Networks spark digital transformation in manufacturing industry

In the digital age, networks need to be agile: to support the business into the future, by reconfiguring and scaling as traffic volumes shift to new markets, products, etc

Digital technologies are transforming every stage of the manufacturing lifecycle, from analytics and cloud platforms that enable virtual product design, to intelligent supply chains powered by the internet of things (IoT). Of course, many sectors in manufacturing are also being buffeted by economic volatility, fluctuating consumer demand, sustainability pressures, globalised sourcing and an influx of new competitors. In this climate, digital can seem like one more unwelcome disruption to deal with.
 
But for those that see change as an opportunity, digital is becoming the heart of their business strategies, supporting new product categories and even entirely new business models. According to report, ‘Digital transformation powers your business: Manufacturing & automotive’, 31 percent of manufacturing organisations have already ‘fully implemented’ digital strategies, compared to 25 percent across all sectors; a further 39 percent are ‘currently executing’.
 
In fact, many manufacturers are already leading lights in digital. Look at consumer goods companies that are heavy users of analytics in sales and marketing; automotive companies with their laser-focused supply chains and digital-powered connected cars; or industrial firms that have already invested heavily in factory automation. But there’s plenty of work still to do. Only 4 percent of manufacturing organisations say the maturity of their digital strategy is ‘excellent’, compared to 9 percent across all sectors; 48 percent say it is ‘fair’, ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’.
 
Take IoT applications like connected cars, and other connected products. Without reliable, secure and pervasive connectivity, the user experience would be compromised. Or take the cloud platforms that are hosting ERP systems, rapid prototyping simulations and virtual training environments. Without fast network links between them and your global sites, the business processes you have worked so hard to optimise would grind to a halt. In short, today you are in the business of moving information just as much as physical goods.
 
Most manufacturers recognise that, while networks are critical to digital, their existing infrastructure is not up to the challenge. About 56 percent say that their legacy network infrastructure is a bottleneck, and that number is only as low as it is because 65 percent say they have already expanded their network capacity to support digital.
 
Manufacturers are facing a digital tsunami. They are generating huge amounts of data that has to be processed and shared over high-bandwidth networks. But simply adding more bandwidth is not enough.
 

Verizon’s Helen Wong

In the digital age, networks need to be agile: to support the business into the future, by reconfiguring and scaling as traffic volumes shift to new markets, to support new products, to enable distributed manufacturing through 3D printing, or as ‘next-shoring’ moves production and supplier partners from region to region, month by month.
 
Similarly, networks need to react automatically to threats and failures to maintain service levels and prioritise quality of service for critical applications; to operate themselves intelligently and programmatically to lift the burden of manual reconfiguration from overstretched IT teams. Sounds like a tall order? There are technologies emerging to deliver these next-generation capabilities, under the banners of software-defined networks (SDN) and network function virtualization (NFV), and manufacturing and automotive organisations are investigating them: 71 percent say that SDN offers ‘significant’ benefits.
 
Digital transformation is a long-term journey, but the time to start your network preparations is now. Although some of these changes will take time, there are things you can do today that will have an immediate effect.
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Helen Wong is the director, network product technology & strategy, Asia Pacific at Verizon