Industrial Internet Consortium

What Industrial Internet Consortium does

The Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC) is a non-profit, open-membership consortium founded on March 27, 2014 by AT&T, Cisco, GE, Intel, and IBM, and operated as a program of Object Management Group, Inc. (OMG). The consortium develops and publishes consensus-driven frameworks, reference architectures, security models, and best-practice guidance for the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), serving approximately 250 member organizations across manufacturing, energy, mining, transportation, healthcare, and adjacent verticals. Its core technical assets include the Industrial Internet Reference Architecture (IIRA), the Industrial Internet Security Framework (IISF), the IoT Security Maturity Model (SMM) with industry profiles, a Trustworthiness Framework, an IoT Pattern Repository, a Testbeds program for real-world interoperability validation, and a quarterly Journal of Innovation.

The IIC generates revenue primarily through tiered organization membership (annual, application-gated, pricing not publicly disclosed) and supplementary training services such as SMM certification courses. All foundational publications are distributed free of charge, with monetization centered on member-only access to working groups, exclusive documents, testbed participation, and in-person meetings. The consortium actively partners with peer organizations including the Digital Twin Consortium (into which IIC was integrated in 2024), Plattform Industrie 4.0, the International Society of Automation, oneM2M, IoT Alliance Australia, NIST, and MITRE to co-author joint technical papers and align IIoT standards. In 2019, IIC merged with the OpenFog Consortium to consolidate the IIoT, fog, and edge computing ecosystem under a single organizational umbrella. Leadership includes CTO Stephen Mellor, Executive Director Richard Soley, and President William Hoffman, with operations centered in Boston, Massachusetts.

Name

Industrial Internet Consortium

Legal name

Object Management Group, Inc.

Website

https://iiconsortium.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Industrial Internet Consortium is a non-profit, open-membership consortium that develops and publishes reference architectures, security frameworks, and best-practice guidance for the Industrial Internet of Things, serving roughly 250 member organizations across manufacturing, energy, mining, and adjacent verticals as a program of Object Management Group.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Industrial IoT Standards and Reference Architectures

NAICS

Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151)

SIC

Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)

akta.pro primary industry

Conformity Assessment, Testing, Inspection & Certification Cooperation (BPADANAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Industrial Networking & Connectivity (Industrial Ethernet, Fieldbus, IO-Link) (IMAHAHAI), PLC, HMI & SCADA Automation (EDAOAHAD)

Keywords

• Industrial Internet of Things
• IoT Reference Architecture
• IoT Security Framework
• Industrial IoT Standards
• Digital Transformation Frameworks

Headquarters

HQ city

Needham

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: The IIC operates as a membership-based consortium. Companies and organizations join to gain access to members-only documents, discussions, face-to-face meetings, and participation in working groups and testbeds. The membership application requires company membership and provides login credentials for member representatives.
2. Training Services: The IIC offers training courses on the IoT Security Maturity Model, including half-day fundamental and advanced courses. Individuals who complete training and pass assessments are listed in the training directory.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Industrial Internet Consortium is a non-profit, member-driven organization that develops and publishes industrial internet reference architectures, security frameworks, trustworthiness frameworks, connectivity frameworks, security maturity models, technical reports, and pattern repositories. It runs a Testbeds Program for proof-of-concept validation and offers fee-based training such as the IIoT Foundations Certification Course. Its core product is the body of open, consensus-based standards and best practices for the Industrial Internet of Things.

Product overview

The Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC), now integrated into the Digital Twin Consortium, operates as a standards development organization rather than a commercial product company. IIC's offerings consist primarily of technical frameworks, white papers, testbeds, and best practices publications. The core portfolio includes the Industrial Internet Reference Architecture (IIRA) providing architectural templates for IIoT systems, the Industrial Internet Security Framework (IISF) addressing cybersecurity and trustworthiness, the IoT Security Maturity Model (SMM) for security assessment, Digital Transformation Enabler Playbooks for ML and other technologies, an IoT Pattern Library for design patterns, and a Testbeds Program enabling interoperability testing. These publications work together as a comprehensive suite addressing IIoT adoption across verticals from manufacturing to energy.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Industrial Internet Reference Architecture (IIRA)
• Industrial Internet Security Framework (IISF) Framework for assessing and improving the security posture of IIoT systems, covering vulnerabilities, threats, and countermeasures; intended for security architects, CISOs, and operators of industrial systems.
• IoT Security Maturity Model (SMM) for IoT Security Capability-based maturity model that helps organizations measure and improve the maturity of their IoT security practices, domains, and governance; intended for security leaders and IIoT program owners.
• Industrial Internet Trustworthiness Framework Framework defining the characteristics (e.g., safety, security, privacy, reliability, resilience) of trustworthy industrial internet systems and how to assess and improve them; intended for architects, risk owners, and compliance leaders.
• Industrial Internet Connectivity Framework (IICF) Framework describing connectivity concerns, patterns, and best practices for linking devices, edge, and cloud in industrial internet deployments; intended for network architects and platform integrators.
• Industrial Internet Vocabulary Technical Report Technical report standardizing the vocabulary and terminology used in IIC publications and across the industrial internet domain; intended for practitioners, standards bodies, and member organizations.
• IoT Pattern Repository Repository of reusable, member-contributed architectural and implementation patterns for industrial internet solutions; intended for architects and developers building IIoT systems.
• Testbeds Program
• White Papers and Joint Technical Papers Publications
• IIoT Foundations Certification Course (Training)
• Digital Transformation Enabler Playbooks

Quantifiable outcome

• Created largest IIoT consortium in the world with 250+ member organizations within 5 years of founding
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability6 records

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Digital Twin Consortium (Joint Technical Papers)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 13 September 2024Co-authored technical paper 'System of Systems Models Enabling Interoperability for Value Creation' published jointly by IIC and DTC.
• Digital Twin Consortium (DTC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2024The IIC has been integrated into the Digital Twin Consortium. This merger combines the best minds from each consortium and expands collaboration with industry, academia, and government. The integration aims to lead to increased adoption of digital twins and digital transformation across sectors.
• International Society of Automation (ISA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 August 2023Co-authored 'IoT Security Maturity Model: ISA/IEC 62443 Mappings for Asset Owners, Product Suppliers and System Integrators' with ISA.
• IoT Alliance AustraliaminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 June 2020Co-authored white paper on 'How Digital Transformation and IoT Can Contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals'.
• oneM2MminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 December 2019Co-authored 'Advancing the Industrial Internet of Things' white paper with oneM2M.
• OpenFog ConsortiumcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019In 2019, the IIC and OpenFog Consortium combined to become the largest and most influential international consortia in Industrial IoT, fog, and edge computing.
• Plattform Industrie 4.0coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing collaboration between IIC and Germany's Plattform Industrie 4.0 for interoperability of Industrial Internet systems, identifying mappings and differences, formulating requirements for standardization bodies, creating joint testbeds, and increasing adoption of the Industrial Internet globally.
• Object Management Group (OMG)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIIC is a program of Object Management Group, Inc. OMG provides administrative infrastructure and trademark protection for IIC. IIC publications are copyright of OMG.
• Industrie Plattform 4.0coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint white paper 'Digital Twin and Asset Administration Shell Concepts and Application' co-authored with Industrie Plattform 4.0.
• NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNIST contributes to IIC Vocabulary Technical Report and participates in various working groups. Eric Simmon from NIST contributed to Pattern Systems work.
• MITRE CorporationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMITRE contributes authors to IIC publications including IISF (Robert Martin) and participates in Security & Trust Working Group.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Plattform Industrie 4.0: Germany's national Industry 4.0 platform that develops reference architectures (RAMI 4.0) for industrial internet/IIoT; IIC and Plattform Industrie 4.0 co-author joint testbeds and white papers, making them the most direct counterpart at the national/regional standards level.
• International Society of Automation (ISA): Global automation society that owns the ISA/IEC 62443 industrial cybersecurity standards; IIC co-authors the SMM-to-62443 mappings with ISA, making them a direct peer in IIoT security framework development and conformance.
• Digital Twin Consortium: Direct peer and now integrating consortium under OMG that focuses on digital twin definitions, taxonomies, and industry use cases, with significant overlap of IIoT and industrial digitalization members; IIC was merged into DTC in 2024, making them effectively sister programs within the same standards body.
• oneM2M: Global standards body for M2M and IoT service-layer architecture with telecom operators and SDOs as members; IIC co-publishes white papers with oneM2M and targets overlapping IIoT interoperability goals, making it a peer in IoT reference architectures.
• OPC Foundation: Maintains OPC Unified Architecture (OPC UA) industrial interoperability standard used in IIC's Smart Factory Web Testbed; directly relevant peer in industrial IoT connectivity, protocol conformance, and information modeling.

Others

• World Economic Forum Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution: Policy-grade forum coordinating government-industry frameworks around IIoT, AI, and digital transformation; thematically adjacent to IIC's standardization work and frequently referenced in IIC publications.
• Linux Foundation Edge (LF Edge): Houses multiple open-source edge/fog projects (EdgeX Foundry, Akraino, etc.) comparable in scope to IIC's OpenFog heritage and edge-computing reference work; an enabling/adjoining ecosystem participant in IIoT edge infrastructure rather than a direct competitor.

Emerging players

• FieldComm Group: Standards organization for FOUNDATION Fieldbus, HART, and FDI industrial communication protocols; addresses overlapping industrial networking/interoperability concerns with IIC's Industrial Internet Connectivity Framework (IICF).

Broad incumbents

• Object Management Group (OMG): Parent organization of IIC and a broad standards/consortia incumbent covering CORBA, UML, BPMN, and many other specifications; provides administrative infrastructure and IP protection for IIC, and is the direct corporate sponsor and convener.

Regional players

• IoT Alliance Australia: Australian IoT industry consortium promoting IIoT adoption and policy; co-authors white papers with IIC on digital transformation and UN-SDGs, providing regional coordination that complements IIC's global reference work.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/iiconsortium
• Facebookfacebook.com/IIConsortium
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/5380050

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Industrial Internet Consortium