Monday, September 16, 2013

Mobility brief outlook: Why Mobility for Industrial Automation?

In recent years, dramatic changes in the global manufacturing plant landscape have compelled organizations to respond to a new set of challenges, including:
  • An increasing number of casual users requiring secure, on-demand access to plant data;
  • Flexible and alternative working modalities;
  • Changes due to organizational restructuring (mergers and acquisitions, outsourcing);
  • The need to conduct business operations across time zones and continents.
Why Mobility for Industrial Automation?
Mobility has changed, and continues to change, the way that organizations operate, and as a consequence, how their employees work. New work styles, driven largely by advancing technologies and the employees who embrace them, have arisen; organizations must adopt policies and innovative technologies to support that evolution, especially regarding mobility. This evolution applies not only to changing work environments but also to business relationships beyond the workforce, such as consultants and partners. Additionally, there are  certain vertical markets that require, or benefit from, more mobility than others.

As stated in a recent Automation World article, Mobile in Automation, “Mobile equivalents –tablets, smartphones and other portable devices, deliver vastly-improved productivity and yield drastically-reduced total cost of ownership.” 

Over the next couple of blogs ("Top 4 reasons for considering mobility in manufacturing" as well as "Mobile technology base for use within manufacturing" ) I will provide reasons why you should consider mobility in industrial settings and show how plants can provide employees with cost-effective, secure, on-demand remote access to critical information resources. I will also explore ways in which you can begin to build out your mobile technology base for use within manufacturing.


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