Change is not easy, understandably. Industrial manufacturers have been trying to implement cloud technology into their operational processes, but are weary of dedicating all of their operational data to the cloud. While this caution is warranted, today there seems to be more cost to not taking advantage of cloud technology and its benefits.  

With hybrid cloud, manufacturers can leverage the best of both worlds; on-prem and in the cloud infrastructures. These solutions have major benefits to plant-floor operations and the business as a whole. From greater operational efficiency, to quicker deployment and agility, to reducing costs; manufacturers can future proof their business and boost production output. Let’s look at four key benefits of using a hybrid cloud infrastructure.  

Greater Operational Efficiency and Simplicity

Technologies such as hybrid cloud allow for your operation to be more tightly integrated through convergence of OT and IT. Through systematic integration of OT and IT operations, the ability to increase efficiency is also increased. Manufacturers' plant floors benefit from improved scalability, security, a reduction in critical errors, and reduced complexity. In contrast, traditional operational strategies have their limits and are costly to maintain properly. This is where a hybrid cloud solution comes in to expand operational capabilities.

Quick Deployment & Agility

Hybrid cloud solutions like FactoryStack & PharmaStack allow manufacturers to efficiently leverage DevOps for rapid release and deployment. Hybrid cloud can be adopted quickly because you can leverage your existing on-site hardware instead of waiting for lead times for new servers or fighting supply chain delays. This operational speed allows manufacturers to adapt to a constantly evolving industry and stay agile enough to pivot quickly with confidence and security.

According to Bernard Cubizolles, Global Product Marketing Manager at GE Digital “At one site, operators had an 85% boost in productivity of the on-prem MES once it no longer had to deal with vast amounts of locally stored data. The entire factory just ran faster. Upgrades with hybrid on-premise/cloud-based solutions can also be carried out much quicker than standard on-prem MES – requiring much less downtime and faster ROI every time new features or functionalities become available.”

Flexible & Scalable

The ability to scale your plant floor systems seamlessly using a cloud or hybrid cloud infrastructure is invaluable and allows you to deploy systems worry free. As your workload or operation grows, the cloud allows you to scale up or down quickly and easily. This further assists with keeping costs down in that you only pay for what you need, when you need it.  

Reduced Costs

Storing all your operational data on on-site servers can greatly increase costs. It’s much more cost efficient for manufacturers to store their OT data in the cloud which reduces the cost of on-prem storage and maintenance. By reducing the need for bulky servers, additional power requirements, and staff to manage the infrastructure, manufacturers can quickly improve their profits and gain a positive ROI.

4IR Solutions

Manufacturing cloud infrastructure, simplified.

Fully managed hybrid cloud infrastructure that enables manufacturers to simplify their operational technology, increase efficiency and scalability, and reduce needed resources and costs.

For more information on hybrid cloud and digital transformation - please contact our experts here: 4IR Contact.

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