Nothing has been brisker in my profession than listening to clients. Listening to them describe their present challenges, envision new aggressive benefits, and measure their ROI are however a number of examples. These insights are invaluable not solely to strategic companions and market leaders like Cisco but in addition to trade friends who’re studying concerning the highest worth use instances rising from the fast modernization of commercial networks.
Evidently, listening to from 1,000+ trade professionals directly is a uncommon alternative, and that’s the reason I’m excited to share our 2024 State of Industrial Networking Report with you.
The economic panorama is present process large transformations because the listing of use instances, enterprise outcomes, and aggressive benefits pushed by operational community investments continues to develop. In consequence, operational expertise (OT) networks are converging with their enterprise IT counterparts, creating a posh and dynamic setting. To grasp the challenges and alternatives that lie forward, Cisco, in affiliation with Sapio Analysis, performed a complete survey gathering insights from over 1,000 trade professionals throughout 17 nations and in 20 sectors, together with manufacturing, utilities and transportation.
The 2024 State of Industrial Networking Report sheds mild on the evolving industrial networking panorama, revealing key traits that can form the longer term. Let’s have a look at a number of the report’s most vital findings:
OT Safety Takes Middle Stage
The report highlights a rising concern for OT cybersecurity throughout all industries. Industrial networks, historically air-gapped from the skin world, at the moment are more and more related, making them weak to cyberattacks. A backlog of legacy techniques and property, an increasing assault floor, and an overstretched workforce are exacerbating the issue. A good portion of respondents (89%) cited cybersecurity compliance as very or extraordinarily necessary. This displays the worldwide want for strong safety options particularly designed for the distinctive wants of commercial environments.
Collaboration is Key: Bridging the IT/OT Divide
With 41% of companies’ reporting IT and OT groups working independently, the report underscores the essential function of improved collaboration between these two groups. Operational effectivity and agility hinge on significantly better integration between these two historically unbiased departments. The advantages embrace simplified operations, enhancements in cybersecurity protection and remediation, and sooner, better-informed choices. The suggestions from the survey was clear. A single vendor resolution designed and built-in for each kinds of networks is a significant catalyst for driving IT/OT collaboration.
Getting ready for AI in Industrial Networking
48% of the respondents cited Synthetic intelligence (AI) because the rising expertise that can have essentially the most vital affect on industrial networking over the subsequent 5 years. AI is poised to play a transformative function in industrial networking, with the flexibility to automate duties, enhance community efficiency, and predict potential points earlier than they disrupt operations. Members additional said that AI in industrial networking could be a spending precedence in the identical time interval, which additional signifies the urgency to arrange operational networks for the best worth AI use instances.
Past the Headlines: What Does it Imply for You?
The findings of the report paint a transparent image of the evolving industrial panorama. Listed here are some key takeaways for organizations as they plan the transformation of their industrial operations:
- Make investments at a aggressive stage: 63% of respondents have ramped up spending on industrial infrastructure over the previous yr. It’s essential that organizations spend money on their operational community as a aggressive differentiator.
- Set up robust cybersecurity practices: the necessity for strong cybersecurity to guard essential infrastructure has by no means been better. Addressing the rising world menace panorama requires embedding OT safety into the community material and robust distant entry capabilities. For the very newest on OT safety, please see “The Forrester Wave™: Operational Know-how Safety Options, Q2 2024”.
- Enhance IT/OT Collaboration: Elevated communication and collaboration between IT and OT is crucial for optimum operational effectivity, improved cybersecurity, simplified operations and lowered prices. It additionally enhances automation and helps handle rising expert labor shortages.
- Put together for AI: AI is coming to automate duties, enhance operational efficiencies, and generate predictive insights. Making certain your operational community is AI-ready is a excessive precedence for many organizations immediately.
- Discover a accomplice who is aware of each IT and OT: Industrial organizations want a accomplice to handle the broad vary of challenges being confronted in each IT and OT immediately. Additional, strategic companions ought to present deep trade insights and community blueprints to make sure a method that delivers operational simplicity, safety and scale.
Constructing a Safe and Environment friendly Industrial Future
As organizations globally look to construct a safe, environment friendly, and future-proof industrial networking basis, we’re hoping this report provides you context and perception out of your friends to assist your planning and techniques. Cisco is the market chief in each enterprise and industrial networking, and we stay up for working with you that will help you navigate immediately’s complicated operational panorama.
Obtain the Full Report:
For a deeper dive into the findings of Cisco’s 2024 State of Industrial Networking Report, obtain the full report right here.
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