As industries continue to adapt in the aftermath of the pandemic, ongoing international trade and geopolitical developments are imposing significant additional pressures on the industrial sector. According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), 82% of chief economists perceive global uncertainty as highly elevated, with 97% identifying trade policy as a primary concern.
Consequently, increasingly complex supply chains, rising material costs, and shortages of skilled professionals present further challenges. Combined with persistent demand for improved financial performance and enhanced sustainability, these issues necessitate that industrial organizations transform their operations to achieve unprecedented levels of agility and efficiency.
The good news is that digitalization presents a viable solution, empowering companies to leverage advanced technologies to optimize supply chains, replicate or relocate production processes, and respond swiftly to shifting market dynamics, thereby sustaining competitiveness amid considerable uncertainty.
The open, flexible software-defined approach: Preserving legacy investments while leaping into the future
The adoption of IIoT technologies enables the intuitive, seamless, and automatic flow of valuable data across entire operations. When combined with technologies like advanced analytics and artificial intelligence (AI), personnel can access real-time insights from anywhere, supporting well-informed, agile decision-making, critical in today’s fast-paced, ever-changing markets.
Our open software-defined automation approach with EcoStruxure Automation Expert makes it easier to transition to this agile, digital way of operating.
EcoStruxure Automation Expert puts your business needs first. It offers the flexibility to pursue digital transformation for improved performance and functionality goals without being restricted to a particular manufacturer’s automation hardware or architecture. By decoupling control logic from hardware, EcoStruxure Automation Expert allows organizations to leverage their existing investments in equipment and engineering, while giving them the freedom to choose new hardware and systems to meet their current and future needs, regardless of brand. It also offers the ability to seamlessly integrate the latest connected technologies across their operations, so they can make the most of their operational data to unlock unprecedented levels of optimization.
EcoStruxure Automation Expert’s real-world business value
An open, software-defined automation approach can rapidly accelerate agility and time-to-market and reduce engineering time. According to research completed by Frost and Sullivan, Business Value through a Software-defined Automation approach using EcoStruxure Automation Expert, this has been proven in real-world applications where it tackles many modern-day industrial challenges:
Faster commissioning and reduced costs: In a large-scale manufacturing facility, commissioning automation systems typically took up to 6 months. However, with EcoStruxure Automation Expert, the use of pre-qualified automation assets and digital twins meant that the same facility achieved 30% to 60% savings in commissioning time and cost. Engineers could simulate and validate systems virtually before hardware even arrived on site.
Rapid reconfiguration and operational agility: Modifying production equipment in traditional systems can take days, especially when dealing with diverse, proprietary hardware. With EcoStruxure Automation Expert, one plant was able to modify production performance in minutes, thanks to its event-driven architecture and hardware independence. This agility enabled the plant to respond to market changes and customer demands in near real-time.
Scalable expansion with minimal downtime: Adding a new production line often requires weeks of programming and integration. But with EcoStruxure Automation Expert, a facility using application-centric design could copy and paste a new line into their automation system in just a few hours by leveraging reusable control logic and visual, drag-and-drop configuration.
Adopt new technologies with a future-ready solution: Obsolete hardware often forces costly re-engineering. With EcoStruxure Automation Expert, a global food and beverage company was able to redeploy control applications onto newer automation systems without rewriting code. This preserved their intellectual property and extended the life of their automation investments.
In short, EcoStruxure Automation Expert simplifies integration, accelerates deployment, and reduces total cost of ownership – and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. This software-defined approach to industrial automation isn’t just a technical breakthrough—it’s a strategic enabler for future-ready smart operations that are equipped to tackle the challenges of today and tomorrow’s industrial markets head-on.
Software-defined agility and efficiency to stay ahead in uncertain times
Making the move to an open, software-defined approach is one of the fastest ways to improve agility, efficiency, and competitiveness in today’s challenging industrial landscape. In fact, this evolution has shifted from an initiative adopted by innovative, forward-thinking companies to what can now be considered an imperative for industrial companies seeking a strong foundation for the digital future.
Companies embracing smarter systems are building businesses that are better equipped for the future, whilst strengthening their ability to quickly pivot to meet moving market demands. The everyday challenges of the industrial sector are inevitably set to continue in these times of global uncertainty, and it seems that those who delay digital transformation now run a very real risk of being left behind. It’s our hope that open, flexible software-defined automation solutions like EcoStruxure Automation Expert allow more industrial businesses to revolutionize their operations, and not just survive but thrive in these uncertain times.
Explore how an open software-defined strategy can unlock new value for your business:
- Read more about the Software-Defined Automation approach in our Frost & Sullivan whitepaper
- Learn more about EcoStruxure Automation Expert
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