MANUFACTURING

IT challengers the manufacturing face and how Citrix solutions can overcome them

Manufacturers face storms of disruption

• Cybersecurity threats - Increasing cyberattacks raise the risk of disrupted enterprise and factory operations;
• Skyrocketing energy costs - Increasing the risk of factory shut downs;
• Macroeconomic and political uncertainties;
• Geopolitical uncertainties are increasing business risks for manufacturers, such as supply chain disruptions and loss of key export markets;
• Lack of digital skills -Manufacturers that can’t retain or attract the skills to develop smart connected products and engineering skills will fall behind their competitors;
• Supply chain disruptions - An ongoing lack of key components will lead to production delays and increase the risks of temporary production shutdowns;
• Inflationary pressure -Rising costs of raw materials and components and union pressure to increase wages to adapt to the rise in the cost of living will push overall production costs up.

The expectation of IT

• Support strategic manufacturing business initiatives such as speeding global service delivery or driving consistent up-time for workers;
• Data analytics/AI - data collection, data analysis and turning the raw data into actionable insights, thereby improving quality and speed of decision making;
• Data protection - Technologies to defend against cyberattacks in both domains — IT and operational technology (OT) — and to ensure IT/OT/IoT security
• Develop Collaborative Cloud Platforms - Technologies that enable seamless collaboration within the enterprise and across the ecosystem.
• Network capacity and manageability. Technologies that enable reliable, secure, and scalable communications.

Therefore, to ensure long-term sustainable growth and to become more efficient, agile, and resilient, successful manufacturers will not only use digital technologies to execute strategic business priorities and they will also implement digital-first strategies in place.

Therefore, the three components of a digital first strategy are:

Scale

Initiatives must include scalable IT architectures and solutions that ensure cost-effective digital operations and that can easily be rolled out enterprise wide and across the ecosystem. 

Impact

Initiatives use digital technologies to deliver measurable business outcomes that significantly contribute to KPIs by improving the effectiveness, efficiency, and resilience of operations.

Trust

Initiatives use digital technologies to make the manufacturer a trustworthy to the customer, supplier, partner, and employer, thereby positively contributing to society and to sustainability targets.

Digital Frist – Citrix Solutions

Citrix has developed a digital first solution in assisting transforming manufacturing for the age of agility.

From simplifying and fortifying the supply chain, to accelerating IT modernization for growth and innovation, to maximizing productivity via hybrid working, Citrix can enable a digital-first approach - and bolster business through impact, scalability, and trust.