Reliable connectivity is becoming increasingly relevant in delivering key business KPIs across industrial environments. More and more, business outcomes rely on the ability of operational systems seamlessly connected with each other to bring tangible value propositions. Hence, an orchestrated and managed approach is becoming essential for deploying and implementing wireless connectivity infrastructures.
Need for reliable wireless connectivity for mission critical IoT applications
In the changing era of IoT, which is significantly transforming business operations in the industrial space, the need for wireless connectivity has become more urgent than ever before. Looking across industries, we are witnessing that the need for seamless connectivity is increasing in the most challenging sites and operating environments — like tele-remote mining, large-scale remote industrial sites, distant port operations and more. These are the operating areas where connectivity and zero loss of data transfer at high speed is essential. Such mission-critical applications require uninterrupted communication between these devices and the central control system, enabling efficient and safe operations.
Exhibit 1: Wireless connectivity will help in transforming industrial environments
“By 2025, more than 60% of operational equipment will be connected with wireless connectivity.” – IDC
The global Wi-Fi market size is expected to reach a market valuation of $31.3B by 2027, accelerating at a CAGR of 20.4% through 2027 – Analysys Mason
As wireless connectivity advances further, so too does the set of use cases for this technology increase
Newly digitized environments come with unique challenges and requirements. Wireless connectivity is, for example, an enabler of Industrial IoT: ideal to connect remote, mobile and difficult-to-access applications. Advances in wireless technologies are enabling more and more industrial automation use cases.
Exhibit 2: Wireless use case summary by industries
| Industry | Representative use cases | Network requirements |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing |
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| Mining |
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| Oil and Gas |
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A multiple wireless access approach will drive the success of these use cases
The choice of wireless technology used in each use case will differ based on several parameters, including throughput, location (e.g., indoors, outdoors), resiliency, latency, range and types of devices that need connectivity. Wireless connectivity can also be leveraged to connect moving/fixed devices directly or to backhaul data from worksites, buildings and vehicles. Multiple wireless technologies are needed for success and will co-exist together in diverse use cases. We must consider the use case for which each client needs to be supported.
The approach must be tiered with managed network services to deliver holistic operations
A holistic network operation frees the organization to expand business, improve efficiency and customize offerings and reduce the time to market to focus on new business opportunities. Therefore, selecting the suitable wireless management vendor is a critical business step. The managed network solution should be capable of quickly adding network devices, reconfiguring them as needs changes, updating them in a timely manner and monitoring their performance to check that they are fully available.
HCLTech to offer end-to-end managed network services which will help in deploying, implementing, and integrating backhaul connectivity to any remote operations center. The service also supports the different phases of the network lifecycle, such as map-based radio planning, customer acquisition, monitoring and control of mass deployments and installations.
For more information, write to us at DF-Marketing@hcltech.com
