Cisco’s dedication to innovation normally retains us targeted on what’s forward for industrial networking. New digitization alternatives. New sustainability imperatives. New ways in which we might help organizations to attain strategic objectives.
Today, we’re doing one thing totally different. We’re wanting again and reflecting on how far industrial networking has come.
The starting
It was 20 years in the past—March 3, 2003—that we launched the Cisco Catalyst 2955 Series. It was our first Industrial Ethernet swap designed to be used outdoors conventional IT-managed areas. With connectivity on the manufacturing unit ground as our first goal, we introduced the 2955 Series throughout National Manufacturing Week. As the press launch urged, we had our eye on alternatives to deploy ruggedized switches in different industries, too—specifically, energy era and wastewater remedy environments.
In 2003, we have been well-known for our enterprise networking options—the sorts of merchandise that IT groups deploy in climate-controlled knowledge facilities and carpeted workplaces. As we began exhibiting up at industrial conferences, reactions might usually be summed up with this query: What’s Cisco doing right here?
What’s Cisco doing right here?
The reply: We arrived to help industrial organizations in adopting IP connectivity all through their operations, alongside manufacturing traces, inside electrical substations, deep inside mines. The previous 20 years have introduced an explosion within the quantity and number of functions that IT and operational expertise (OT) groups are supporting—usually in a few of the wettest, dustiest, non–climate-controlled locations on Earth.
From the start, we’ve labored arduous to earn and maintain our seat on the desk. Today we’re a market chief not simply in ruggedized switches however in turnkey industrial networking options. We are proud to say that our options play a key position in selling a round economic system for a extra sustainable future. You’ll discover our ruggedized gadgets in designs for wind turbine and photo voltaic farms, in addition to infrastructure for managing distributed vitality sources and charging electrical automobiles. Our gear helps mines that make lithium battery manufacturing doable in addition to on the battery manufacturing vegetation themselves. We’ve even elevated the sustainability of our personal merchandise—by anodizing slightly than portray, minimizing using dangerous chemical substances.
We’re equally excited that our options are serving to to help nationwide safety and advance area exploration. You’ll discover Cisco’s applied sciences embedded inside the most recent, most refined rockets, tanks, and drones, to call a number of belongings.
We’re happy with how properly our gear has carried out over the lengthy haul. With tools buzzing alongside for years inside salt mines, automotive vegetation, subway stations, and different harsh environments, Cisco Industrial Networking options proceed to face the take a look at of time.
We’re consistently working to advance the options and capabilities of our industrial options, and we keep true to our core strengths: glorious experience and constant merchandise.
We are bringing IT to the bodily world
Whether made to be used in conventional IT areas or rugged environments, our merchandise use distinctive Cisco strengths of their underlying networking applied sciences. The {hardware} is constructed utilizing the Cisco Secure Development Lifecycle, which follows a secure-by-design philosophy from product creation by way of finish of life.
Cisco IoT networking platforms use the identical working system, clever community administration system, and safety functions as people who help a few of the largest enterprise networks on the earth. IOS XE, Cisco DNA Center, Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE), Cisco Secure Network Analytics (Stealthwatch), and Cisco SecureX not solely present a uniform constant administration and safety technique between enterprise and operations community but in addition additional IT and OT collaboration.
Another essential functionality that our industrial switches share with their enterprise cousins is the open containerized platform—Cisco IOx—which offers compute sources for operating functions inside the switches, the place knowledge is being generated. Cisco Cyber Vision sensors that run in IOx carry out deep packet inspection (DPI) on community visitors to be able to determine linked belongings, visitors patterns, and potential safety vulnerabilities and assist to find out insurance policies for community segmentation.
To enhance distant entry to industrial tools that’s tough to succeed in or to scale back journey prices, our merchandise provide Secure Equipment Access (SEA), a normal service that may substitute the various proprietary and doubtlessly unsecure entry applied sciences in use at the moment. Cisco Edge Intelligence extracts, transforms, and shares knowledge from linked belongings on the IoT edge to multicloud environments and permits clever analytical functions to make the proper choices.
Back in 2003, we have been excited to be constructing a presence on manufacturing unit flooring. We have been creating sturdy partnerships and laying the groundwork for enlargement throughout vertical markets. In 2023, we’re proud to look again at what we’ve constructed—and to proceed taking part in an element as industrial organizations digitize operations and remodel the way in which the world works.
Now and into the longer term
As we glance to the longer term, we see clear traits in industrial operations—extra use of cloud-based functions, virtualization of management capabilities, and extra synthetic intelligence/machine studying (AI/ML)–powered analytics. Software-defined approaches will use software program to handle and optimize the whole manufacturing course of, together with product design, scheduling, provide chain administration, high quality management, and upkeep. “Digital twin” expertise will simulate a product from its design, manufacturing, and efficiency when deployed and optimizes the product and manufacturing system earlier than funding in bodily prototypes and constructing of meeting traces.
These makes use of are doable solely by way of high-performance networking, built-in safety, and machine-to-cloud connectivity. I’m proud to say that Cisco Industrial Ethernet switches and the remainder of our IoT portfolio is gearing as much as lead this cost.
Stay tuned as we proceed to evolve our portfolio and produce the longer term to you.
As you contemplate your priorities for industrial networking, take a more in-depth take a look at a few of our most up-to-date improvements at Cisco Industrial Ethernet Switches, and register for an interactive panel dialogue by which will talk about key traits of extremely succesful industrial switching.
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