President and CEO of Rockwell Automation, Blake Moret spoke on the Internet of Things (IoT) and its impact on industrial productivity at the recent Cisco IoT World Forum in London.

According to the company, it is in a unique position to delve into the challenges and opportunities associated with harnessing the future of smart manufacturing given it is the industry's only company solely dedicated to industrial automation and information.

“Manufacturers and industrial operators are discovering practical ways to apply IoT across their operations, and they're deriving measurable business value as a result,” Moret says.

“Combining IoT technology and expertise in specific industrial applications enables better collaboration, faster problem-solving and increased productivity.

According to the Global IoT Decision Maker Survey published by International Data Corporation (IDC), nearly one-third (31 percent) of those surveyed have already launched IoT solutions, and another 43 percent are looking to deploy solutions in the next 12 months.

Moret says they're seeing a similar trend in their deployment of IoT solutions as they continues to grow their number of pilots across industries, applications and geographies.

Moret is confident the positive outcomes associated with IoT will continue to accelerate as organisations progress from pilot or proof-of-concept IoT projects to scalable IoT deployments.

There are several factors driving the adoption of industrial IoT and connected operations, with Moret referencing lower cost of computing and connectivity and the convergence of information technology and operations technology.

A connected enterprise that adopts IoT technologies can generate better insight into industrial operations and deliver greater value by providing the right information at every level of their business through scalable analytics, according to Moret.

“We have great technology, good people and a strong culture, but another component that sets us apart from our competitors is our ability to partner with companies such as Cisco,” says Moret.

“Together, we deliver expertise and solutions for highly secure, smooth connectivity from the plant floor to the enterprise network.