With greater levels of attention being focused on edge computing over the past year, discussions about cloud computing have moved out of the forefront of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). But that doesn't mean the cloud has been relegated to the past. Even as edge computing applications move more front and center in IIoT applications, the cloud will still play a critical role—particularly in analysis.
This analysis role for cloud computing was highlighted by Siemens recently when it announced its plan to integrateIBM’s Watson和其他分析工具由Cognos Analyticsinto itsMindSpherecloud-based operating system.MindSphere, which was introduced at Hannover Messe last spring, is designed to improve the efficiency of production systems through the acquisition and analysis of large quantities of production data.
Two distinct goals are behind the incorporation of IBM technologies into MindSphere. This first of these is to provide additional visualization and dashboards. The second is to deliver analytics tools via APIs (application programming interfaces) for app-developers and data analysts.
Watson提供的认知分析预计将帮助Mindsphere用户访问和分析来自传感器的数据，以“在生产设备产生的大量数据中识别隐藏的连接”，Siemens在其发布中宣布了Watson连接到Mindsphere。更具体地，预计IBM的分析工具将以三种方式帮助工业用户：
- Boost operational performance and reduce downtime by bringing intelligence to production equipment.
- Use data from connected machines to predict anomalies and failure patterns and to initiate corrective measures.
- Improve product quality and yield using quality analytics that helps to detect the conditions that contribute to process failure and quality issues.
在本月早些时候举行的2017年街道论坛上，西门子美国数据服务高级副总裁Jagannath Rao表示，西门子目前拥有30名客户使用Mindsphere的客户。在他的演讲中，他指出了两个工业生产案例。其中一个实例涉及为主要软饮料生产商的机器监控。饮料制造商正在使用Mindsphere作为IOT系统，用于在其在其生产设施中分布的机器中的150个电机上的预测性维护。除了为公司提供来自这些电机的全球数据外，还据报道，通过更好的失败预测，还据报道还增加了资产正常运行时间。
The other example cited by Rao involves a national steel company that is also using MindSphere to monitor its fleet of motors. According to Rao, MindSphere is enabling the steel company to visualize its fleet of motors and has helped reduce downtime for all motor applications.
饶指出，心态由三层：MindApps，Mindsphere和Mindconnect组成。MindApps是Siemens和合作伙伴的应用，用于提供资产透明度和分析洞察力。MindSphere操作系统本身是用于创建客户特定应用的界面，并在包括SAP，ATOS和Microsoft Azure的各种云基础架构上工作。MindConnect提供安全和加密的数据通信，以将Siemens和第三方产品的即插即用连接到MindSphere OS。
Siemens has focused a great deal of work on making all three of these layers open, said Rao. He clarified his use of the term “open” by saying these layers are “not just open sourced, but truly open.”
突出了IIOT应用的Mindsphere的优势，RAO指出西门子的安装基础超过1亿台（包括3000万辆自动系统）已经连接到Mindsphere，将特定域专业知识转移到垂直特定的分析应用程序中，数字双胞胎capabilities for optimized engineering and maintenance, and the OS’s plug-and-play connectivity for easy connection of assets without coding.
RAO补充说，为了帮助最终用户使用Mindsphere数字化他们的运营，Siemens提供了一个深入的研讨会来识别特定用例，有助于他们在技术证明（PoC）中实现一个已识别的案例，并提供持续的支持PoC可以最大限度地提高MINDSphere的好处。
