Skkynet Cloud Systems, Inc., provider of real-time cloud information systems, has announced a new collaboration with Red Lion Controls, which will provide industrial automation engineers and managers with secure, real-time communication that integrates with the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).

According to Skkynet, the collaboration employs Skkynet's Embedded Toolkit (ETK) in combination with Red Lion's Sixnet® series IndustrialPro® cellular routers and Data Station Plus protocol converters. Together, the system supports more than 300 industrial protocols to link devices to Skkynet's SkkyHub for secure, bidirectional, real-time communication.

"There are a number of major hurdles to becoming IIoT-ready, most importantly security and multi-protocol communication," said Paul Thomas, president of Skkynet. "A primary objective of this collaboration was to integrate our ETK on Red Lion's IndustrialPro cellular routers, thereby providing secure connectivity to SkkyHub, with no open firewall ports, VPN or programming required.  The end result is secure, real-time monitoring, control, networking, and big data collection at a far lower total cost of
ownership (TCO)."

"Becoming IIoT-ready can be a daunting task for many organizations with legacy devices that do not speak the same language," said Brian Rosema, director of IIoT strategy for Red Lion Controls. "With support for more than 300 industrial protocols, our Data Station Plus protocol converters and rugged cellular routers work in tandem with SkkyHub to connect devices, thereby improving process visibility and pushing control to the edge. The result is a robust, fully integrated IIoT solution that connects virtually any device to any other device or user."

According to Skkynet, SkkyHub service provides secure, end-to-end, bidirectional connectivity between the Sixnet IndustrialPro series routers and end-users at all levels, from operators and plant engineers to managers, analysts and customers. The service is capable of handling over 50,000 data changes per second per client, at speeds just a few milliseconds over Internet latency. It requires no VPN, no open firewall ports, no special programming and no additional hardware.