Five Key Steps to Building a Successful Strategy for the Industrial Internet of Things Peter Zornio, Chief Technology Officer, Emerson Automation Solutions Peter Zornio, Chief Technology Officer, Emerson Automation Solutions, Peter Zornio is Chief Technology Officer (CTO) for Emerson Automation Solutions and has been with Emerson for 11 years. As CTO, Peter has respons... More >> The Industrial Internet of Things (IoT) is buzz worthy for its sheer potential to optimize operations and enhance profitability, but too many manufacturers are struggling to develop business plans for Industrial IoT and other digitization initiatives. A recent Emerson-sponsored survey of manufacturing executives highlighted the challenge: 60 percent of respondents said they were exploring or investing in Industrial IoT pilot projects, but only 5 percent were investing against a clear business case for how to best implement the technology. This challenge is amplified by the fact that Industrial IoT projects often don’t have a clear functional “owner” within the business. Among survey respondents, 28 percent cited operations as leaders in Industrial IoT in their organizations, followed by IT and engineering at 24 percent each.