IoT Applications in Business

5.1 The Cisco IoT System

• Cisco IoT System Overview
  • Connecting Things:
    • Allows accessibility over the Internet for things that historically were not accessible.
    • Examples: Home appliances, cars, sensors, and more.
    • Industrial applications demand higher reliability.
  • The Converged Network and Things:
    • Many things are connected using a loose collection of independent networks.
    • Independent networks are harder to incorporate into the IoT.
    • Networks benefiting from convergence: cars, residential and office buildings (heating, ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC), telephone service, security, and lighting).
    • A converged network is powerful and includes comprehensive security, analytics, and management capabilities.
  • Connecting and Digitizing Industry:
    • M2M (Machine-to-Machine) enables communication between machines.
    • Example: Cars with temperature and oil sensors communicating with an onboard computer.
  • Challenges to Connecting Things:
    • How to integrate millions of things from different vendors.
    • How to integrate new things into the existing network infrastructure.
    • How to secure these new devices, each configured with varying levels of security.
  • The Six Pillars of the Cisco IoT System:
    • Uses new and existing products and technologies to reduce the complexity of digitization.
    • The six pillars are: Network Connectivity, Fog Computing, Security, Data Analytics, Management and Automation, Application Enablement Platform.
  • Supporting the IoT in Industry:
    • Network connectivity equipment varies depending on the type of network.
    • Cisco IoT network connectivity pillar identifies devices that can be used to provide IoT connectivity to home networks and various industries.
  • Industrial IoT Devices:
    • Industrial routers, Industrial switches, Industrial wireless, embedded networks.
    • These devices can support various communication interfaces such as Ethernet, serial, cellular, WiFi, RF mesh, and LoRaWAN.

IoT Security

• Control Plane, Data Plane, Management Plane:
  • Control Plane: The brains of the device, used to make forwarding decisions.
  • Data Plane: Activities done to receive data from other devices and to forward them to the next device.
  • Management Plane: Allows connection to modify a configuration or update software running on a device.
• Securing the Control, Data, and Management Planes in IoT:
  • Securing the data plane relates to securing data as it crosses network devices.
  • Securing the control plane relates to securing the network device itself with tools such as passwords and data encryption.
  • Securing the management plane is secured by updating software and firmware with the latest patches.
• Recommendations for Securing IoT Devices:
  • Ensure the IoT device can be easily updated.
  • Buy from a reputable manufacturer.
  • Segment IoT devices to a different network or VLAN.
  • Check for updates regularly.
  • Change default usernames/passwords.
  • Limit management access of devices to trusted sources.
  • Turn off all unnecessary services.
• Securing Things Using the Cisco IoT System:
  • The IoT introduces new attack vectors.
  • Cisco IoT System security pillar offers scalable cybersecurity solutions.
  • Cybersecurity solutions include: Operational Technology (OT) Security, IoT Network Security, IoT Physical Security.

5.2 Industrial IoT Applications

• IoT Industries and Markets
  • Horizontal Markets:
    • Meet common or similar needs for a wide range of industries.
    • Examples: Security, information technology, and finance companies.
  • Vertical Markets:
    • Offer goods and services to a set of customers with specialized needs.
    • Examples: Automotive, banking, education, healthcare, retail, and technology.
• Integrated Solutions:
  • The IoT creates new opportunities for interaction and relationships between connected devices.
  • The IoT focuses on the integration of devices as a whole system, adopting a holistic approach.
  • Integration creates new business opportunities and customer experiences.
• The Industrial Internet:
  • Integration of complex machinery, sensors, and software.
  • Example: Driverless car uses data from different systems to be driven safely.
  • Most common application: Predictive maintenance.
  • Sensors in trains, planes, and large equipment track hours of operation, machine output, environmental factors to determine when maintenance is needed.

5.3 IoT Systems in the Real World

• Connected Healthcare
  • Challenges in Healthcare:
    • Increasingly aging population.
    • High-demand services.
    • Shortages in key medical specialties.
    • Rising healthcare costs.
  • Cisco Care-At-A-Distance Solutions:
    • Cisco Extended Care
    • Cisco TelePresence for Healthcare
    • Cisco WebEx for Healthcare
  • Cisco Clinical Workflow Solutions:
    • Cisco Virtual Patient Observation
    • Cisco Patient Connect
    • Cisco Healthcare Intelligent Contact Center
    • Cisco Context-Aware (Location-Aware) Healthcare
    • Digital Media Suite for Healthcare
  • Cisco Healthcare Management Solutions:
    • Cisco Services for Connected Health
    • Cisco Medical-Grade Network
• Smart Cities
  • Challenges Faced By Modern Cities:
    • Overcrowding.
    • Increasing pollution.
    • Increasing traffic congestion.
    • Inadequate parking.
    • Inefficient use of street lighting, water, and waste management.
    • Need for continued growth.
    • Pressure to provide safer and more secure cities.
    • Budget and resource constraints.
  • Cisco Smart+Connected Solutions:
    • Customer segments include citizens, visitors, industry partners, businesses, and municipal operations.
    • Smart cities must address the needs of these segments.
    • Smart City Value Propositions: Lighting, Operations Centers, Parking, Safety and Security, Traffic, Wi-Fi.
  • Smart City Examples
    • Hamburg, Germany has transformed itself into a smart city.
  • Cisco Smart+Connected Wi-Fi:
    • Connects people, data, devices, processes, and city services.
    • Value propositions include: Citizen Services, City Services, Business Services, City commerce, Infrastructure Management Services.
  • Cisco Smart+Connected Lighting:
    • A standards-based system for gathering data from the environment.
    • Collects levels for humidity, $CO<em>2$ and $O</em>2$, UVA and UVB light, particulate matter, motion and seismic activity, video, sound, and more.
    • Drastically reduces city energy consumption.
    • Improves citizen vehicle compliance.
    • Enhances situational awareness, real-time collaboration, and decision-making across city agencies.
    • Adds intelligent, sensor-based IoT innovations to transportation, utilities, public safety, and environmental monitoring.
  • Cisco Smart+Connected Parking and Traffic:
    • Simplifies parking and improves traffic flow.
    • Provides citizens with real-time information about available parking.
    • Allows booking spaces in advance using mobile applications.
  • Cisco Smart+Connected Operations Center:
    • Provides a customized, integrated, single-interface view of data.
    • Displays sensor, map, and video data across a single layout.
    • Allows operators to control dynamic activities involving image processing, video feeds, data integration, and alerts.
• Smart Grids
  • Challenges in Energy:
    • Rapid increase in consumption is putting a strain on energy providers.
    • Increasing pressure to use low-carbon energy sources instead of fossil fuels.
    • Need for different ways of thinking about power consumption.
  • IoT Solutions for the Power Grid:
    • Utilities need a more modern and agile electric grid.
    • Smart grid provides more complex interconnections between producers, storage facilities, and consumers of electricity.
    • Smart grid brings the notion of consumers generating power for themselves and to the grid.
  • Cisco Smart Grid Solutions:
    • GridBlocks Architecture
    • Connected Grid Services
    • Field Area Network
    • Transmission and Substation
    • Grid Security
    • Grid Operations
• Connected Manufacturing
  • Challenges in Manufacturing:
    • Must continually integrate new innovative technology into the existing plant infrastructure.
    • Multiple siloed operational technology networks become a problem.
    • Diversity in networks increases cost and complexity.
    • Lack of integration leads to:
      • Inefficient operations
      • Slow response times
      • Poor quality control
      • High overhead
      • Compromised security
  • IoT Solutions for Manufacturing:
    • Connects the right people to the right information.
    • Connected sensors provide a unique level of visibility into the factory operations and supply chain flow.
    • Collected data helps identify trends and relationships, revealing opportunities for improvement.
    • Example: Car companies use sensor data to decide if conditions are favorable to paint a car.
  • Cisco Manufacturing Solutions:
    • Cisco Connected Factory
    • Cisco Connected Machines
    • Cisco Secure Ops
    • Cisco Connected Supply Chain
    • Cisco Communications and Collaboration Tools

Chapter Summary

• The Cisco IoT System relies on six pillars.
  • Network Connectivity, Fog Computing, Security, Data Analysis, Management and Automation, and Application Enablement Platform.
  • Security ensures the data, control, and management planes are secure.
• The IoT spans vertical and horizontal markets.
  • Connected Healthcare, Smart Cities, Smart Grids, and Connected Manufacturing are examples of real-world IoT Systems.
• Connected Healthcare uses the IoT to help healthcare providers reduce costs, improve productivity, and deliver better care.
• Smart Cities value propositions encompass lighting, operations centers, parking, safety and security, traffic, and Wi-Fi.
• Smart grids enable consumers to generate power and provide it back to the grid.
• Connected Manufacturing relies on sensors for visibility into factory operations and supply chain flow.