Unplugged: An IIoT Podcast

Join industry experts Phil Seboa and Ed Fuentes on "Unplugged: An IIoT Podcast", powered by PLCnext Technology, as they explore the fascinating world of the Industrial Internet of Things. Discover the latest trends, debunk common myths, and gain insights from leading voices in IIoT. From seasoned professionals to those new to IIoT, you'll learn about practical applications and cutting-edge innovations driving digital transformation. Tune in for thought-provoking discussions and engaging interviews, making complex topics accessible and interesting.

Unplugged: An IIoT Podcast is a technology podcast hosted by Phil Seboa and Ed Fuentes, with 56 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

Phil Seboa and Ed Fuentes hosts Unplugged: An IIoT Podcast, a technology show with 56 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #55

  Flowfuse Expert: Scaling Applications

  Jul 28, 202627 minS4

  In the final part of our FlowFuse mini-series on Unplugged: An IIoT Podcast, Phil Seboa and Ed Fuentes close out with Kristopher Sandoval of FlowFuse on what happens once you can build fast: how do you scale, govern and standardise industrial applications across plants, lines and teams? Kristopher explains why Expert doesn't replace developers — it removes repetitive setup so engineers can focus on operational problems, business logic, architecture and deployment strategy. We cover scaling via FlowFuse pipelines (build once, roll out to hundreds of devices), granular RBAC that persists across instances and sites, air-gapping and data sovereignty for regulated environments, and the bring-your-own-key/model future. The throughline: without FlowFuse's governance, versioning and standardisation, AI-generated apps just become technical debt. Chapters: - 0:00 — Welcome back: the changing role of industrial teams - 1:00 — Expert removes repetitive setup; engineers focus on operational problems - 5:00 — Augmenting vs replacing developers - 9:00 — Enterprise governance: self-hosted, BYOK, guardrails - 12:00 — Scaling across teams and sites with FlowFuse - 15:00 — Advice for closing the application gap today - 17:00 — Learning segment - 18:00 — Closing and outro Connect - Kristopher Sandoval (FlowFuse): https://www.linkedin.com/in/krsando/ - FlowFuse docs: https://flowfuse.com/docs - Phil Seboa: https: //www.linkedin.com/in/phil-seboa/ - Ed Fuentes: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ed-fuentes-2046121a/ FlowFuse is a proud sponsor of Unplugged: An IIoT Podcast. For more Info about Flowfuse Expert visit https://flowfuse.com/ #IIoT #NodeRED #FlowFuse #Governance #Scaling #IndustrialAutomation #ITOT

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  Episode #3

  53.Closing the Industrial Application Gap with Kristopher Sandoval

  Jul 3, 202624 minS4

  In this first episode of a 3-part FlowFuse mini-series on Unplugged: An IIoT Podcast, hosts Phil Seboa and Ed Fuentes sit down with Kristopher Sandoval of FlowFuse to unpack the application gap in industrial operations — the growing distance between how many applications industrial teams need and how fast their developers can build them. Kristopher explains why so many operational workflows still live in spreadsheets, local scripts and one-off dashboards, and how the Node-RED → FlowFuse → FlowFuse Expert stack is changing the equation. We cover what FlowFuse Expert actually is — an AI co-pilot that builds industrial applications on a Node-RED workspace from a plain-language description — why it's built on MCP (Model Context Protocol) for real industrial context instead of generic LLM guesswork, and how it can compress tasks that once took 10–20 hours down to around an hour, without replacing the operators and OT engineers who know the plant best. If your team has more ideas than capacity to build them, this episode is about closing that gap. Chapters 0:00 — Intro and guest welcome 3:00 — The application gap in industrial operations 6:00 — Where workflows live today: spreadsheets, scripts, manual processes 10:00 — Who feels this gap most? 12:00 — From operational need to working application (OEE dashboard) 16:00 — Iterating with Expert and availability 0:00 — Intro and guest welcome 3:00 — The application gap in industrial operations 6:00 — Where workflows live today: spreadsheets, scripts, manual processes 10:00 — Who feels this gap most? 12:00 — From operational need to working application (OEE dashboard) 16:00 — Iterating with Expert and availability Connect Kristopher Sandoval (FlowFuse): https://www.linkedin.com/in/krsando/ FlowFuse docs: https://flowfuse.com/docs Phil Seboa: https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-seboa/ Ed Fuentes: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ed-fuentes-2046121a/ Newsletter Sign up: www.unpluggediiot.com/newsletter FlowFuse is a proud sponsor of Unplugged: An IIoT Podcast. #IIoT #NodeRED #FlowFuse #IndustrialAutomation #ITOT #ManufacturingTech #OEE

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  Episode #2

  52. The Thinking Factory: How AI Is Giving MES a Brain with Francisco Almada Lobo

  Jun 16, 20261 hourS4

  What does it take for AI to actually deliver on the factory floor? In this episode, we explore why most manufacturing AI pilots never make it to production, and what changes when you get the data architecture right. Francisco Almada Lobo, CEO and Co-Founder at Critical Manufacturing, joins Phil Seboa and Ed Fuentes to discuss MES as the foundation for manufacturing AI, why context beats compute, and what regulated industries need before they can trust AI in production. Key topics in this episode: What MES is and why it keeps expanding beyond process control Why Audi's 100+ AI initiatives failed to scale to production "Fat events": enriching IoT data with MES context for AI workloads Design-time AI vs runtime AI in regulated manufacturing The first FDA warning letter for unauthorized AI use Why this technology revolution gives no time for adjustment This episode is proudly made possible by FlowFuse. FlowFuse is the industrial application platform that helps operations, maintenance, and IT teams connect any machine, move data between systems, and scale industrial applications across sites. It is built on Node-RED, with the security and governance you need for real production environments. Learn more at flowfuse.com . Connect with Francisco on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/falmadalobo Connect with Phil on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/philseboa Connect with Ed on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/edfuentes Learn more about Critical Manufacturing: criticalmanufacturing.com Book mentioned: "Agentic Artificial Intelligence" by Pascal Bonnet

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  Episode #51

  51 - First Principles: De-Risking Industrial Technology and Championing Sovereign Manufacturing with Howard Sachs

  Jun 2, 202651 min

  Howard Sachs joins Phil Seboa and Ed Fuentes to discuss how de-risking industrial technology, championing sovereign manufacturing, and first-principles leadership are shaping Australia's industrial future. Key topics in this episode: Why de-risking matters more than product specifications in industrial sales How the Dulux Industry 4.0 project succeeded through collaboration and leadership Australia's sovereign manufacturing challenges and the COVID-19 vaccine push Pockets of innovation across traditionally conservative industries Why mentorship from every direction accelerates learning Connect with Howard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hsachs/ Connect with Phil on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philseboa/ Connect with Ed on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edfuentes/ Learn more about Universal Automation Solutions: https://universalsystems.com.au ------

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  Episode #50

  50 - Why Factory AI Fails Without a Data Foundation with Alexander Kruger

  May 13, 202659 min

  Most industrial AI projects fail before they produce anything useful. The models are ready, the dashboards look great, and the executive presentation landed. But on the shop floor, nobody can get clean data out of the PLC without calling the vendor. The missing piece is a data foundation. Alexander Kruger, co-founder and CEO of United Manufacturing Hub (UMH), joins Phil Seboa and Ed Fuentes on this episode, powered by PLCnext Technology, to explain why factory AI stalls without the right infrastructure underneath it, why boring technology beats shiny platforms, and how open source tooling is putting data ownership back in the hands of the people who run factories. Key topics in this episode: Why most factory AI projects fail at the data layer before they reach the model layer How UMH went from systems integration with McKinsey to building open source data infrastructure The five-step process for connecting machines, modeling data, and serving it to applications Why Kafka and Postgres beat purpose-built IoT platforms for long-term reliability How containers and Kubernetes solve high availability problems OT has wrestled with for years The open source bet on forerunner power users who change organizations from within -------------------------------- This episode is proudly made possible by PLCnext Technology PLCnext Technology is the ecosystem for industrial automation consisting of open hardware, modular engineering software, a global community, and a digital software marketplace. Learn more at: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.plcnext-community.net/news/synergy-edge-cloud/⁠⁠⁠ -------------------------------- Connect with Alexander on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexander-krueger/ Connect with Phil on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/philseboa/ Connect with Ed on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edfuentes/ Learn more about United Manufacturing Hub: https://umh.app

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