In addition, enterprises are concerned about data security after "going to the cloud," and the lack of professional talents also makes enterprises willing but unable to "go to the cloud." Such practical problems restrict enterprises from fully embracing the industrial internet.
Misconceptions among businesses
Some enterprises and grassroots departments have cognitive biases regarding the understanding, implementation path, and development direction of the Industrial Internet. They lack even a basic understanding of the Industrial Internet, let alone its application to empower industrial and enterprise development.
From the enterprise perspective, as the main body of industrial internet construction and application, many industrial enterprises, limited by the level of technological development and the understanding of entrepreneurs, still have a limited understanding of industrial internet, which is limited to buying automation equipment and implementing ERP and MES software. There is still a great lack of understanding in terms of connecting and utilizing data from the entire process of design, development, production, and sales.
From the government's perspective, many grassroots workers engaged in industrial and information technology construction do not have a deep or thorough understanding of "what is the industrial internet" and "how to do the industrial internet." Some believe that the "industrial internet" is simply the application of the internet in industry and that the development path of the consumer internet can be directly referenced.
Safety concerns are a stumbling block
Industrial Internet security encompasses network security, equipment security, control security, application security, and data security, making it far more complex than general "network security." Many enterprises, especially SMEs, are still in the stage of migrating to and using the cloud, and their level of attention and investment in network security is insufficient.
Most companies raised security concerns, believing that connecting to industrial internet platforms built by other companies raises concerns about data ownership, intellectual property rights, and information security, and worrying that their production data, customer relationships, and other trade secrets might be leaked.
Currently, data security regulation is lagging behind. There's no clear definition of whether data assets acquired by enterprises after migrating to cloud platforms belong to the platform or the enterprise. The degree of data openness can only be negotiated, and the lack of government backing creates a dilemma: should they "go" or "not"? The lack of protection for enterprise information security, business security, and data security is the main obstacle preventing enterprises from migrating.
Besides concerns about competitors acquiring core data, companies also worry about attacks and intrusions by malicious actors. Industry insiders say that current industrial internet security is inadequate, and our technological capabilities are weaker compared to developed countries. Taking smart sensors as an example, most are low-end products such as sound, environmental, and temperature sensors, and mid-to-high-end sensors are difficult to replace in the short term. Similar situations exist in other areas such as industrial control systems, smart gateways, and high-end industrial software. Furthermore, we have limited areas of strength; domestic leading companies are mainly concentrated in conventional areas such as terminals and commercial cryptography, while the supply of products and services in areas such as situational awareness, vulnerability discovery, and high-level attack protection is insufficient.
There is an extreme shortage of professional talent.
The Industrial Internet spans both information technology and manufacturing, requiring a large number of professionals who understand both industrial mechanisms and information technology. These professionals need to immerse themselves in the front lines of enterprise production to extract industry knowledge in management, production, and processes, and to complete system construction and technological upgrades. Both the platform service side and the enterprise side require compound talents with expertise in both IT and OT (operational technology). The reality is that such talent is extremely scarce, with a significant shortage.
The talent shortage exists both in industrial enterprises and on platform providers. Some platform companies, lacking talent with understanding of industrial mechanisms, can only provide order and sales functions for enterprises, but cannot empower their production and manufacturing processes.
