Cisco’s Industrial Automation Solution Brings Digitization to Manufacturing, Oil & Gas, Utilities and Mining

In today’s industrial environment, we see companies struggling to amplify efficiencies that drive better business outcomes. For manufacturing, oil & gas, utilities and more, the key is to digitize with new ways to securely connect global production operations.

That’s where we come in. I’m excited to announce the Cisco IoT Industrial Automation solution that enables companies to simplify network deployment and management, while securely extending the network to the IoT edge.

Capturing data from edge devices in factories, refineries, substations, mines and treatment facilities is critical to improve operations – but that’s where many IoT initiatives stumble. The Cisco Industrial Automation solution uses our new next gen Cisco Catalyst IE3x00 Series of Switches, and provides a validated approach and architecture built to securely meet the needs of both IT and OT.

In other words, you’ll have the power to scale secure connectivity to thousands of diverse sensors, controllers, and communication devices, from the plant floor to rugged outdoor sites. That means greater visibility and faster access to data for early detection and troubleshooting, and productivity insights to improve operational equipment effectiveness (OEE) and reduce downtime.

Optimizing production with industrial connectivity

Let’s look at a great example like Krones, a leading supplier of machines and production lines for breweries, beverage bottlers and food producers worldwide. For years they’ve used a Cisco network to manage manufacturing applications like Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA), but they never had visibility into machines they support at customer sites. Now, with IIoT solutions that leverage IE3x000 switches, Krones can gain real-time insights beyond the plant, with edge computing at end customer bottling factories.

“To meet our end customers’ stringent requirements, we use Cisco’s industrial switches in our solutions. High speeds, reliable operation, simple management and advanced visibility capabilities offered by Cisco Catalyst IE3x00 Rugged Series  allows us to build best-in-class systems for the manufacturing industry.” – Hans Berger, Head of Network Technology Line Solutions Line Electrics, The Krones Group.

Ensuring flexibility and security across the IT stack

A key component to delivering customer success is that our IoT solutions are modular and future-proof. We know you need the flexibility to adapt existing network infrastructures as your needs evolve over time. Our Industrial Automation solution enables you to securely connect from edge to cloud for today’s IoT applications.

And of course, security for connected industrial environments is often a daunting hurdle. At Cisco, we believe you should be able to capture the wins of IoT without compromising security. Our solutions help you meet OT needs like device and traffic visibility, asset optimization, predictive maintenance, and machine learning – while satisfying IT demands for multi-layered authentication and access control.

We’re excited to see the Cisco Industrial Automation solution deployed by hundreds of global customers, partners, and system implementers. Validated under real world conditions, our solution supports vital industrial controls and protocols for devices and applications used by companies such as Siemens, Emerson, Honeywell, Rockwell Automation, Mitsubishi Electric, and ABB Robotics.

Our customers are redefining what’s possible in industrial environments, and we’re proud to be a part of that digital transformation.

Want to learn more?

Find more information at cisco.com/go/manufacturing as well as these resources:

Cisco IoT Switches

Cisco IoT Portfolio

Cisco IoT Gateways