Factory equipment has been creating data for decades, but today there are dozens of terms to describe it, like these: smart manufacturing, Industry 4.0, Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), digital factory, digitalization, operational IT, manufacturing analytics, descriptive analytics, predictive analytics, operational analytics and connected factory.
All of these terms describe three steps that drive toward a common goal:
Capturing manufacturing data.
Translating that data into actionable information.
Using that actionable information to improve operations.
