Smart manufacturing promises to transform how products are made to improve quality, lower costs, and increase efficiency. But, often the promise of smart manufacturing is disrupted or delayed by challenges in accessing, standardizing, and contextualizing industrial data from OT environments.

Hear how CESMII is advancing smart manufacturing– blending human-centered best practices with digital tools and innovative technologies – by addressing OT data complexity. By combining seamless, secure enterprise industrial connectivity solutions and OT data standards and contextualization capabilities, manufacturers can unlock frictionless movement of information – raw and contextualized data – between real-time operations and the people and systems that create value in and across manufacturing organizations.

Key questions addressed:

· What are OT data standards? Who should be setting the standard?

· Why are OT data standards important for smart manufacturing?

· How do OT data standards improve interoperability, scalability, security?

· What are the challenges with implementing OT data standards and advice for those starting their journey?

· How does enterprise industrial connectivity support a standards-based OT data strategy?

In a recent survey from Deloitte and the Manufacturer’s Alliance for Productivity and Innovation (MAPI), 86% of surveyed manufacturing executives believe that smart factory solutions will be the primary drivers of competitiveness in the next five years. Manufacturing CIOs are strategically harnessing cutting-edge technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and Data Analytics to foster growth. The modernization of OT (Operational Technology) infrastructure, which holds the potential to enhance the overall competitiveness of manufacturing, is required to move the industry into the digital era. But unlocking maximum value requires a methodical approach, transitioning from siloed initiatives to systematic transformation. Software-defined manufacturing (SDM) emerges as a systematic strategy, meticulously optimizing and modernizing all facets of manufacturing, spanning hardware, connectivity, storage, security, and underlying software, incorporating embedded intelligence across both IT and OT environments.

Key questions addressed:

· What is software defined manufacturing (SDM)?

· What is the business value of SDM and modernization of OT infrastructure?

· Does SDM address increasing cybersecurity threats and vulnerabilities?

· How does enterprise industrial connectivity support SDM initiatives?

Never before has OT data been more valuable to industrial organizations. Investments in automation, digitization, digital thread, and AI are accelerating – but many overlook one critical question: how will we get the data? In this first episode of Edge of Industry, Steve Sponseller speaks with Abby Eon, SVP and GM of PTC’s Kepware business, on how industrial connectivity creates the data foundation for smart manufacturing initiatives and how recent innovations in Kepware are helping customers improve security, scalability, and standardization.