Splunk Industrial Asset Intelligence [IAI] makes monitoring and diagnosis of equipment and operational issues in industrial IoT environments much easier, and while initially a limited group of SI partners will take part, Splunk sees it as having broader channel applicability down the line.
Seema Haji, Director of IoT at Splunk
Machine data-focused Splunk has announced Splunk Industrial Asset Intelligence [IAI], Splunk’s first packaged solution specifically for industrial Internet of Things environments. It will initially be made available in a limited availability release to existing Splunk customers at the Hannover Messe industrial conference next week, with general availability for new customers scheduled in the fall.
“Our Internet of Things Market Group has existed for almost two years, and we have customers in the industrial space now,” said Seema Haji, Director of IoT at Splunk. “We define the industrial spaces very broadly, and it consists of multiple sectors, such as manufacturing, transport, and oil and gas. Our customers in these areas are using us for industrial use cases.”
Haji said that Splunk had determined these use cases have certain repeatable patterns, which allowed for the creation of a solution – Splunk IAI – that optimizes processes to ensure that industrial systems will run at full capacity. It enables capture and correlation of data from Industrial Control Systems [ICS], sensors, SCADA systems and applications, to facilitate easier monitoring and diagnosis of equipment and operational issues in real time.
“We built it on top of Splunk Enterprise,” she stated. “It allows Fourth Industrial Revolution manufacturers to solve problems, and do things like predictive maintenance, with a packaged set of capabilities. It’s not our first offering for the Internet of Things, but it is our first packaged offering for the Industrial Internet of Things.”
Haji said IAI will have particular value in three use cases that they see a lot.
“They are real-time monitoring of industrial assets, predictive maintenance, and an ICS Security use case, to build a very strong security infrastructure,” she indicated. “This ability to use IAI for multiple use cases allows customers to start with one use case and expand it. For instance, they can begin with a very specific industrial use case and expand to IT data and security data. That creates a huge opportunity for us, and a big foot in the door to expand our footprint with these customers.”
Haji indicated that while large enterprises will be able to derive great value from IAI, they won’t be the only market for it.
“We see it as being relevant both in the enterprise and downmarket,” she said. She cited three customers who have used IAI – Shaw Industries, a $4 billion company that is the largest carpet manufacturer in the world, a large railroad operator, and an oil and gas company.
“Shaw uses IAI to monitor the production line and improve performance,” Haji stated. “The railroad operator uses it to keep locomotives on track longer, and the oil and gas company uses it to save time troubleshooting.”
Haji said that the channel aspect is a big piece of IAI, although at least in its limited availability release, that channel will be very select.
“We are working with a very targeted set of system integrators around IAI,” she noted.
Brooke Cunningham, Splunk’s AVP of global partner programs and operations
Brooke Cunningham, Splunk’s AVP of global partner programs and operations, says that the channel for IAI will broaden out going forward.
“We are working with both systems integrators and Technology Alliance partners around this,” she said. “We see this as a great opportunity for partners, that will give them more tools that they can use to drive partner success.
“Conversations are ongoing, and we will accelerate that motion through the course of this year as more partners come forward,” Cunningham added.
IAI should also attract new partners because of the value it provides.
“We see it as a great opportunity for IOT partner experts to learn more about Splunk,” Cunningham said.
