Hybrid computing systems in Industry 4.0

There’s still quite a way to go in the industrial sector’s journey towards digitization. Many companies, especially the smallest ones, don’t have segregated IT (Information Technology) and OT (Operational Technology) networks, instead, all of the equipment is connected to one single network which leads directly to the Internet. In others, generally the largest ones, the workshop’s network is separated from the office’s network by means of a firewall, making it possible to control communication between the two worlds in a very granular manner.

Competitiveness and the capacity to adapt have become the axes that support the success of any business. Nowadays, the many changing intrinsic factors in each region and sector, macroeconomic trends of a hyperconnected global market, specific regulatory aspects in each country, or the consumer’s own behavior, can have a positive or negative impact on the results of any organization.

It has taken more than two centuries for us to travel from the First Industrial Revolution to the Fourth Industrial Revolution and be able to truly refer to advanced manufacturing. Yes, manufacturing which generates and applies knowledge and experience, combined with state-of-the-art technology and innovations that enable products, production processes and high-value-added services to be created. We’re not really discovering anything new now, just making all the refinements we can since the ultimate aim is to increase the company’s productivity and hence our competitiveness in the market.