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40 SMT007 MAGAZINE I MARCH 2020 Feature by Oren Manor MENTOR, A SIEMENS BUSINESS Editor's note: The following is an excerpt from the book "The Printed Circuit Assembler's Guide to...Advanced Manufacturing in the Dig- ital Age" by Oren Manor. At its basic level, an IoT device can be defined as any stand-alone internet-connected device that can be either monitored and/or controlled from a remote location. Each company using an IoT solution will also be building an IoT ecosystem, which is the foundation of Indus- try 4.0. This ecosystem is comprised of the components that enable devices to connect to the internet, such as remotes, dashboards, net- works, gateways, analytics, data storage, and security—both software and hardware. One of the most valuable aspects of such an ecosys- tem is to be able to take the silos of informa- tion collected, analyze that information, and then optimize processes across a company's systems to become more efficient. When adopting IoT solutions, start with three main considerations. First, assess which parts of the production cycle can be automated and/or monitored most effectively with IoT devices connected to an analytics platform. IoT technology should be matched to the pro- duction cycle of your operation. Many catego- ries of manufacturers throughout the world are producing unique goods across different indus- tries. IoT solutions that work for some manu- facturers will not work for others. Analyze all of the various digital technologies available and see which fit into your particular produc- tion process. Second, assess ways in which solutions could improve the work environment rather The Foundation of Industry 4.0