When your network is “out of the office”: the rewards of industrial connectivity – Cisco Blogs

Question: What do all of these have in common? A) Warehouses and distribution centers. B) Parking garages. C) Outdoor malls. D) Ports and airports.

Answer: They’re outside traditional office walls—and real-world showcases for the value of industrial networking. Think IP cameras, badge readers, conveyors, sorters, and other IoT sensors. Popular payoffs for industrial networking include improving safety and security, increasing efficiency with automation, and creating great customer and employee experiences.

Think about a business that sells vehicles on consignment. Rather than making buyers and sellers trudge across the parking lot to the office on a hot or rainy day, the company can set up industrial Wi-Fi access points to provide wireless connectivity in the parking lot. Now staff can use mobile devices to make appraisals and complete sales right from the lot.

Picture an outdoor mall operator looking to deliver a great experience for shoppers and reduce energy consumption. With industrial wireless, the mall operator can offer guest Wi-Fi, monitor IP camera feeds to increase safety, and use energy more efficiently with power-over-Ethernet lighting.

How about a large e-commerce distribution center that automates inventory and asset tracking by using sorters and conveyors to read package IDs? Or a port that remotely controls cranes and automatically alerts shippers when sensors detect changes in land and water traffic?

What it takes: secure, scalable, and rugged connectivity

Every one of those scenarios is happening today. It’s easy to extend the Cisco “indoor network” you already know and trust to connect assets in outdoor or industrial areas. Cisco Industrial Networking provides:

• Security. Connecting thousands of assets increases the threat surface. Our industrial products help keep out malware with visibility and automated enforcement of access policies.
• Scalability. The same size staff can manage exponentially more devices with the same tools they use for enterprise networks, such as Cisco DNA Center.
• Ruggedness. Cisco industrial network devices are engineered to withstand extreme temperatures, shock and vibration, and water and dust.

Change? Bring it on.

As the last year has shown, events ranging from a public health crisis to a beached cargo ship can upend the business. Agility is crucial. With our Industrial Ethernet products, adding new devices in new locations doesn’t require new management tools or processes. Whether you’re connecting an access point or sensor in a corner office, a chilly warehouse, or the basement of a parking structure, provisioning and management are the same. So you can shorten deployment cycles and move with more confidence and agility as conditions change and opportunities arise.

I invite you to try it out! Take advantage of our limited-time promotions.

Check out our video and demos on Industrial Connectivity, here.

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