Industrial Cloud Platforms as Catalysts for Business Growth
A cloud platform is a key component for industrial transformation and will play a leading role in IT strategies over the next two years.
In fact, according to estimates by the consulting firm International Data Corporation (IDC), by 2025, 85% of organizations worldwide will increase their efficiency and productivity by 35% through the use of cloud-based software and infrastructures.
Unlike other technologies, when an industry implements a cloud platform, it not only improves the agility, efficiency, and security of operational processes but also positively impacts business profitability in the medium and long term.
With the flexibility and scalability offered by cloud infrastructures, an industry can integrate and combine different types of technologies tailored to its requirements, technological advancements, and market conditions. This translates into a higher level of resilience, adaptability, and innovation without compromising capital or business operations.
Previously, industries acquired technologies separately to integrate them into existing systems and equipment. This task required time, hiring skilled personnel, and high expenses. With a cloud platform, the integration of software and applications for countless industrial functions is much faster, more economical, and personalized.
Other Advantages
Another important advantage of industrial cloud platforms is the possibility of facilitating vertical integration. This is the ability of industries to take full control of the operational and managerial process of plants without the need to hire third-party services and with a greater opportunity to add continuous value to each business area.
In other words, an industry with vertical integration is one that brings together several IT systems related to production and commercialization in an integrated solution, such as the industrial cloud platform. This operational unification is key to accessing smarter manufacturing, where there is complete visibility of operations and a data flow that guides strategic business decision-making.
This industrial approach, which involves greater control, optimization, and customization of industrial operational processes through the incorporation of technology related to cloud infrastructure, data analysis, machine learning, and artificial intelligence, is what defines Industry 4.0.
“Industry 4.0 implies the promise of a new revolution that combines advanced production and operation techniques with intelligent technologies that will be integrated into organizations, people, and assets.”
Components of an Industrial Cloud Platform
The design of an industrial cloud platform depends on the operational needs and commercial objectives of the industry itself. Therefore, when an industry decides to migrate to the cloud, it must consider the following two factors:
- What type of operational and commercial processes need to be optimized?
- What strategic plan will be implemented to achieve a successful migration?
Both questions are closely related to the type of solutions that can be incorporated into the cloud platform. These are generally classified into:
- Software (SAAS): Software and applications that facilitate the performance of specific industrial tasks and whose use is impossible in local environments due to cost and energy consumption.
- Platform (PAAS): Services to create applications at high speed.
- Infrastructure as a Service (IAAS): On-demand infrastructure resources such as computing, data storage, networking, and virtualization.
Benefits of an Industrial Cloud Platform
With a migration to an industrial cloud platform, industries can access the following benefits:
- Use of real-time data to dynamically improve and adjust production goals at all times.
- Management of interconnected devices closely related to manufacturing.
- Adding value to the production and commercialization process through its modular and composable approach.
- Quick and simple implementation of technical and business innovations due to its high flexibility and ability to integrate software, applications, and services.
- Secure information exchange to prevent incidents and operational interruptions.
- Scalability according to the needs, standards, and regulatory policies associated with a specific industry.
- Long-term cost reduction by not having to invest in local servers, physical space conditioning, additional energy consumption, and professional equipment for management and maintenance tasks.
Where to Start a Migration to an Industrial Cloud Platform?
Investing in industrial cloud platforms ensures that organizations can continuously innovate to face and adapt to future challenges.
Since many industries do not know how to create strategies to migrate to the cloud and what solutions are suitable for implementation in the new digital environment, they turn to experts who offer Trusted Advisor services like Ikusi.
Ikusi accompanies industrial leaders in the process of designing the industrial platform, its implementation, and the management of its services. It provides continuous recommendations and advice to optimize cloud deployments and address security deficiencies.
The Ikusi Cloud infrastructure service operates on demand and allows the integration of various specialized solutions in industrial cybersecurity, industrial connectivity, observability, business intelligence, data storage, among other services.
For more information, you can contact us here.