Industrial Internet, not a continuation of the Internet

Text / Meng Yonghui

The industrial Internet industry has entered the deep water area, which is an undeniable phenomenon. When the industrial Internet begins to enter the deep water area, its external manifestations are increasingly appearing in the form of industries, rather than in the form of the Internet. Once, the industry that we are so familiar with has long since changed its appearance. If you analyze the reasons in depth, the deep and comprehensive integration between the Internet and new technologies and industries derived from the Internet is undoubtedly the key.

Today, whenever we see a new industrial form, we will see the presence of new technologies. It is not so much a new industry as it is the result of the deep integration of new technology and industry. This is completely different from the Internet. Looking back on the Internet era, we can clearly feel that when the Internet and the industry are integrated, a brand new Internet platform will emerge, and this Internet platform will have a great tendency to replace traditional industries, rather than taking the attitude of a new industry as it is now. appear in front of people.

According to the traditional logic, the so-called Industrial Internet is only the transfer of the object of transformation, just the change of the business model. When the development of the Industrial Internet begins to enter a new stage, we increasingly begin to feel that the so-called Industrial Internet is not only a It is only the transformation of the object of transformation, but has a deeper inner logic. When the Industrial Internet begins to enter a new stage of development, we may look at it with a new attitude, rather than blindly linking it to the Internet in the classic sense. Perhaps, only in this way can we see the full picture of the Industrial Internet.

The profound influence of the Internet on people’s production and life makes it inevitable that people will talk about it when they talk about the industrial Internet. This is understandable. However, it would be too simple and arbitrary to blindly associate the Industrial Internet with the Internet, or even regard the Industrial Internet as a continuation of the Internet, just because of the deep connection between the Internet and people’s production and life. The author believes that the Industrial Internet is not only a continuation of the Internet, but also a brand new leap.

The underlying logic of the Industrial Internet is completely different from the Internet

We all know that in the Internet age, one Internet platform after another has emerged. These Internet platforms actually moved businesses that originally belonged to traditional industries online, thus realizing their own development and status. In this process, what we see is the rise of the Internet industry, and at the same time, what we should see more is the loneliness of traditional industries.

If we make a summary of the development of the Internet era, then the so-called Internet is actually a process of weakening the status of traditional industries. One of the most direct results brought about by this logic of development is that more and more Internet companies have begun to grow, and more and more real economies have begun to wither. Therefore, if we can summarize the underlying logic of the Internet, the so-called Internet economy is actually a process of avoiding reality and making falsehood.

Unlike the Internet, the Industrial Internet is a completely opposite process. At present, various signs are beginning to show that the industrial Internet is not a process of returning to the industry as people said before, and it is not a process of disappearing the Internet, but a process that allows the physical industry and the Internet industry and new technologies derived from the Internet. The process of achieving healthy development. It can be seen that the so-called industrial Internet is not a continuation of the Internet, and the underlying logic between them is fundamentally different.

The performance form of the Industrial Internet is completely different from the Internet

In the Internet era, we have seen the emergence of such Internet forms represented by e-commerce, Internet finance, and online education. If we make a summary of these Internet product forms, in the final analysis, these Internet-style industrial forms are the existence of an industry + Internet. In essence, the industry is just a coat, the essence is still the Internet, and these industrial forms are driven by traffic and capital.

In contrast to the industrial Internet, we can see a completely different industrial form from the Internet. In the context of the Industrial Internet, the new industry is the main industrial form. New finance, new manufacturing, new logistics and many other industrial Internet species all take industry as the ultimate form of expression. If we make a summary of the industrial form in the industrial Internet era, then its manifestation is actually an existence based on industry and technology as a tool.

The essence of the Internet-type industrial form is only different from the Internet. The ultimate industrial form of the Industrial Internet is actually expressed externally by the industry, and such a new industrial form also includes the Internet industry. In the era of industrial Internet, we no longer regard traffic as the object of harvest, but began to regard traffic as the object of service; in the era of industrial Internet, we no longer regard the Internet platform as the end point, but start to regard the new industry The derivative view is the ultimate destination. In short, there is a complete difference between the performance of the industrial Internet and the Internet.

The business model of the Industrial Internet is completely different from the Internet

No matter which Internet company it is, if a summary of their business model is made, the platform model is undoubtedly an unavoidable business model. Almost all Internet players regard building a platform and making it bigger as their ultimate goal. If we must make a summary of the business model in the Internet era, the platform model is undoubtedly the most appropriate.

When the era of the Industrial Internet comes, we see the degradation of the efficiency of the platform model, and more and more people begin to criticize the so-called platform model for not being able to improve their efficiency. If you must look for the internal reasons, the drawbacks of the platform model itself are the key to all this. Different from the platform model in the Internet era, in the industrial Internet era, we see the ebb of the platform model. Even if the platform is no longer used, people can still obtain the products and services they want. The reason is that in this process, the platform model has changed from an existence that can achieve efficient docking to an existence that is just a simple matchmaking and intermediary, and the efficiency is greatly reduced due to the lack of new technologies.

The business model of the Industrial Internet is completely different from the platform model of the Internet. Unlike the Internet-style platform model that blindly concentrates all resources and traffic on its own platform, the business model of the industrial Internet era is more like a F2C business model. That is, it is the direct supply of products and services from producers to consumers, and the platform is no longer necessary in the process. From this perspective, the business model of the industrial Internet era is actually fundamentally different from the Internet era.

The essence of the Industrial Internet is not too related to the Internet

If we look at the industrial Internet from today’s perspective, we can clearly see that the current industrial Internet is actually fundamentally different from the industrial Internet that was sought after by Internet players. In essence, the industrial Internet that is sought after by Internet players is just a continuation of the Internet. In the final analysis, the fundamental reason why Internet players are sought after by the “Industrial Internet” is still to maintain their own status.

We can see such a clue only from the way and methods of people landing and practicing the industrial Internet at the beginning. In the initial stage of the Industrial Internet, people just regarded the Industrial Internet as a transfer of transformation objects, and launched a model called “S2B”. If we make a summary of this “S2B” model, it is still an Internet-style existence, and its ultimate purpose is still to maintain and continue the Internet-style status.

Today, when we look at the industrial Internet again, we will find that the current industrial Internet is actually completely different from the industrial Internet that was sought after by Internet players. The current industrial Internet is more like the Internet in the true sense. Its ultimate purpose and significance is not to expand and strengthen its own platform, but to better transform the industry, but to better serve users. On the surface, the industrial Internet still has the word “Internet”. In fact, the current industrial Internet has long been unrelated to the Internet.

Epilogue

When the development of the Industrial Internet goes deeper, we feel more and more that it is more and more different from the original one. It can even be said that the current Industrial Internet is actually completely different from the original Industrial Internet. Perhaps, this is what the Industrial Internet should look like, because it is an existence that has little to do with the Internet. At the beginning, people associated it with the Internet, it was just that those who waved the flag just used the Industrial Internet as a cover for their own interests. Their purpose was still to use the concept of the Industrial Internet to make themselves bigger and stronger. The platform still wants to use the industrial Internet to continue their advantages in the Internet era. Obviously, the “industrial Internet” in their mouths is completely different from the real industrial Internet.

When the development of the Industrial Internet enters a new cycle, we need to examine the Industrial Internet from a new perspective, and completely separate the current Industrial Internet in its true sense from the “Industrial Internet” that was used as a guise at the time. Only in this way, we can truly jump out of the thinking circle of the Internet and look at the industrial Internet again. At this time, we will see clearly the true appearance of the industrial Internet, and we will have the feeling of “suddenly looking back, that person is there, and the lights are dim”.

-Finish-

Author: Meng Yonghui, senior writer, columnist, special commentator, industry research expert, and strategic consultant. Daily article, long-term focus on industry research, providing in-depth thinking and hard-core dry goods. Support the sharing of the author’s source, please retain the author’s copyright information for reprinting, and offenders will be held accountable.