Digital transformation
THE OT DATA REVOLUTION Alvis Chen, Marketing Manager, Moxa
Operational data is the foundation of industrial digital transformation.
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n the past, the companies with the fastest or most advanced automation equipment would have stood head and shoulders above the crowd in the industrial automation game. However, with the surfacing of issues such as increasing labour cost, an ageing population, the reduction of available land and the emerging awareness of environmental protection, the original strategy of simply increasing production line capacity is simply not viable enough anymore. Fortunately for industry, another door has opened thanks to the rapid development of technologies such as cloud computing, big data analysis, AI and machine learning. As a result, ‘digitalisation’ and ‘intelligence’ have emerged as the next big things in industrial automation development and are set to lead new advancements.
The three stages of digital transformation Industrial digital transformation is a gradual process that is divided into three stages: • Digitisation: The converting of physical state information from an analog format to a digital format. • Digitalisation: The establishment of an automated process or system on top of digitisation. Examples can be found in a digital dashboard, a secure digital network for remote main-
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tenance or a system that monitors the connection between a traditional power grid and renewable energy sources. • Digital transformation: This refers to the process that involves comprehensively collecting, integrating and analysing different types of relevant data in a system. Subsequently, it creates a new digital-based operation and business model.
The pillar of transformation: OT data The key to successful digital transformation lies in OT data, since the first stage — digitisation — is the collection of a large amount of OT data. With each successive stage, more value is added to the existing OT data. Industrial digital transformation is a process in which value is continuously added to OT data, fundamentally changing OT data across multiple dimensions, specifically in terms of its quality and quantity.
Qualitative changes to OT data Industrial digital transformation has brought qualitative changes to OT data. We can consider these changes from two different dimensions: purpose and impact.
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