ABI Research Releases Whitepaper on Digital Transformation for Manufacturers

Many industrial manufacturers find themselves at a technological crossroad as they can no longer employ traditional methods to boost productivity and efficiency. Manufacturers are increasingly turning to transformative technologies to support growth but are faced with numerous risks and complexities while attempting to do so. At the same time, competitive pressures from overseas markets is high, and capacity and utilization are near peak in some markets; this is spurring a non-traditional approach to output.

A naturally conservative approach to technology and a lack of familiarity with an increasingly complex landscape increase the risk that manufacturers will enter evolutionary dead-ends and fail to grasp the full return-on-investment (ROI) potential of technology transformation.

Adding to the complexity is that the solution supplier ecosystem that is fragmented. The traditional suppliers, such as Siemens, Rockwell, ABB, etc., favor radically different approaches to that of the IT-centric companies, such as Microsoft, Amazon and IBM. This is further confused by the communications-centric companies that are now actively targeting this space. As a result, every solution provider has a platform for digital factory and manufacturing — Artificial Intelligence (AI), Augmented Reality (AR), Internet of Things (IoT) or Industry 4.0 — and sometimes multiple platforms in a single solution.

To help industrial manufacturers navigate the increasingly complex technology landscape, ABI Research, a market-foresight advisory firm providing strategic guidance on the most compelling transformative technologies, has just released a groundbreaking whitepaper, “The Top Strategic Recommendations for Industrial Technology Visionaries: Making Digital Transformation a Success”.

This whitepaper offers strategic guidance on how to work with Chief Digital Officers and create new employment paradigms as well as explores UnTelco’s market activities. Readers will discover what CIOs need to know about convergence at the edge, how Smart Manufacturing is embracing AI intelligence applications, and identify which technology vendors will provide opportunities which will be inhibitors.