We see a high number of manufacturers now moving forward and asking for solutions to improve business processes and productivity.

One of the big advantages of adopting cloud solutions into this sector is centralised data storage and applications, many manufacturers still have applications that haven’t been directly reproduced by the software vendors ready for the cloud, however, using hosted desktop and server solutions these are now being adapted for use in this platform.

This is allowing companies with multisite operations to have a centralised IT system for all sites based in the cloud, this doesn’t stop at UK operations as cloud services have no boundaries which mean these solutions can be extended across the world. This has started to give UK manufacturers options on centralised data and application stored within the UK, with the added advantage that this can be accessed across the world giving the company full control of its UK and International data, this is even being extended with the use of private cloud services where providers can guarantee that the companies data stays in the UK, something that is being questioned by a number of businesses ahead of Brexit.

There are many operational advantages including total control of data access and the adoption of hybrid solutions by manufacturers is also moving the use of cloud services forward. There are several hybrid services to create failover systems for several manufacturing processes and machinery, this can be seen in the controlling of CNC machinery, this is long overdue as these systems are often left to run until they expire which can be a risk that can be costly if a system fails. Taking these processes to the cloud sounds risky but with reliable internet connectivity businesses are creating effective recovery solutions giving the business 24/7 redundant solution options. This means that manufacturers now have a cost-effective solution for protecting the very heart of the business using cloud technology in a new way.

Although making the decision to migrate may be initially slow the uptake from the industry is soon going to overtake other industries as manufacturers start to see the advantages ahead of using cloud services within their organisation.