Episode 96: Embracing cloud IT for business resilience and agility in Manufacturing

In order to survive, manufacturers must be agile in surviving disruption. Industry 4.0 technologies are reinventing how manufacturers do business and, to stay competitive, companies will need to embrace these technologies to capitalize on the efficiencies, cost savings, and improved uptimes that might be gained.   Host: James Hilliard Guest 1: Ryan Spurr, Director of Manufacturing Strategy & Business Development at Connection Guest 2: Dave Martin, Systems Engineering Manager at Meraki Guest 3: Jordan Noonan, Solutions Marketing Manager at Meraki   Show Notes [0:55] Introduction of Guests. [2:05] Where were Manufacturing organizations before Covid? [3:52] Do companies now have firmer transformation strategies? [5:15] What are manufacturing table stakes you need to be competitive in Industry 4.0? [7:28] The plant power problem and how has it changed? [8:01] Niche use cases that Covid brought to the front for Manufacturers. [10:01] How do you get Wi-Fi to every part of the factory? [12:47] Analytics and Data [14:27] Obstacles towards investment in next generation networking [15:40] What can this new tech do for your organization?  [17:00] Who should you engage to start transformation? [19:28] How do you merge the new network with legacy machines? [20:53] What do you do to protect your tech when you bring in modern networks to legacy devices? [24:48] How long does it take to discover a breach? [26:00] Is there concern about upgrades and automations removing people? [29:00] The talent shortage. [30:50] What does the future hold?