How Does Strategic Technology Planning Help Manufacturing Firms?

Strategic Technology Planning Helps Manufacturing Firms Evolve, Grow, and Thrive Within Industry 4.0

Advanced analytics, internet of things, modeling and simulation… Innovation is on the horizon, but how can manufacturing firms make sense of everything available to them?

The future of manufacturing is incredibly innovative – bringing together digital and physical worlds to create more efficient processes, smarter products, and more connected customers. It’s all about combining sophisticated hardware with innovative software, big data, and machine learning to help manufacturing firms evolve, grow, and thrive within industry 4.0. What is industry 4.0? It’s a concept widely talked about nowadays wherein firms use more connected devices to make informed decisions and create more value for customers. Ultimately, it’s the end of frustrating inefficiencies throughout the entire product life cycle.

So how can manufacturing firms start making sense of the latest technologies?

Manufacturing firms must work with strategic technology providers to help them make sense of the latest technologies. Why? Because as technology evolves, so does cybercrime. Research has shown that manufacturing firms are among the 5 most commonly attacked sectors worldwide. Nowadays, cybercriminals are targeting manufacturing firms for two main reasons, including:

1. The amount of intellectual property stored: Above and beyond banking and customer information, manufacturing firms hold a ton of intellectual property that can be stolen and sold to competitors who don’t want to perform their own research and development.
2. The number of entry points into the network: As manufacturing firms start leveraging more “smart” technologies, including advanced analytics, internet of things, and modeling and simulation technologies, they’re at an increased risk due to multiple points of entry into the network.

Unfortunately, manufacturing firms tend to lack proper security measures as they’re hesitant to implement anything that may disrupt manufacturing systems responsible for production lines.

What does strategic planning for manufacturing firms look like?

When you’re looking for an IT company that provides strategic planning for manufacturing firms, it’s important to ensure they’re familiar with the many technologies you leverage on a daily basis, such as:

• CAM/CAD systems
• 3D printing
• Barcoding systems
• ERP systems
• Fleet management
• And more

You also want to make sure they’re familiar with the concept of industry 4.0 as it’s the basis of “smart” manufacturing. Outsource IT Solutions Group has worked with many manufacturing firms – giving us the ability to:

1. Help you sort through any and all available grants and/or tax credits to embrace digitization.
2. Develop a strategy that eliminates any frustrating inefficiencies taking place throughout production.
3. Start implementing the databases and software programs necessary for real-time access to data analytics.
4. Ensure the right security solutions are in place to safeguard against attacks while avoiding disruption to the environment.

The end goal is to create a cohesive environment that is secure, efficient, and able to improve the entire product life cycle and supply chain – from design to sales to engineering and everything in between.

Ready to embrace industry 4.0 and set yourself apart from the competition? Let’s talk about how our strategic technology planning can help. Contact us today.