Manufacturing Trends 2022: Your Cloud Migration Plan

The manufacturing industry was one of the earliest adopters of cloud technology. As the industry’s cloud infrastructure needs are continuing to grow and evolve, manufacturers are in need of an increasingly specialized cloud migration plan. 

Enhancing customer relationships is at the top of manufacturer’s goals in 2022, along with improving operational efficiency and speed to market. Other priorities include employee productivity and business agility. 

Most manufacturers need a cloud migration plan that supports these goals as efficiently as possible. This often requires specialized hybrid cloud infrastructures, as well as hands-on support and service. 

Read on to learn more about the current trends of cloud adoption in the manufacturing industry, as well as how an MSP can meet the unique cloud infrastructure needs of the manufacturing industry. 

Manufacturing Trends 2022 and Beyond

As an industry, manufacturing was one of the earliest and most enthusiastic adopters of the public cloud. To this day,  manufacturing still shows higher adoption rates than other industries.

Now manufacturers are moving towards optimizing their cloud infrastructure to meet the specific needs of their industry. This includes “repatriation” — moving cloud apps and data back to on-premise data centers, to improve security, costs, compliance, and performance. 

New technologies can also complicate a manufacturer’s cloud migration plan. With the advent of IoT, sensors collect data on-site but are then processed and stored in a cloud. 

Data is coming from more sources than ever — including suppliers, contract manufacturers, logistics providers, customers, partners, and more. All of this data then needs to be centralized for common access. 

Additionally, as remote work becomes more commonplace, remote technicians and engineers need to access data on the go.

To meet these needs, more manufacturers are moving away from utilizing one, large public cloud, to more sophisticated hybrid cloud platforms that offer the functionality they need. 

Knowing which cloud solutions to implement as part of your plan along with maintaining that infrastructure comes with its own set of challenges. 

Challenges in Adopting a Hybrid Cloud Migration Plan 

Having a plan is key to improving data access and collaboration across the manufacturing industry, but these systems can be difficult and costly to set up and maintain. 

According to the 2020 Frost & Sullivan Global Cloud User Survey, manufacturers cite “managing costs” as the number one challenge of hybrid cloud infrastructure. This is often due to unoptimized cloud workloads that allocate computing and storage resources inefficiently. 

Another reported challenge in implementing a cloud migration plan is setting up an effective backup plan across multiple providers and locations.

Manufacturers require complex data management tools to run simultaneously on edge servers, on-premise, and off-premise. These sources need to connect seamlessly to the cloud to centralize and process critical data that drives intelligent operations. 

When used correctly, this kind of centralized data collection and processing can serve a powerful purpose, and even automate processes like quality control. 

In general, when manufacturing firms struggle with cloud implementation, the underlying cause isn’t the model itself. Issues arise when the model isn’t utilized for maximum value, or when sufficient resources aren’t available to maintain the infrastructure. 

This isn’t surprising, as up to 46% of a typical manufacturer’s IT budget is allocated towards legacy IT infrastructure and apps. The result is that there aren’t enough resources for the effective implementation and maintenance of the cloud. 

These frustrations are felt across the industry, with 64% of manufacturers saying that keeping up with the pace of new technology was a critical challenge with their cloud deployment. 

In addition, 56% of the manufacturers said that they simply don’t have the in-house staff knowledge needed to identify and maintain the best infrastructure for their organization. 

It’s clear that as the complexity and pace of cloud technologies increase, manufacturers are less able or willing to allocate their resources to building the best possible cloud migration plan.   

How a Managed Service Provider Can Help 

Hiring an MSP (Managed Service Provider) can help offload the resources needed to set up, monitor, and update your cloud infrastructure. 

An MSP will determine your organization’s storage needs and identify the best combination of platforms to meet those needs. Carbon60 specializes in providing simple solutions to complex cloud infrastructure needs for many industries including manufacturing. 

The true value of an MSP isn’t just in identifying the best cloud migration plan – an MSP will also monitor and update your infrastructure as needed. In addition, an MSP can help identify and implement new technology, ensuring that everything integrates seamlessly. 

For example, Carbon60 provides 24/7 monitoring at a fraction of the cost it would take to hire an in-house team to do the same. This kind of round-the-clock service is especially important in ensuring proper backup and preventing security lapses. 

With the help of an MSP like Carbon60, you can experience the power of a fully-staffed IT team completely devoted to hybrid cloud deployment, as well as a fully-staffed security team with 24/7 — all at a fraction of the cost it would take to hire internally. Contact us today to see how we can fulfill your cloud infrastructure needs.