The Industrial Network Infrastructure: Your Future Business Foundation, Digitization as a Business Asset with Panduit
April 25, 2023
Mike Berg
Digital Connectivity is the Foundation for Digital Transformation in Manufacturing
The industrial network infrastructure is a valuable business asset. Investments in legacy industrial networks require a clear migration path to optimize return on assets while taking advantage of performance enhancements from new technologies. A robust, well-executed physical layer is foundational to this asset continuing to deliver value. The acceleration of digitization on plant floors is evident all around us. According to Gartner Research, 80% of CEOs in the manufacturing industry are growing digital technology investments to counter economic pressures.
If your role involves OT operations technology or supports IT for manufacturing, you likely have experienced frustration translating company “digital” needs into secure and actionable solutions. Now is an exciting time for edge devices to support controls and industrial-over-standard Ethernet. New equipment, such as autonomous robots (AMRs), collaborates with people on the plant floor, and more IoT devices provide supplemental data. The connected system operates and shares information back into the Enterprise. Thus, productivity and business agility are enhancing sustainability across the organization.
Digital connectivity is the foundation for technology to be implemented seamlessly, securely, and reliably across any plant environment. Ethernet-based systems play a decisive role. The latest survey from HMS indicates that 66% of new nodes connect via Ethernet. Industrial Ethernet continues to have a strong growth of 10% per year.
Leveraging Industrial Network Infrastructures
To help industry professionals optimize performance when adopting new technologies, Panduit offers a refreshed guide, The Industrial Network Infrastructure: Your Future Business Foundation. This guide references best practices and new technologies implemented over Ethernet in manufacturing and plant spaces.
Within this guide, you will find the latest on physical network infrastructure topics, including:
- Network planning
- Cable infrastructure
- Reference architectures
- Network building blocks
One will also find concise guidance on emerging technologies and connectivity solutions, such as:
- Single-pair Ethernet (SPE)
- Power over Ethernet (PoE) and power over data line
- Wireless sensor networks
- Time-sensitive networks
- Software-defined networks
This guide will form an excellent basis for understanding industrial physical networks and digital connectivity and their role as the foundation of your overall digital transformation strategy.
