Manufacturing Digital April 2026 | Page 109

» The underlying IIoT architecture is central to the reliability, scalability and business value of smart factory data streams. While sensors generate data, architecture determines whether that data is secure, contextualised, realtime and actionable. A well-designed foundation enables seamless ingestion from heterogeneous assets, normalises legacy and modern protocols, supports edge processing for low-latency decisions and integrates smoothly with cloud platforms and enterprise systems such as MES and ERP. It also embeds cybersecurity, governance and scalability

“ Without IIoT, there is no reliable flow of real-time operational data to power analytics, AI models, digital twins or sustainability platforms”