Building “Plant of the Future” for manufacturing, supply chain businesses

Tight deadlines and even tighter margins have driven even the most traditional manufacturers and supply-chain companies to embrace new technology solutions. Matrix Integration, a strategic IT infrastructure partner for more than 1,000 businesses in Indiana, Kentucky and beyond, has been working with manufacturers throughout the pandemic and beyond to upgrade the critical pieces of their technology infrastructure to build a "plant of the future."

"Our heavy industry customers are getting a lot more pressure from their clients to deliver faster and keep costs low while providing a high level of quality, service and security," says Reggie Gresham, vice president of sales for Matrix Integration. "New technology like robotics, IoT [internet of things] and AI [artificial intelligence] are key to increasing productivity. We help manufacturing companies strengthen their IT infrastructure to support these solutions."

Five Trends Driving the Plant of the Future
Working with manufacturers, warehousing and logistics companies, the leadership team at Matrix identified trends that are driving companies to create a "plant of the future."

1) Cyber Attacks. Manufacturing is now the second most-targeted industry by cyber criminals, just behind finance. New, robust security and access solutions can help protect data and keep operations running with network operation centers (NOCs) and two-factor authentication.

2) Data Integrity Requirements. Clients are now so interconnected with their supply-chain partners that they are requiring proof that partners and their data are well protected. In addition to cybersecurity protections, comprehensive data backup and recovery plans built with solutions from vendors like Veeam and Hewlett Packard Enterprise can help ensure that data can be recovered in case of a physical or cyber emergency.

3) Phasing Out Legacy Technology. Older applications and hardware are more vulnerable to failure and cyberattacks. With the increase in security and data compliance requirements from clients, manufacturers are finally taking steps to embrace data transformation goals and implement business intelligence solutions.

4) Heavy Tech for Heavy Machinery. Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Virtual and Augmented Reality (AR/VR) and robotics: All of these technologies, which are becoming the new normal in the "plant of the future," require massive amounts of computing power and bandwidth. Matrix helps achieve this by building a more robust wireless infrastructure to support bandwidth upgrades and improvements.

5) New Go-to-Market Strategies. Alongside their technology transformation, many manufacturers are going through a leadership transformation as well, as one generation passes their businesses to the next. Leaders in today's manufacturing market require more for less - more volume, more accuracy and better communication with less time and cost.

Next Steps for Manufacturing
As manufacturers look towards their technology investment in the near future, most know that if they haven't already, it is time to evaluate how automation and technology can help them better achieve their business goals. For more information on how Matrix Integration works with manufacturers and supply-chain companies to develop their "plants of the future," please contact Reggie Gresham, rgresham@matrixintegration.com.

About Matrix Integration
Matrix Integration is a strategic IT solutions and managed services provider that has been in business for more than 40 years. With clients regionally and offices in Indiana and Kentucky, Matrix Integration works closely with businesses and institutions to provide personalized consulting and managed services along with networking, data center, security, collaboration, telephony, and computing solutions. Strategic partners include Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Aruba, Cisco Systems, Meraki, VMware, Microsoft, and Veeam. Matrix Integration is a Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) and Women Business Enterprise (WBE), that has consistently been recognized on industry lists including CRN Solution Provider 500, CRN Managed Service Provider (MSP) 500, CRN Women of the Channel, and CRN Tech Elite 250.