A sustainable foundation for the industry

In your opinion, what challenges are particularly acute for manufacturing companies?
Christian Korff: The private sector is currently under pressure like never before: energy prices, record inflation, cybersecurity and sustainability. And there are additional challenges in the manufacturing sector, such as dependence on raw materials, supply chain bottlenecks and legal requirements. In order to be agile and crisis-resistant, the industry needs digital technologies more urgently than ever before. Only digitalization can provide manufacturing companies with the up-to-date data they need to react quickly to changes and work together smoothly worldwide. The basic prerequisite for well-founded decisions is the intelligent networking of all machines, processes and people. The interplay of 5G, Wi-Fi and IoT will change the industry just as profoundly as the cloud and IT. This conviction is also illustrated by the motto of our trade fair presence: "We bridge the gap between industrial solutions for today and a sustainable foundation for tomorrow."

Conversion to Industry 4.0 - what are the most important levers?
IT and OT networks continue to grow together. The secure and reliable connection of all sensors, machines, processes and people is essential for a successful industrial transformation. Network and IT security are therefore of central importance. Cisco creates the technical connection between the IT and OT worlds to make various application scenarios along the entire value chain possible in the first place. We also support industrial companies individually in their industry-specific challenges such as supply chain operations, in the area of advanced operations, in skills transfer and, of course, in all aspects of industrial security.