Start IoT Monitoring Without Replacing Your Devices

Many industries delay IoT adoption because they assume they must replace all machines and sensors — an investment that sounds costly and disruptive. In reality, most devices you already own can be connected right away. Here is a guide to starting IoT monitoring without replacing your devices.

Why you don’t need new devices

Modern energy meters, PLCs, inverters, sensors, and control panels generally already "speak" standard industrial protocols. All you need is a bridge to read their data and send it to a dashboard — not a device replacement.

Protocols you can connect

• Modbus (RTU/TCP) — the de facto standard for energy meters, PLCs, and inverters.
• MQTT — lightweight and ideal for distributed sensors and devices.
• HTTP/REST — for devices or systems that already expose an API.

Through IncludeBox and IncludeGateways, these three protocols are read and forwarded to the INCLUDE Smart Industry platform.

Steps to get started

1. Quick audit. What data you want to monitor (energy, water, temperature, machine status) and which protocols are available on site.
2. Install the gateway. IncludeBox reads legacy devices without changing your existing installation.
3. Show it on a dashboard. Data appears instantly, complete with trends and automatic alerts.
4. Scale gradually. Start with one point, then expand as needed.

Example use cases

Monitor electricity bills and power factor via InEnergy, or manage irrigation and soil fertility via InFarmer — both already live and reusing existing devices where possible. Other needs such as water and building monitoring roll out progressively along the INCLUDE Smart Industry roadmap.