OPC Unified Architecture
(OPC UA), and Modbus; as well as those
specific to building automation (BACnet)
and IT hardware (SNMP). This provides
users with the ability to communicate
with a wider array of connected
equipment, ultimately enabling users to
better detect potential issues and utilize
an organization’s data, wherever it might
be created, transmitted, or stored.
Cloud Contingencies
For those concerned about the viability
of cloud-based solutions during interruptions
to internet service, there are
measures that can be put into place to
help ensure data doesn’t go missing or
get corrupted. ICONICS has solutions
that provide rapid data archiving and retrieval,
including a "store-and-forward"
feature that is useful when a network
connection is unavailable; one specifically
edge-based (IoT Hyper Collector)
and the other traditionally on-premises
or cloud-enabled (Hyper Historian).
IoT Hyper Collector is part of IoT-
WorX, the previously mentioned micro-
SCADA software suite installed on a
third-party IoT edge device. The collector
has the ability to replay buffered
data back locally, as well as to store and
forward to the cloud when connectivity
is present. For a more traditional
on-premises approach, ICONICS Hyper
Historian Collector also utilizes a similar
store-and-forward feature. If a collector
has lost connectivity to the logger, it will
continue to buffer the data until connectivity
is reestablished.
Best of Both
While the IoT Hyper Collector and
Hyper Historian Collector are examples
of how to retain data integrity both via
the cloud and on-premises, respectively,
there is nothing to prevent an organization
from taking a hybrid approach.
This bridges the gap between OT and
IT and alleviates any "silo effect" of the
organization’s data collection, storage,
and retrieval. The same can be said for an
organization’s entire automation solution
and related data, as a whole. Some
may benefit from a strictly cloud-based
solution. Others may still have reason
to remain with an entirely on-premises
one. However, neither has any restriction
towards using elements of the other
in such a hybrid scenario.
Each organization will make its own
determination regarding what works
best for their business processes and operations
(cloud, on-premises, or hybrid),
as well as to the automation software
vendors that can best support it.
18 maintworld 1/2020