The digital transformation in the industrial manufacturing space has been gaining traction for the last couple of years. The need for such transformation has been felt the most during the recent pandemic when the industrial manufacturing set-ups had to resort to a limited workforce, hybrid structures, and remote monitoring of assets and manufacturing spaces. The industrial organization that were at the forefront of digital adoption reaped returns in a short time frame and has paved the way for widespread adoption of digital technologies in their industry.

One of the common challenges that the adopters in industrial manufacturing set-up face are the integration of IT [Information Technology] and OT [Operational Technology]. To stitch the solution as a seamless process and data flow, the need for IT-OT integration is imminent. The prevalence of legacy systems in the OT layer and obsolescent transaction systems in the IT layer prevents most organizations from realizing the journey of digital transformation. The delay caused by this integration doesn’t only impact the achievement of timely improvement in efficiency, it also harms the perception and role of digital transformation in achieving stated organizational objectives. Due to the lack of clear and timely evidence of transformation outcomes, the executives often develop a sense of disbelief around transformation projects.

There are multiple strategies that the proponents in the industry are adopting to ensure that the transformation is not just effective but is also rapid in achieving its stated goals. One of the effective strategies adopted has been the creation of a ‘data lake’ in the cloud space, where both IT and OT process data are brought in for analytics to be applied. Most organizations would then identify, at the most, the first three use cases with maximum impact, wherein analytics on ‘data lake’ could yield substantial benefits. Some of the common areas are real-time asset management, productivity metrics, and quality of production. 

While this effective strategy has yielded significant results, most organizations face the challenge at the first step: developing solutions in the cloud, migration of existing solutions, integration, and managing the cloud infrastructure and security. To overcome this challenge, the simple way could be partnering with a suitable set of service providers who could help bridge the knowledge and experience gap. Successful digital transformation in the industrial manufacturing space is underway and is likely to have a significant impact on the growth of the industry, as it prepares for a circular, sustainable and personalized economy