The effects of COVID are still being felt across the industrial landscape and stopping businesses from completing vital systems upgrades
Did the pandemic slow your digital transformation advancement? For many businesses the ever-changing regulations and lockdowns meant that they had to minimise people onsite and this effectively put a full stop to DX projects across the country. Lack of onsite teams meant that systems were operating at minimal capacity just to ensure continuous running. But now, as business returns to pre-pandemic levels, modernisation projects can restart. But can they? A global hardware component shortage has stalled further the progression of these programmes, a situation that is not expected to rectify itself until 2023 at the earliest.
The hardware component shortage is affecting end users and systems integrators alike, with both, in many circumstances, unable to make significant upgrades, slowing the advancement of digital transformation efforts across the industry. The knock-on effect is also the looming potential for unplanned downtime if the supply chain issue is not solved. Couple this with rising energy costs and uncertain global conditions and we will soon see sectors struggling to reach the critical return on investment (RoI) but, there are solutions out there, if you look hard enough.
It’s no secret that the effect of the hardware shortages is impacting companies large and small. Speaking with Steve Brambley, CEO at GAMBICA, which represents over 240 industrial UK organisations, he says:
“Regardless of the size or global reach of the GAMBICA members, the volume demand from our industry for microelectronic devices creates challenges in exerting leverage on the suppliers to guarantee the continuation of supply. Without a supply of the components needed, there is a serious risk of significant impact on the supply chain, which in turn will create unforeseen downtime in served sectors if products cannot be supplied. This includes technology essential for ensuring the normal operation of the UK’s critical national infrastructure, including systems vital to public health, safety, energy security, the manufacture of food, etc.”
Solution at the edge
Edge Computing can be the foundation of a successful digital transformation project, acting as the platform for world-class AVEVA software and opening up a business to the benefits available now and in the future. But as we can see from conversations with SolutionsPT customers and SIs, the hardware isn’t available and won’t be for at least six months, extending the timeline of all DX projects.
So, what is the option for an enterprise to continue pushing forward with its digital transformation? Combatting the shortage with an abundant supply of industry-leading Edge Computing platforms is Stratus Technologies. Primed and ready to deliver virtualisation out of the box, the ztC Edge offers immediate availability of critical systems in a ‘single’ node or Always On fault tolerance with the introduction of a ‘second’. Simple and easy to deploy, the ztC Edge protects from threats and interruptions, and operates autonomously. And there are plenty to go round.
Integrating & deploying
As more machine uptime, faster and informed decision making on the plant floor, and of course increased profitability, are all drivers of digital transformation, systems integrators are in a unique position to add the ztC Edge to their offering and deliver complete projects an estimated minimum of six months ahead of schedule when compare to other hardware providers.
Digital transformation is fundamental to a business’ ability to react to the market conditions while remaining efficient and profitable. Taking meaningful steps on the journey of DX is the best way to serve the human operator and improve their day-to-day lives, freeing them from time-consuming tasks for more value-adding activities, none of which can be achieved without the backbone of an Edge Computing platform.
Whether you are a business owner looking to modernise, or a systems integrator aiming to deliver on an existing DX journey, including the ztC Edge from Stratus is a sure fire way to make meaningful improvements and cut out the six month delay being seen across industry.
