Author: cyber-security-blog

The manufacturing industry has been the backbone of the global economy for decades. But as globalization and technological advances have changed the way business is done, manufacturers are struggling to stay competitive.

Cloud technology is a relatively new player in the manufacturing world, but it’s quickly changing the game. Cloud solutions offer manufacturers cost-effective, time-saving services that can help them do everything from managing inventory to boosting productivity and efficiency.

Cloud solutions are becoming more and more popular in the manufacturing industry. The benefits of using cloud solutions are too many to count. Cloud solutions help manufacturers save time, money, and resources otherwise spent on IT infrastructure management. Cloud also helps manufacturers become more efficient and productive by enabling them to access their data from anywhere at any time.

However, manufacturers who depend on traditional methods fear migrating to the cloud for many reasons. In this article, we will discuss why migrating to the cloud could be the decision.

Developing Data Demands

The manufacturing industry is one of the most rapidly changing industries in the world. Cloud software solutions are a way to help companies be more agile in their production processes.

Cloud-based supply chains allow manufacturers to accommodate change quickly by collecting and storing enormous amounts of data. This includes data from manufacturing equipment, suppliers, and customers. The benefits of a cloud-based supply chain are that it allows for better communication and coordination among suppliers, customers, and partners.

Cloud manufacturing can help manufacturers reduce costs by automating inventory management and production scheduling. It also helps them find new markets for their products by providing real-time data on product demand across the globe. Cloud software solutions also help manufacturers track the status of a product or order.

Moving to cloud

Although the advantages of migrating to cloud computing are apparent, manufacturers may find it challenging to make the switch.

The thought of storing production data off-premises is unavoidably terrifying for certain employees. Although fears of data loss, security breaches, and lack of data ownership are legitimate, they aren’t entirely warranted.

The majority of cloud providers have made significant investments to ensure that their infrastructure is secure and resistant to threats. For example, Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform is ISO 27001-certified and provides disaster recovery as a service (DRaaS). These cloud solutions allow a separate data center to operate as your recovery site by automating the replication of your manufacturing data. This implies that even if your data is accidentally lost, it will not be lost permanently.

Conclusion

It’s not just about shifting data elsewhere when you switch to cloud computing. The cloud can improve a company’s output, efficiency, and overall business strategy when used effectively. With so much possibility, it’s difficult to imagine any firm ignoring cloud computing.

It’s no secret that the cloud has emerged as the predominant model for data storage and application hosting. The benefits of this model are clear: lower costs, better security, and increased scalability.

The decision to take your factory onto the cloud is not just a technology decision; and it’s a question of whether you want to be at the forefront of innovation and make your business more competitive or if you want to remain in the past and be left behind.

Intelligent manufacturing is a comprehensive manufacturing concept that uses modern information and manufacturing technology to optimize production and product exchanges. It’s a revolutionary manufacturing model based on intelligent science and technology that improves the design, production, management, and integration of a specific product’s entire life cycle.

Smart sensors, adaptive decision-making models, innovative materials, intelligent gadgets, and data analytics can help with the full product life cycle. The efficiency of production, the quality of the products, and the level of service will all be improved.  And in the 4th Industrial Revolution, cloud computing will be critical in enabling the manufacturing industry to transform into Intelligent manufacturing.

The ‘4th Industrial Revolution,’ in which advanced technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and blockchain are blurring the barriers between the physical and digital worlds, has made cloud computing a vital driver. Cloud computing is accelerating transformation and innovation across many industries around the globe. This is also true in the manufacturing sector. According to a report by Market Research Future, the cloud manufacturing market is predicted to reach USD 111.90 billion by 2024.

Some advantages of cloud

Scalability, flexibility, and development efficiency are just a few benefits of using cloud services rather than traditional on-premise computing capabilities. The other advantages include:

Flexibility and scalability

One of the most significant benefits of using virtual infrastructure maintained by a service provider is the increased flexibility. On-demand cloud services can be created, configured, and terminated at the touch of a button.

Some cloud services even allow auto-scaling, which means the underlying computing resources automatically adjust to changing utilization rates. This adaptability is advantageous for applications with erratic load, short-lived applications such as prototypes or proofs-of-concept, and frequently changing infrastructure.

Profit margins grow due to lower overhead

According to AWS, the variable expenses of the cloud enable organizations to pay only for the resources they utilize.  As a result, they can decrease or eliminate the costs associated with running a data center. Businesses can increase their profit margins by avoiding the hefty costs of running their own data centers.

Flexibility in pricing

Costs are also flexible with cloud services. Many services offer consumption-based billing, which means clients are only charged for the services they actually use. On the other hand, static infrastructure configured for the maximum expected workload would need to be purchased and maintained in an on-premises scenario. This inflexibility can be overcome via the cloud.

Better product development and logistics

When integrated with cloud computing, IIoT facilities have access to real-time product usage data as well as consumer feedback. Quality issues can be handled on the production floor, resulting in less waste and lower mitigation costs. Machine learning applied to cloud data can give businesses actionable insights for future product development phases, resulting in higher revenue and customer happiness.

Conclusion

When it comes to technical transformation, cloud-native is the way to go, as it offers a significant competitive advantage.  This is why cloud manufacturing is the way of the future and why migrating networks to the cloud should be at the top of every manufacturer’s to-do list.

Learn more at Manufacturing IT Summit

Event Organised by Exito Media Concepts

Today’s manufacturing industry is under pressure to meet rising demands for quicker delivery and increased throughput. Manufacturers can use cloud technology to address these demands. All levels of the manufacturing industry will use this technology in the future to stay more securely connected to consumers and the supply chain.

Manufacturing efficiency already relies on connectivity. Manufacturers must adhere to technology standards used throughout the supply chain to stay connected and address issues quickly.

According to Gartner, cloud services spending is expected to climb 23.1 percent to $332.3 billion in 2021, up from $270 billion in 2020. Cloud-based technology is no longer a disruptor in the manufacturing scene; instead, it is the way of the future.

Manufacturing has entered a new era known as Industry 4.0, characterized by digital change. Industry 4.0 technologies, such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, and Industrial IoT connectivity, rely on cloud computing for data storage and information processing.

Modern manufacturing with cloud computing

By digitizing practically every aspect of current manufacturing operations, information technology is revolutionizing the global manufacturing economy, a phenomenon termed Smart Manufacturing or Industry 4.0.

Cloud computing, along with other core technologies including next-generation wireless, improved sensors, high-performance computing, and computer-aided design, engineering, and manufacturing software, is critical to the smart manufacturing revolution.

Cloud computing technologies will impact virtually every facet of modern manufacturing organizations. Cloud computing will impact how businesses run their operations at the corporate level, from enterprise resource planning (ERP) and financial management to data analytics and workforce training.

Manufacturers’ integration with industrial supply chains will also rely heavily on the cloud. Cloud computing will change everything about manufactured products, from how they are researched,created, and produced to how they are fabricated and manufactured to how customers utilize them in the field.

In addition, cloud computing will be critical in allowing and democratizing new manufacturing production systems like 3D printing (also known as additive manufacturing), generative design, and the Industrial Internet of Things. In reality, digital services like cloud computing now account for at least 25% of all inputs used to create finished manufacturing goods.

Building future-ready manufacturing enterprises

In the new virtual paradigm, cloud software, platforms, and infrastructure have helped businesses enhance resilience in key business sectors, enable online collaborative working environments, and drive consumer interaction. According to PwC, cloud migration is a top priority for 59% of manufacturing COOs looking to improve their performance in the post-COVID marketplace. Manufacturers looking to the future are investing in cloud ERP software and applying it to empower their employees and customers.

Companies have also begun to reinvent their business strategies in response to changing customer demands. Servitization and Business to Business to Consumer (B2B2C) strategies include enhancing agility, increasing revenues, and assisting in developing long-term customer connections. The first step in this process is to move enterprise applications to the cloud. According to a Infosys report, 54% of those surveyed wanted to use the cloud as the foundation for digital transformation.

Conclusion

Cloud computing has infiltrated practically every aspect of modern production, resulting in a shift in how products are developed, manufactured, and used.

Cloud computing has numerous advantages for both large and small manufacturers, including reducing innovation cycles, accelerating time to market, facilitating collaboration, supporting supply chain integration, enabling new business models, improving operational efficiency, lowering costs, and improving employee and customer satisfaction. Therefore, cloud computing has become a critical underlying platform technology for enabling smart manufacturing and equipping the industry for the future.

Learn more at Manufacturing IT Summit

Event Organized by Exito Media Concepts

Manufacturing is a crucial engine of ASEAN’s economic development, accounting for $670 billion, or 21%, of the region’s GDP in 2018 and is predicted to grow to $1.4 trillion by 2028.   Furthermore, by 2028, ASEAN stands to gain between $250 billion and $275 billion in incremental value from gains in productivity and unlocking new revenue streams such as new products and quality improvements by embracing Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies, resulting in a 35 to 40% increase in manufacturing value added (MVA).

The Fourth Industrial Revolution is defined by an intelligent and connected ecosystem of people and machines, powered by five new technologies deployed throughout the entire value chain to assist companies in generating strategic value.

Manufacturers in ASEAN have a huge chance to take action. Suppose the area aspires to become a worldwide hub for industrial innovation and higher-value operations. In that case, businesses must equip themselves with these technologies in order to increase their agility, speed, and scale.

The Internet of Things (IoT)

The Internet of Things (IoT) is highly valued by companies with a wide range of distributed and portable assets who want to improve asset connectivity, conduct remote analytics, and improve business intelligence. It is one of the fastest-growing technologies and is expected to reach maturity across the manufacturing value chain by 2030.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

AI has many applications across industries and will enable new levels of automation, resulting in both economic and social implications. AI is likely to be one of the most impactful technologies, with a diverse range of solutions at various maturity levels, including machine learning, decision-making, and computer vision. AI has many applications across industries and will enable new levels of automation, resulting in both economic and social implications.

3D printing

3D printing is challenging conventional manufacturing methods and democratizing product personalization. It is a fast-evolving technology with many government programs done internationally via research institutions and public-private partnerships. However, until its accessibility and affordability improve, 3D printing’s influence will be restricted to prototype and high-mix, low-volume items.

Robotics

Advanced robotics, like AI, offers a wide variety of solutions at varying stages of development, such as soft co-bots, autonomous vehicles, and remote robots. Manufacturing and transportation are the two primary sectors that will be transformed, lowering their long-term need for labor and reversing the offshore trend.

Wearables

Wearables are a constantly expanding and evolving technology that offers the maximum possible integration of man and machine. The variety of applications has continued to grow and diversify, resulting in considerable advances in production performance. These include raising safety awareness and preventing injuries, using augmented reality for hands-free training, and remotely monitoring at anytime.

Conclusion

ASEAN is already a major manufacturing base, and leveraging these technical improvements can help the industry grow significantly. Businesses must be aware of the shifting landscape and how it may affect their manufacturing facility operations.

Big data and the Internet of Things could help companies estimate demand and plan production better, resulting in improved customer service and bigger profit margins. On the cost side, manufacturing organizations may tighten inventory control and maximize production capacity by analysing precise, real-time data on everything from suppliers’ inventories and shipments in transit to downstream customer demand.

To compete in the digital world, manufacturers must take an experimental and iterative multifocal strategy that balances the need to tackle urgent issues with a long-term vision and transformation road plan. A new method of self-discovery that begins with a diagnostic of pain points, the creation of 4IR use cases, and collaborative sprint-based pilots will allow for the rapid and flexible development of confidence and momentum.

Learn more at the Manufacturing IT Summit

Event organized by Exito Media Concepts

Since COVID-19 has taken over the world, business trends are witnessing a new era of change. Companies are in the process of shifting supply chain to meet the new normal while retaining quality for their customers. There has been a reasonable spike in supply chain innovation post COVID. Location-based intelligence is one such technology that has been helping supply chain resiliency in 2021. Supply chain demands understanding the customer needs and planning accordingly. In the same regard, location-based intelligence can help provide extended vision to contribute towards supply chain innovation post COVID. Let’s take a look at five ways to enhance supply chain performance using location- based intelligence –

1. Get to know the right “WHERE” for supply demand

In order to design a near perfect supply plan, you need to understand the demand plan (which includes the places and stores with a high demand). With the help of location- based intelligence systems, you can spot the shops with high traffic. Once you know the demand region, you can further plan on how to meet customer needs in the coming weeks and months based on the analysis. This gives a fair idea of inventory alignment by providing advanced insights.

2.Get to know your customer’s requirements

For enhancing supply chain innovation post COVID, it is a priority to understand your customers. If implemented, location-based intelligence plays a key role in determining the likes and dislikes of your customers. With the help of location-based intelligence, you can track the movement of your customers and collect the required customer data such as – where your customer visits more or less frequently? Which counter has a greater number of foot tracks? How long do they stay at your store? etc. This will give supply chain management a fair idea of what is the exact nature and requirement of their customer.

3. Get to know the “accurate inventory”

Location-based intelligence comes with benefits beyond just understanding customers and places. It will help you with your database management as well. Along with tracking traffic for a place or store, one can also track a traffic for a particular product or counter. This will help know the products that are in high demand and eventually suggest supply chain managers to ensure that the product quantity is stocked up.

4.Enhance your Supply Chain Analytics

Supply chain analytics include risk analysis, risk management, enhancing planning accuracy, waste reduction etc. There are supply chain tools already available that provide study of a number of factors such as transportation, logistics, demand and risk analysis. Here, location-based intelligence comes as an additional tool which gives a deeper analysis by collecting information for queries like – which locations are high in demand and which are not? Which areas are facing delivery issues? Are the delivery vehicles sufficient to meet the needs? And so on.

5. Enhance Predictions and Accuracy

Majority of location-based intelligence integration with supply chain is done baselining AI and machine learning. Based on the consumer data collected using location-based intelligence, predictive modelling can be performed and worked upon to enhance the accuracy. These can be anomaly detection, enhancement prediction, root cause analysis etc.

Conclusion
For supply chain innovation post COVID, location-based intelligence can be of huge
impact which will help businesses enhance themselves and to be a step ahead always.

Learn more about this at the Manufacturing IT Summit
Event organized by Exito Media Concepts

Digital Twin to the rescue, for complex IoT systems. .The idea of digital twin technology in IoT has been in talk for more than decades now,but many companies are yet to adopt the same. As per Gartner 2019 research, 13% of companies with IoT projects are already using digital twin, while 62% of the other companies are in the process of bringing in the use of digital twin for their IoT projects. Around 1970, NASA was amongst the early adopters of digital twin.

Twin-win for Manufacturing Industry. .
Digital twin technology for IoT is one of the fastest-growing among the top manufacturing technology trends of 2021. Most of the twin applications are spread across manufacturing,
which includes –

●Product Development – With the help of digital twin, engineers can test various aspects of a product before actually launching it. Engineers then plan the feasible strategy as per the output it generates.
●Product re-creation – In order to create a different product version, a digital twin can be used to provide similar product’s data to the production system for re-creation. This will significantly reduce the overall production time required.
●Predictive Maintenance – Companies can predict possible downtime of machines by deploying digital twins. This escalates the manual effort and handles failure much before it actually takes place.
●Aerospace – Engineers perform predictive analysis with the help of digital twin to detect any sort of future issues with respect to engines, airframes and other aero parts. This ensures life safety to a greater extent.
●Business performance Improvement – Digital twin can be employed to analyze and monitor defects in products and dynamically recommend engineers on the same. The list is way beyond the above mentioned and includes applications such as self- driving car design and development, process planning, system virtual setup etc. With a range of powerful applications and possibilities, it is doubly exciting to have a look at
some amazing use cases in production –
●Kaeser – Kaeser is among the top manufacturing U.S. organizations, who applied digital twins and transitioned itself from mere product sellers to selling a service. The applied Digital Twin Technology in IoT system constantly monitors and provides the company with component’s operational data during its process lifecycle. Outcome of
which was, the company saw significant business growth and reduced commodity costs by nearly 30%. The company also managed to welcome 50% of all major sellers using digital twins.
●Stara – Stara, a Brazil based tractor manufacturing industry utilized digital twin technology in IoT for modernizing farming ways. Industries can enhance its equipment performance, by fitting its tractors with IoT sensors. Also, using Stara’s methods, farmers reduced 21% of seed usage and 19% of fertilizer usage, leading to significant cost saving.
●Amazon – Amazon utilized digital twins in e-commerce by flashing consistent remarketing ads. As a result, the company is gaining huge traction and business growth.

●Addepto – Using digital twins, Addepto developed an operation control system to collect aerospace information. This way the industry improved decision-making and saved a great deal of money, time and reduced defects downstream.
“The rise of digital twins coincides with the rise of the IoT. When buying machines and other assets, support for digital twins and continuous development of twin capabilities should be a selection factor,” says Schulte, Distinguished Vice President Analyst, Gartner.

Learn more about this at the Manufacturing IT Summit
Event organized by Exito Media Concepts