In short
A machinery manufacturer doesn't need the same platform as a factory: it needs to see its installed machines across many different customers, service them, and show each customer only their own. To choose well, check whether the platform does any of these things:
- Whether it connects to the PLCs your machines already carry, without touching their program.
- Whether it is designed for a fleet spread across customers, not for a single plant.
- Whether it allows real remote service, not just viewing data.
- Whether it can be presented under your brand.
- Whether the security satisfies your customers' IT department.
- How much it costs per machine and how much of that is custom development.
At ii40 Services we develop ii40_Connect, a remote monitoring and remote service platform for machinery manufacturers. These are the criteria we see deciding every project, ours included.
Why a manufacturer needs something different from a plant
Most industrial monitoring software is designed for those who produce: a plant that wants to see its own lines. A machinery manufacturer is on the other side, and that changes almost everything:
- Their machines are in other people's facilities. Dozens or hundreds of customers, each with their own network, their own IT department and their own rules.
- Each customer should only see their own. The manufacturer sees the whole fleet; the customer sees only their machines.
- The goal is to provide service, not just to watch. Diagnosing remotely, preparing visits, sending reports, meeting a response time.
- The platform ends up being part of their product. The customer perceives it as “the manufacturer's service”, so how it is presented matters.
Several types of solutions coexist on the market, and it helps to know which one you are looking at:
- Remote access with IoT features for machine builders, such as IXON or Corvina: very good for getting into the machine remotely and starting to see data.
- Platforms from the large automation manufacturers, such as Siemens Insights Hub or Schneider Electric EcoStruxure Machine Advisor: powerful and closely tied to their own ecosystem.
- General-purpose IIoT platforms, such as PTC ThingWorx: a toolbox on which the manufacturer builds its own solution.
- Service and servitization platforms for OEMs, such as ii40_Connect: focused on turning installed-base data into services the manufacturer can sell.
The 10 criteria for choosing
- Connectivity with your PLCs, without touching their program. Ask about the specific protocols of your machines: OPC UA, Modbus TCP or RTU, Siemens S7, OMRON FINS, EtherCAT. And, if needed, sensor inputs (0-10 V, 4-20 mA, IO-Link). Ideally it reads from the existing control without modifying the machine.
- Designed for fleets spread across customers. You should be able to onboard a new machine by copying the configuration of its family, not starting from scratch every time.
- Each customer sees only their own. Separate users and permissions for your service team and for each end customer.
- Remote service, not just screens. Alarms that notify the right person, remote diagnosis, intervention logging. A nice dashboard with no service workflow behind it ends up abandoned.
- Your brand up front. If the customer is going to use the platform, better that they see your brand than the vendor's.
- Performance and production. If you want to sell more than support, you will need OEE, cycle times and customer reports.
- History of each machine. Documentation, interventions and events in the same place as the data.
- Security that IT will accept. Encrypted, outbound-only communication from the plant, with no inbound ports opened, and with encryption in the gateway hardware. It is the first thing the customer will ask about.
- Integration with your systems. An API to talk to your ERP, your CMMS or your CRM, and with the customer's quality systems when needed.
- Clear cost per machine. Separate what is hardware, what is monthly license and what is custom development. For anything not in the rate, ask what it costs before you sign.
As a reference for how these are solved in practice: ii40_Connect reads directly from Siemens S7, OMRON, OPC UA or Modbus PLCs without modifying the machine. It is configured once per machine type and replicated across the whole family, and its gateway only communicates outbound, encrypted and without opening ports in the customer's plant.
Frequently asked questions
What is a remote monitoring platform for machinery manufacturers?
It is software, normally with a gateway installed on each machine, that lets the manufacturer see in real time the status, alarms and data of the machines installed at its customers, and service them remotely.
How is it different from a remote access router?
The router opens a connection to get into the machine when needed. The platform collects data continuously, stores the history, notifies of alarms and makes it possible to build services such as reports or contracts with a response time.
Do you have to modify the machine to connect it?
In most cases, no. The gateway reads from the existing PLC using standard protocols such as OPC UA, Modbus or Siemens S7. If some data is missing, sensors are added.
How much does it cost?
It depends on the number of machines and on the integration. The usual model is a hardware and commissioning cost per machine plus a monthly fee. Always ask separately for anything that is custom development.
What is ii40_Connect?
ii40_Connect is a remote monitoring and remote service platform for machinery manufacturers, developed by ii40 Services in Donostia-San Sebastián. It connects the machines installed at the manufacturer's customers, collects their operating data and turns it into services: remote support, performance reports (OEE) and the history of each machine.
Shall we compare it with your machine?
If you are evaluating platforms, tell us which machine you build and which PLC it uses. On a call we will tell you what data can be read, what service you could offer and whether ii40_Connect is what you need or not.
Keep reading:
- Remote service for machinery manufacturers: resolve issues without sending a technician, how to resolve issues without sending a technician and which after-sales KPIs prove it.
- OEE at the customer's plant: how to measure it and turn it into a service, how to measure the OEE of your machines at the customer's site and turn it into a service that pays.
- Machine history: documentation and interventions in one place, documentation, interventions and data for each machine in one place, for the manufacturer and the customer.
Article by the ii40Services team.