Edge-to-Cloud integration strategies #Engineering #BusinessDevelopment #Plant-Wide #Connectivity

By Greg Hookings, Head of Business Development – Digitalisation, Stratus Technologies

Enterprises need to be looking to achieve greater plant-wide connectivity to be sustainable and grow. Remaining competitive in the modern digital age requires not only in-depth insight into machine health at a plant-level but connecting that insight to the cloud and ensuring that information is securely available to the right people wherever they are in relation to the source.

Focusing only on Edge Computing will give those at machine level unrivalled insight into operations on the plant-floor. The real-time nature of computing at the edge means those operators can act when needed. In some cases, with the right Edge Computing deployment, managers can be alerted to a potential issue before it causes a problem. However, without linking that Edge Computing to the cloud, the benefits of consolidating and processing larger amounts of contextualised data are lost. This means that artificial intelligence and broader digital transformation approaches that require data from cross-business functions are lost.

At the other end of that spectrum, a cloud-only approach can reduce efficient management at a local level. Whilst the enterprise would be able to process large amounts of data with information from the entire supply chain, operators at the machine level would be reliant on bandwidth and availability to have access to information. Even in areas with high bandwidth, the data collected by the machines needs to be sent to the cloud for analysis and latency becomes a factor – reducing real-time reactivity. In some manufacturing processes that delay might be enough to lose an entire batch or bring production to a halt.

Bringing these two disciplines together in a combined solution means the best of both worlds. At the machine level, operators have all the information they need as soon as they need it and large amounts of non-time critical data can be sent to the cloud for analysis. What this creates is an enterprise with a global, contextualised understanding of its processes and an enabled, flexible, agile workforce, equipped to overcome challenges in real-time.

Identifying a suitable integrations strategy to ensure data dlows from the edge to the cloud  

A suitable and successful integration strategy will be unique to the enterprise – like a business fingerprint. It depends on the existing connectivity, the legacy systems, the software languages in use and most importantly, the desired outcome. The best way to approach data connectivity is to consider it in terms of a broader digital transformation journey that involves every function of the business. In this way, the approaches adopted will underpin future development and enable the continuous, exponential development that new technologies offer. While this may sound grand, it needn’t be overly complex. From a data point of view, simple principles, such as using Edge Computing platforms that offer virtualisation, simplicity, autonomy and an intrinsically secure deployment can offer the versatility required to link to existing or planned business software in the data centre, and/or in the cloud. The right place to start, is where ROI can most readily be achieved – the low hanging fruit. If you know the cost of IT-related downtime, for example, eliminating – or drastically reducing it – can have an immediate impact on the bottom line.

Overcoming the barriers to integration

Many of the barriers to connecting legacy equipment to an enterprise-wide network can be overcome with the right deployment of Edge Computing. Previously, automation devices were used for data collection but bringing that into the bigger picture has often been the stumbling block. By implementing Edge Computing you are adding computing power that can communicate with IT systems not native to OT.

Another issue of legacy equipment that is overcome with Edge Computing is security. The concern that adding previously un-networked operational technology to the enterprise level network increases the risk by adding more points of vulnerability is a valid one. However, by deploying the right Edge Computing hardware to previously unconnected operational technologies, you can protect both the physical asset through restricted access and the cybersecurity with in-built protection. A network is only as secure as its weakest node and this is often legacy equipment but deploying Edge Computing can bring this hardware up to modern standards of protection without huge expense.

Cloud-to-Edge integration ultimately benefits the control engineerbenefit the role of the
Edge and cloud computing both have their places in industrial operations. The gap between IT and OT has continued to diminish and this has had an affect on the role of the control engineer. The challenges that once only faced programmers in the IT world now effect control engineers as more businesses enable digital transformation. A control engineer no longer just focuses on configuring SCADA for example, they have to configure the entire process all the way to real-time asset control; the new focus of the traditional control engineer role.

By focusing on real-time asset control those at machine level can utilise the deployed Edge Computing to improve overall equipment efficiency. The integration to the cloud means that the control engineer can make changes and improvements that apply to the entire enterprise. No longer will changes on the plant floor be driven only by the business requirements of the boardroom. In fact, the opposite will also be true, business changes will be driven by new insight, flexibility, and capability from the plant-floor. Digital transformation drives the needs of the customers just as it drives capabilities for manufacturers. Customers expect faster delivery times at lower prices and the planet requires all of this in a more sustainable, energy efficient way. Enabling edge-to-cloud integration lets enterprises use the expertise at machine level to make significant gains in all of these areas without massive, costly changes to production processes.  Moreover, well planned and executed digital strategies will help form a digital backbone that enables the progressive change of the digital transformation journey to bear fruit at every step.