Factory of the future: powered by SD‑WAN connectivity

The manufacturing industry has one of the greatest opportunities to adopt new technologies that will help increase competitiveness, improve efficiencies and impact the bottom line. As manufacturers embark on their journey through digital acceleration one priority remains at the top – connectivity.

The smart factory needs consistent and reliable cloud access to various mission-critical applications and services that keep the production line optimized and performing 24/7. The remote nature of many manufacturing plants makes traditional MPLS services expensive and inefficient for cloud access.

SD-WAN offers reassurance and performance features to keep your smart factory running at all times.

Here are 3 Key SD-WAN Benefits for manufacturers to consider.

Non-stop Production

Manufacturers have tight customer deadlines and daily production quotas to meet. When your plants are operating 24/7 to keep up with demand, downtime is not an option. Every minute of downtime translates to significant financial losses for manufacturers and jeopardizes critical production commitments. Many manufacturers don’t have onsite IT support covering every shift, which can lead to extended network outages that last for hours.

One of the main features SD-WAN provides is automatic failover that ensures every shift has reliable and consistent online connectivity. If one link fails or gets congested, traffic is automatically redirected to a different link, thus reducing latency. According to a Q4 2018 report from Nemertes Research, early SD-WAN adopters are reporting a 69% drop in annual site downtime. All solutions are not created equal, so be sure to carefully compare SD-WAN failover features before you buy.

Cost Efficiency

Cost control is key to delivering value in manufacturing. SD-WAN connectivity delivers higher productivity for less cost (a lot less) than MPLS. As manufacturers look at their overall IT spend, in most cases network costs tend to be high. The costs of remote access from bandwidth providers and MPLS can add up quickly. SD-WAN can dramatically reduce overall network costs and provide better performance. And because SD-WAN is a managed service, you avoid hidden costs related to the complexity of setting up and maintaining your own network. SD-WAN can scale quickly to grow with you, and you don’t need to worry about maintaining network infrastructure or hardware.

Agility for Digital Transformation

Innovation means digitizing the means of production. From connected devices in the warehouse, robotics on the factory floor, and supply chain management software in the cloud, manufacturers must embrace new technologies in order to survive. The challenge is that legacy networks struggle to adapt, threatening your ability to stay competitive.

With SD-WAN, more connected tools and machinery can be introduced into your production line and easily connect to cloud infrastructure for big data processing. SD-WAN provides secure and reliable connections to every location throughout your supply chain, with greater flexibility to add new sites, increase bandwidth or introduce new cloud infrastructure to your network.

If your network is slowing you down, it’s time for an upgrade. Adaptiv SD-WAN empowers manufacturers with an agile networking solution designed to streamline operations and enhance production efficiency. Embrace digital transformation with Adaptiv SD-WAN and take productivity to the next level. 

Contact us today to discover how a faster, more cost-effective network can give you the competitive edge you need.