Actively Increasing Levels for the Cloud & Global PMI [Roundup]

Verizon Reports Cloud Activity is Increasing

At LNS Research, we focus heavily on Smart Connected Operations, the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), and Big Data. While these are all important to manufacturing professionals everywhere, the cloud is what keeps information and processes interconnected. Cloud use has increased rapidly in recent years, and there does not seem to be any slowing down for it.

In the Verizon State of Market: Enterprise Cloud 2016 report, it was stated that over 84% of survey respondents claimed to increase their cloud use. This is a significant rise from the 60% in 2013 and the 71% in 2014. More enterprises, 87% of them, are trusting the cloud with a small portion of essential workloads. As history has shown, it’s expected that cloud use will increase, and at least 75% of workloads will be cloud-integrated. To access more information on the report click here, and to read more on the breakdown of the report click here.

Global Manufacturing PMI

It was recently reported that the J.P. Morgan Global Manufacturing PMI increased from 50.7 to 51.4. The PMI, or Purchasing Managers Index, indicates the economic health of the manufacturing sector, which is based on five major factors:

• New orders
• Inventory levels
• Production
• Supplier Deliveries
• Employment Environment

Although that may be an improvement from previous months, many countries are still below the average in manufacturing.    

Countries, such as Brazil, Canada, and South Korea are below the average level in manufacturing. It’s reported that since 2014 that Brazil dropped from 47.0 to 44.1, Canada went from 48.6 to 48.0, and South Korea declined from 49.2 to 49.1. That isn’t to say other countries haven’t found themselves in a better position. China, Mexico, the Netherlands, and the United States are all above the monthly average they’ve been faced with in 2014. To read more of how the manufacturing levels are affecting countries globally click here.

The Transformation of Manufacturing

The Economist posted an article this week that aligned very closely with much of what LNS Research identifies as the Industrie 4.0 and Smart Manufacturing initiatives. Specifically, the article focused on how the Internet of Things (IoT) and smart connected assets is going to carry out processes, and software platforms are going to transform manufacturing through applications and automation.

By 2020, over 25 billion smart connected assets will be in use, and change manufacturing as we know it. Big Data analytics, collected through smart connected products, will be used to generate more efficient processes. In recent LNS research, it’s been reported that many manufacturers have set target dates of 2020-2030 for all production equipment connected in an intelligent network. Software platforms are to build in specific processes and applications to operate and automate more proficiently.

To find more of LNS Research on this, click here and access our eBook, “Weaving the Digital Thread Across Industrial Value Chains.” To read more of the article on the transformation of manufacturing click here.  

The Re-Usable Space Craft

There have been big strides in the aero and defense sector recently. The private space craft company, Blue Origin set a record this past week as it successfully launched and landed The New Shepard, a reusable space craft, for the second time.

The landing of The New Shepard was confirmed on November 23^rd, as it landed only 4 ½ feet from the determined landing pad.  The private space manufactured The New Shepard so it could be re-used and formatted to fly multiple times. The intents and purposes of the space craft is to carry passengers, and revolutionize space travel.

Blue Origin, as a private company, so it holds these tests on a secret location that has been scarcely shared. Although we may not be as well informed about the innovative space craft as we’d like, we’re looking forward to how Blue Origins intends to change the manufacturing and life-cycle of space crafts to come. To read more on the testing and manufacturing of The New Shepard click here.

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