It is common to hear from any IT manager in any market that the cloud is the way to go regarding the digital environment and systems infrastructure, which is equally valid for the industrial sector.
However, surprisingly, 74% of respondents say they have not yet been able to obtain the expected financial and operational benefits. Half of the public said that the adoption was more complex than expected, and 40% said they went over budget for the project.
What, then, could be happening? Is the cloud just another case of technology overpromising? Fortunately, the answer is “no.” The cloud brings proven and well-known benefits, with results in several markets, so its growth is amply justified.
On the other hand, pure and straightforward technology adoption is no guarantee of success. As in almost all great technological and innovation leaps, it is essential to plan correctly, see the gaps and specific needs of the business, and adopt the right tools to overcome its challenges.
For that, this article will look at some of the most common difficulties, best practices, and tips that can ease the industry’s journey to the cloud and improve your chances of success in using this powerful technology.
Why Does The Industry Need To Consider Migrating To The Cloud?
Focused primarily on process consistency productivity, the industry is not always among the early adopters of digital technologies. Even so, the march of technological progress is inevitable, and, like virtually every other sector of the economy, digital transformation is also changing the face of this market. Here, he ushered in what is often called Industry 4.0
The significant change of the 4th Industrial Revolution is the vital input of data collection and analysis to streamline production, adding more intelligence to the process. Going beyond pure mechanical automation, the current moment of smart factories uses techniques such as IIoT, big data, and artificial intelligence to see possible failures and bottlenecks, perform preventive maintenance and maintain production at optimal levels.
In this context, cloud computing turns out to be particularly useful and practical, as it brings enormous computing power without requiring significant investments in infrastructure.
Another critical point of cloud computing is that providers keep up-to-date security and functionality in their environments, guaranteeing a product with good performance and maximum shielding.
Unlike local (or on-premises) models and data centers with virtualization, in which the maintenance and updating of equipment is the responsibility of the company, with more pressure on security and performance issues on the team, which is not necessarily an expert on this topic.
This does not mean, however, that there is no room for local computing applications for industry. The so-called edge computing (or edge computing) arises with the premise of performing data processing close to the collection location, aiming at reducing latency and less data transit.
For many experts, the industry’s future will follow the hybrid model, with part of the processing at the edge, for tasks that require maximum speed in response and interest done in the cloud, capitalized on this environment’s computational power and scalability.
The Challenges Of The Cloud Migration Journey
The adoption of cloud technologies has been facilitated by the growth of offers and the evolution of applications created for it. Likewise, the more significant number of players operating in this environment means that the manufacturing sector has the necessary means to enter the 4.0 industry.
However, this does not mean that it is a journey without challenges. As we have seen, despite having projects in full swing, the industry is still struggling to see the value and results of adoption.
To extract maximum value from this environment and adhere to digital transformation, it is interesting to look at three common challenges in migration in this segment:
Lack Of Qualified Labor
This is a delicate point because the growth of technology has effectively made more people qualified to work with these tools.
However, the industrial sector is not the preference of these professionals, who look more interested in digital, technology, and service companies, which already bring more maturity and baggage in the area, giving more space for the professional’s growth. Outsourcing the IT team, for example, can be a way to build the team quickly.
Security And Compliance
The cloud is highly secure until it reaches the client, co-responsible for the security of what runs in the cloud. Poorly done migrations, legacy security tools not designed for the cloud, and lack of budget and staff for cloud security are among the most common security issues.
Not coincidentally, in 2020, ransomware was one of the biggest problems for the industry – as well as for all sectors.
Still, in this aspect, with the LGPD in force and with only 36% of companies ready for it, an attack that leads to data leakage can be devastating in financial and reputational terms. Thus, it is essential to invest in advanced and intelligent digital security that works in layers and goes from prevention to incident remediation.
Lack Of Digital Maturity
A problem common to the industry, in general, is the lack of digital maturity that implements this technology slowly and inefficiently.
Legacy systems, little vision of possible gains, lack of familiarity with technology on the part of the team: all this and more end up harming the process and depriving the company of the benefits of Industry 4.0.
There must be a concerted effort to ensure maximum buy-in and support for joining this journey. First, engineering and IT teams must work together, understanding the organization’s challenges and goals, to think of solutions that make sense.
Second, it is necessary to involve HR and Marketing, creating campaigns for the evolution of digital culture, making everyone aware of the benefits of change, the responsibilities of each one, and how they can be achieved.
Finally, the board must be a sponsor, get involved based on expected developments, and raise awareness of the efforts that must be made along the way.
