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Edge computing is the new computing paradigm, as cloud computing alone cannot sufficiently support the needs of industrial enterprises on the path to smart manufacturing. This challenge is primarily due to constraints around bandwidth, latency, security, and privacy concerns associated with processing large amounts of data, including sensitive data and information.
Edge computing is paving the way for new applications and services to exist closer to the user and data sources in a processing or manufacturing facility.
As this new paradigm is adopted at scale by enterprises for their numerous facilities, it becomes a daunting challenge for the IT workforce to manage the proliferation of diverse applications, compute and network infrastructures, and support services across the facilities.
The OT workforce may see a diminishing value of IT in support of their technologies on their factory floor or shop floor. Siloed deployments can lead to redundancy of applications and services across facilities. This redundancy creates overhead cost for enterprise leadership to manage and support, while ensuring that enterprise objectives around digital transformation and smart manufacturing are met.
Enterprise IT must consider adopting a IEM approach to manage edge compute infrastructure as each facility embraces the edge to deploy new use cases with enabling and emerging technologies across their facilities.
This document has introduced the concept and importance of IEM for industrial enterprises. It highlights the alignment gap and outlines a model design balancing the enterprise leadership vision of smart manufacturing and the constraints of individual facilities. Model design sets up a foundation for the IEM of an enterprise and the execution of edge computing through reviewing of current facility IT capabilities to support OT.
This document also provided a reference capability model to review the readiness of every facility, as well as a robust list of edge enabling use cases. Finally, the document introduced Dell Technologies as an enabler of IEM and attempts to simplify the edge for the industrial sector on their digital transformation journey.