Modern manufacturing is evolving towards data-centric, automated and intelligent systems that require contextualized operational data streaming from IoT-based edge devices converging with IT networks for adaptive real-time decision-making. MCP offers a structured approach to managing and interpreting diverse data streams, while SCADA systems serve as the core industrial instrumentation integrated with agentic methods and advanced inferencing to enhance manufacturing processes.

Edge computing and IoT are two of the hottest topics in technology today. Decentralized deployment of computing infrastructure has many advantages, however, there are some key challenges that need to be overcome around data context, access controls and device management. In this article, we will discuss some of those challenges and review the role of hierarchy and asset management in helping to overcome them.