Towards a Reference Architecture for Future Industrial Internet of Things Networks

With the continuing decrease of sensor technology prices as well as the increase of communication and analytical capabilities of modern internet of things devices, the continuously generated amount of data is constantly growing. Various use cases show the untapped potential of this data for new business models. However, conventional industrial IT networks of traditional manufacturing companies can hardly meet the modern requirements emerging with today's and future industrial internet of things applications. Outdated and rigid network infrastructures are one of the main reasons for hesitant innovation efforts and cross-organizational collaborations as well as the slow adoption of modern business models by traditional manufacturing companies. Following the design science research paradigm, our work contributes by elaborating on a comprehensive list of requirements for future industrial internet of things networks from a theoretical and practical perspective as well as a proposed reference architecture acting as a blueprint for future implementations.