Advancing Industry 4.0 Through Steady Digital Foundations

Industry 4.0 is a critical phase for manufacturing today. Since its inception in 2011 [4], the use of smart and interconnected tools and solutions has greatly benefitted global manufacturing, allowing it to streamline operational processes, pursue continuous improvement, and overcome supply chain issues. This trend of increasing digitalization is only set to grow thanks to the efficiency and convenience these new technologies provide.

While it is widely understood that Industry 4.0 is necessary and can help enterprises take their operations to the next level, not many organizations can successfully digitally transform due to a range of technological, operational, and human resource factors. These include the lack of necessary digital infrastructure, inadequate digitalization knowledge, a gap in skills and talent to implement such a change, cybersecurity concerns, and more. Addressing these issues should therefore be high on the priority list for manufacturing leaders as these new network and operational synergies are critical for constant progress – whether they approach change from within or source for external solutions from a managed services partner.

To find out more about the current state of Industry 4.0 and understand what manufacturers are doing to accelerate their digital transformation, we spoke with business leaders and digitalization experts on the ideal methods for advancing the sector and achieving more sustainable manufacturing practices in the long run. We also explore the need for the right network infrastructure, and talent to maintain these systems, to ensure the data-intensive processes of Industry 4.0 can run smoothly and securely.