Cloud Computing Transforming Manufacturing Industry Value Chain

New technology advancements in digital infrastructure, such as cloud computing and social computing, are transforming manufacturing industry value chains, according to the latest survey released by Microsoft.

The survey highlights that the respondents see lowered cost of optimising infrastructure (48.3 percent of respondents) as the biggest benefit of cloud computing, followed closely by efficient collaboration across geographies (47.7 percent) and the ability to respond quickly to business demands (38.4 percent). The survey findings further indicate the need to better integrate collaboration tools with business systems (47.4 percent) and to improve access to unstructured data and processes (36.2 percent). Almost 60 percent see an industry wide collaboration that includes manufacturing products and services providers, IT providers, systems integrators and in-house business analysts as most capable of bringing about these improvements.

The Microsoft Discrete Manufacturing Cloud Computing Survey 2011 results are based on a poll conducted among 152 IT and business decision-makers within automotive, aerospace, high-tech and electronics, and industrial equipment manufacturing companies.

According to Sanjay Ravi, Managing Director, Worldwide Discrete Manufacturing Industry for Microsoft, “The survey shows current cloud computing initiatives are targeted at cost reduction, but a growing number of forward-looking companies are exploring new and innovative business capabilities uniquely delivered through the cloud. Manufacturers are exploring ways to improve product design with social product development, enhance visibility across multiple tiers in the value chain, and create new business models and customer experiences based on smart devices connecting to the cloud,” he adds.

In order to support closer collaboration among the various stakeholders, Microsoft has created a Reference Architecture Framework for Discrete Manufacturers Initiative (DIRA Framework) to drive solutions based on cloud computing across manufacturing networks while helping integrate processes within and across the enterprise, extend the reach of the network to more companies globally, and connect smart devices to the cloud. Microsoft has partnered with Apriso Corp., Camstar Systems Inc., ICONICS Inc., Rockwell Automation Inc., Siemens MES and TCS for the initiative.

Development of the discrete manufacturing reference architecture will be an ongoing effort led by Microsoft, with close collaboration by participating companies, including industry solution vendors and systems integrators. The initiative defines six key themes to guide this development: natural user interfaces, role-based productivity and insights, social business, dynamic value networks, smart connected devices, and security-enhanced, scalable and adaptive infrastructure.

“Globalisation has fragmented industry value chains, making them more complex and unable to quickly respond to increased competition and shorter product lifecycles. Cloud computing is empowering today’s global manufacturers to rethink how they innovate and collaborate across the value chain,” explains Ravi.