Industrial digitalization requires industrial networks

In the future Internet of Things (IoT), communications-capable machines will be by far the most common type of device. At the same time, the number of networked industrial robots in use every year will double. The volume of data will also enjoy substantial growth. This development highlights the fact that digitalization is possible only in combination with powerful data communications.

Powerful industrial communication networks smooth the path toward the Digital Enterprise by enabling a reliable and continuous exchange of information: in real time, along the entire value chain, and at all company levels.

Equipped for the Internet of Things

The trend toward digitalization is still far from peaking – that’s still a long way off. The result is huge pressure on industry: Companies have to prepare for the Internet of Things if they are to succeed in global competition for the long term. Something that’s often forgotten in this context, however, is that there can be no digital transformation without an appropriate communication network in place. 

For the digital factory, powerful and future-proof networks form the core of this data communication. They are what enable all assets involved in the value-added process to be seamlessly integrated. They permit a seamless exchange of data both horizontally and vertically. And they can grow along with the increasing volumes of data. As a consequence, they are an indispensable prerequisite for all companies that want to share the journey into the digital future.

Backbone of the Digital Enterprise

The vision of complete digitalization is based on nothing else than the fact that the real world is simulated in a virtual environment. To this end, data and information is continuously read from sensors, electronic devices, machines and systems and transmitted to intelligent systems which create a digital twin of the actual environment. 

The virtual model permits planning, engineering, simulation and optimization of the processes, before an actual implementation even begins. In this way, processes are implemented even faster, more smoothly and effectively, and productivity is significantly increased.

Continuous exchange of information in real time

Intelligent data analysis using digitalization is an effective way to improve competitiveness, whether the goal is predictive planning and optimization of manufacturing processes, improving resource and cost efficiency in the process industry, or implementing trail-blazing strategies for the energy supply system. For example, the virtual representation of reality, known as the “digital twin,” makes it possible to design, simulate, and optimize machines and plant, long before they are implemented in reality.