Visionary manufacturers are rethinking enterprise architecture
By Alex Allison and Josh Ray – Digitalization has caused a groundswell of ongoing change. Emerging technologies push one another forward, helping businesses create new business models and new value-adding opportunities. Leading business thinkers know that the digitalization of internal processes is one of the greatest areas of opportunity for businesses.
Nowhere is this more obvious than in manufacturing, as next-generation smart products and processes wirelessly integrate data and consolidate control at limitless scale. In most cases, traditional manufacturing technology is obsolete simply because most older machines, hardware and software were not designed for the massive amounts of data and Internet of Things (IoT) networking that are required for competitive operations these days.
In fact, PWC says that out of 2,000 manufacturers, 86 percent expect to see cost reductions and revenue gains from digitalization over the next five years.
Conversely, manufacturers that don’t embrace digitalization fast enough risk being left behind. In a survey of more than 500 C-suite executives across Europe and the U.S., two-thirds said they believe that 40 percent of Fortune 500 companies will no longer exist in 10 years due to digital disruption. Over half (53 percent) said they were concerned about competition from disruptive businesses.
Still, for many on the path to digitalization, there’s a bump in the road: Enterprise Systems Architecture (ESA).
ESAs have traditionally been siloed by function, location, file systems and other boundaries. Many manufacturers still rely on legacy infrastructure that can’t integrate with connected devices, applications or modern security protocols—all important building blocks of a digital enterprise. more>
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