Nothing has been brisker in my profession than listening to clients. Hearing them describe their present challenges, envision new aggressive benefits, and measure their ROI are however just a few examples. These insights are invaluable not solely to strategic companions and market leaders like Cisco but in addition to business friends who’re studying concerning the highest worth use instances rising from the fast modernization of commercial networks.
Needless to say, listening to from 1,000+ business professionals without delay is a uncommon alternative, and that’s the reason I’m excited to share our 2024 State of Industrial Networking Report with you.
The industrial panorama is present process huge transformations because the record of use instances, enterprise outcomes, and aggressive benefits pushed by operational community investments continues to develop. As a consequence, operational know-how (OT) networks are converging with their enterprise IT counterparts, creating a fancy and dynamic surroundings. To perceive the challenges and alternatives that lie forward, Cisco, in affiliation with Sapio Research, performed a complete survey gathering insights from over 1,000 business professionals throughout 17 international locations and in 20 sectors, together with manufacturing, utilities and transportation.
The 2024 State of Industrial Networking Report sheds gentle on the evolving industrial networking panorama, revealing key developments that can form the long run. Let’s take a look at a number of the report’s most vital findings:
OT Security Takes Center 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 methods 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 vital. 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 vital position of improved collaboration between these two groups. Operational effectivity and agility hinge on significantly better integration between these two historically unbiased departments. The advantages embody simplified operations, enhancements in cybersecurity protection and remediation, and quicker, better-informed choices. The suggestions from the survey was clear. A single vendor resolution designed and built-in for each forms of networks is a significant catalyst for driving IT/OT collaboration.
Preparing for AI in Industrial Networking
48% of the respondents cited Artificial intelligence (AI) because the rising know-how that can have essentially the most vital influence on industrial networking over the following 5 years. AI is poised to play a transformative position in industrial networking, with the power to automate duties, enhance community efficiency, and predict potential points earlier than they disrupt operations. Participants additional acknowledged that AI in industrial networking can be a spending precedence in the identical time interval, which additional signifies the urgency to organize operational networks for the best worth AI use instances.
Beyond the Headlines: What Does it Mean for You?
The findings of the report paint a transparent image of the evolving industrial panorama. Here are some key takeaways for organizations as they plan the transformation of their industrial operations:
- Invest at a aggressive stage: 63% of respondents have ramped up spending on industrial infrastructure over the previous 12 months. It’s vital that organizations spend money on their operational community as a aggressive differentiator.
- Establish sturdy cybersecurity practices: the necessity for strong cybersecurity to guard vital infrastructure has by no means been higher. Addressing the rising international risk panorama requires embedding OT safety into the community cloth and powerful distant entry capabilities. For the very newest on OT safety, please see “The Forrester Wave™: Operational Technology Security Solutions, Q2 2024”.
- Improve IT/OT Collaboration: Increased communication and collaboration between IT and OT is crucial for max operational effectivity, improved cybersecurity, simplified operations and decreased prices. It additionally enhances automation and helps handle rising expert labor shortages.
- Prepare for AI: AI is coming to automate duties, enhance operational efficiencies, and generate predictive insights. Ensuring your operational community is AI-ready is a excessive precedence for many organizations immediately.
- Find a companion who is aware of each IT and OT: Industrial organizations want a companion to deal with the broad vary of challenges being confronted in each IT and OT immediately. Further, strategic companions ought to present deep business insights and community blueprints to make sure a method that delivers operational simplicity, safety and scale.
Building a Secure and Efficient 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 methods. Cisco is the market chief in each enterprise and industrial networking, and we look ahead to working with you that can assist you navigate immediately’s advanced operational panorama.
Download 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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