Nokia recently released the results of a new survey, conducted in partnership with ABI Research, an independent research firm, in which the researchers talked to more than 600 manufacturing decision-makers to assess investment strategies related to 4G/LTE, 5G and Industry 4.0.
The survey reportedly found that 74 percent of respondents are looking to upgrade communications and control networks by the end of 2022 with more than 90 percent investigating the use of either 4G and/or 5G in their operations. Just over half of respondents (52 percent) believe that the latest generation of 4G/LTE and 5G will be necessary to meet their transformational goals.
The research reportedly also identified key business use cases that would drive investment in 4G or 5G. Respondents reflected the need to digitalize and improve existing infrastructure (63 percent), automation with robotics (51 percent) and achieve new levels of employee productivity (42 percent).
“We have reached an inflection point in Industry 4.0 transformation as the fast, secure, low latency connectivity underpinning its implementation now becomes available,” said Manish Gulyani, VP, Marketing, Nokia Enterprise. “This research indicates the strong marketplace appetite for industrial-grade wireless networking to capture the transformational benefits of digitalization and automation. We believe that demand, combined with easy-to-deploy private wireless solutions, will drive adoption.”
The research examined near-term drivers influencing buying decisions for new industrial systems across IT and OT. According to the report, IT drivers primarily focus on reducing downtime (53 percent), improving operations efficiency (42 percent), and enhancing security (36 percent). In comparison, OT drivers reflect a desire to replace aging infrastructure (43 percent), improve efficiency (40 percent) and increase capacity (38 percent).
“Importantly, research findings indicate a preference for deploying private fully-owned and operated? wireless networks, with manufacturers favoring in-house management to allay security concerns?,” said Ryan Martin, Principal Analyst, ABI Research. “It’s evident that respondents are not entirely committed to Wi-Fi/WLAN and will consider latest generations of wireless technologies. As a result, 2020 is a critical year for networking suppliers to educate the market regarding the merits of 4G/LTE and 5G. Based on this research we also observe a pan-industry need to quantify not only the potential ROI of investing in private wireless, but also to clearly indicate the cost of inaction – vendors need to make the case for investing in Industry 4.0 today to gain a clear competitive advantage over those who choose to wait.”
Ken Briodagh is a storyteller, writer and editor with about two decades of experience under his belt. He is in love with technology and if he had his druthers would beta test everything from shoe phones to flying cars.Edited by
Ken Briodagh
