09-24-20 | Blog Post
CIO magazine provides a simple but meaningful definition calling it “a necessary disruption” and “a foundational change in how an organization delivers value to its customers.” Creating and implementing a digital transformation strategy can also provide substantial economic benefit to the business as spend on legacy network and proprietary applications gives way to virtual and cloud-based technologies, XaaS and mobility. Digital transformation is complimented by two additional terms- Industry 4.0 (fourth industrial revolution) and Enterprise 4.0, both defined as categories of digital transformation. Enterprise 4.0 maps the use of evolved technologies like IoT, AI, Big Data and cloud to transform business models and global economies. Industry 4.0 speaks to the use of smart and autonomous machine technologies, backed by AI, Big Data and cloud, to further evolve the benefits that automation and computers added in the third industrial revolution.
In 2016, PWC predicted industry 4.0 would result in $493B in annual “digital revenue gains” and $421B in annual cost and efficiency gains. Fast forward to 2019 and indeed, businesses are reaping the benefits of their digital transformation strategies. According to a Deloitte survey of 1,200 business leaders, 68% of participants reported 10% cost reductions and 31% having cost improvement targets above 20%. These “digital disruption” benefits, as defined by cost reductions, also show 86% increased revenue over the past 24 months. Equally important, the survey participants recognize cloud services’ positive impact on digital transformation: “Cloud continues to be the most widely implemented digital technology covered by the survey at 49% and is expected to remain popular due to its ability to tighten data security, as well as to reduce costs and improve productivity.” There you go.
Let’s look at a practical application of industry 4.0 and cloud services. As with almost any instance of reliance on automation and cloud services to serve customers, security, survivability and compliance are areas of critical focus. Gallagher-Kaiser is the world’s top automotive paint finishing supplier and a General Motors supplier of the year. Their engineers manage dozens of large-scale projects concurrently without interruption. Gallagher-Kaiser is also held to compliance with Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG) standards that support harmonized business practices in their work with American car makers. Among those is the standardization of Cyber Security Third Party Information Security Requirements (TPISR). Gallagher-Kaiser needed a data protection solution that would reliably perform, recover fast and pinpoint recovered work from any of its projects within a quarter of an hour’s window of time after an outage. There was a requirement to deliver continuous availability for an always-on customer experience while simplifying workload mobility to protect, recover and move applications freely across hybrid and multi-clouds. Otava, utilizing a Zerto software platform, created a custom solution for Gallagher-Kaiser that met their unique data protection needs as well as all of the requirements set forth by the team and the AIAG.
It is important to note that compliance is a significant part of digital transformation as data, records, and assets may be transported and stored outside of current private network boundaries. Assure your cloud services vendor is fully compliant to the relevant standards bodies that govern your industry and independently audited against those same standards. Business Associate Agreements are often required and should be shared by your cloud services provider upon request. With its proven record of passing compliance audits with 100 percent success, Gallagher-Kaiser chose Otava as a natural fit to meet TPISR standards for security and availability.
You can read more about Gallagher-Kaiser by visiting this security requirements use case or by watching their podcast in Automation Alley’s Technology in Industry Reveal 4.0 video.
Ready to talk to someone about your data security and protection options? We can help. Otava offers a complete portfolio of secure, compliant cloud backup and disaster recovery solutions to ensure your business (and its data) is always on and always available. Contact us or email us to get started.
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