The network effect: The secret weapon for smart manufacturing

The Cisco team will be attending Hannover Messe next week, and we’re excited to network with our customers and industry leaders!  We’ll be exchanging ideas, learning about their needs, and showing them how Cisco Industrial IoT’s high-performance, secure networking portfolio can help them reach the full potential of Industry 4.0.

I have the chance to meet with manufacturing customers every day. Lately, I have been hearing that they have built substantial operations over the years using what was available at the time, only to be left with disparate systems that are difficult to scale and secure. Now, they want to revamp them and lay a foundation for smart manufacturing and future growth. At the same time, they want to leverage data to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and grow profitability by embracing new innovations such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, software virtualization, autonomous guided vehicles, and more. However, that comes with some enormous challenges:

1. Factory networks often lack the robustness, performance, and automation required to modernize. Manufacturers want to add new machines, build new production lines, support broader use of cloud resources, and leverage AI technologies and virtualization to align with the Fourth Industrial Revolution, but they need help.
2. While in the past, manufacturers could mitigate risk using a patchwork of single function “point products” from a variety of vendors, their security architecture has become so complex to manage and scale that it is now one of the primary obstacles for continued growth and innovation throughout the Industrial IoT space.
3. Unreliable wireless connectivity on the factory floor limits the ability to increase automation using autonomous vehicles, robots, and mobile tooling.

Figure 1: Pillars of smart manufacturing

We offer high-performance, resilient networks that support smart manufacturing initiatives. Our ruggedized industrial networking portfolio is made for OT environments and use cases.  It employs the same proven enterprise-grade architecture and security that IT teams are already familiar with, and helps build a consistent end-to-end architecture, leveraging existing IT knowledge and investments. To that end, we are leveraging our data center expertise to bring virtualization to the plant floor.

“To increase security, decrease support requirements, and improve flexibility, Audi is developing its Edge Cloud for Production (EC4P) platform with the help of Cisco. EC4P virtualizes production assets and relies on software-defined networking that provides a scalable, resilient, secure, and deterministic network.” – Dr. Henning Löser, Head of Production Labs, Audi

Our solutions provide secured operations through a unified security and networking architecture. We help customers eliminate the cost and complexity of managing point security products by embedding advanced OT security as a software feature throughout our industrial networking portfolio. The same network that connects industrial assets can provide OT visibility, threat detection, zero-trust zone segmentation, and secure remote access, eliminating the need for dedicated hardware for each function.

“Gaining visibility into industrial assets is key to securing operations. The combination of Cisco Cyber Vision and Cisco industrial networking makes it simple to gain visibility at scale. It’s the foundation for a robust OT network and a comprehensive approach to IoT security.” – Dino Busalachi, CTO and co-founder, Velta Technology

Manufacturers can rely on us for uninterrupted wireless for critical applications and greater flexibility. Our wireless technologies provide reliable connectivity for mobile assets (AGVs, AMRs, tooling) and other critical applications, even in the presence of obstacles and RF interference. Our technology can also help factories reduce costs and installation time, because it eliminates the need for cable installation. Finally, Cisco industrial wireless technology makes it easier for manufacturers to reconfigure production lines and adapt to changes in process or demands of the quickly.

As manufacturers continue to leverage data to embrace AI/ML-driven industrial operations, secure their operations, and become more connected, we are proud to offer the high-performance industrial networking they need to enable reliable and secure connectivity between OT, IT, and analytical applications.

Be our guest at Hannover Messe

Are you planning to attend Hannover Messe? You can find us at Stand F18, Hall 15, where we’ll have several demo stations showing manufacturers how they can boost innovation and efficiency with a resilient, scalable, and flexible industrial network that only Cisco can offer! Our in-booth theater will feature short presentations running throughout the day on key topics of interest, such as cybersecurity, wireless technologies, sustainability, networking, and cloud analytical applications in manufacturing operations.

Come and see a fully operational automatic coffee packaging machine for a live demonstration of the power of a unified security and networking architecture. We would love to host you as our guest for a deeper discussion.

To learn more about our IoT solutions portfolio, read my interview with IIoT World or visit the Cisco Industrial IoT Networking website.

Share: