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Creating a More Resilient, Collaborative Supply Chain

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How VMware Is Helping Industries Accelerate Innovation

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7 Emerging Technologies Poised to Power the Factory of the Future

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How Digital Twins Are Revolutionizing Manufacturing

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VMware Accelerates Healthcare Providers’ Adoption of Cloud Services

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The Great Digital Frontier

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Building a Legacy of Customer-Centric Digital Innovation

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3 Hard Truths About Cybersecurity

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How Victoria University Revolutionized Its Learning Model

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As we shift to more permanent hybrid workforces and lifestyles, companies have had to adapt to change at a rapid pace. The upside of this is an outpouring of innovation, causing everyone to rethink what is possible. VMware’s Global Industries Group has curated expertise in a variety of sectors, including financial services, healthcare, and retail. This has given us a unique perspective on how organizations have adapted to three macro trends that have been bubbling up across industries.

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Customers Are Interacting with Businesses in New Ways

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As employees shifted to remote work and customers began needing new services online, companies scrambled to update their digital offerings. A digital transformation plan that might have had a 5-year implementation window had to be condensed down into 5 months—in some cases, just 5 weeks. And even as in-person engagement becomes more feasible again, digital usage is likely to remain a preferred channel moving forward.

Consumer Expectations for Digital Experiences Are Higher 

As more of life moves online, consumers are looking for tech and services that just work. They want simple interfaces, a personalized experience, and solutions that offer them convenience – and they are increasingly willing to try out new brands to satisfy these needs. This means that companies don’t just have to build better digital experiences than their competition—they have to match the best-in-class experiences consumers have gotten used to from the Amazons and Apples of the world.

Navigating the Complexity of Technology Is … Complex 

In the face of new customer demands and rising consumer expectations, companies have to outpace the competition while contending with a number of competing agendas. Their focus needs to be on:

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And all of the above need to be done while maintaining or reducing expense budgets and upskilling/reskilling talent.  

Having spent much of my career in technology, I was sure I knew the value that VMware could provide when I first joined the company. Just to pressure test my understanding, I sat down and mapped out the business outcomes and challenges that I and my peers were tackling. I thought about every problem or pain point in the digital space that I’d experienced during my time in financial services or that I had seen in the wider industry. Then I dug deep into the features and capabilities of all of VMware’s products and services. The results were revelatory.

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For every business outcome or challenge, I saw a clear path on how VMware could deliver value. However, there was a gap between what I knew of VMware, and the industry outcomes we actually contribute to. These are not simple problems that are being solved. Right now, companies are looking at competing priorities of complex systems. How do you build new modern cloud native apps while maintaining the estate of existing apps? Deliver at a rapid pace while demonstrating control? Enable innovation while being compliant with regulation and defending against cybercriminals? Underpinning all of these problems are the constraints of creating a digital/technology driven culture and attracting the key skills needed into the business while driving employee retention.

Bridging this divide is the value proposition of what we’re now doing in the Global Industries Group. We’re combining our expertise on VMware’s products with a deep knowledge and understanding of individual industries. This unique perspective enables us to deliver solutions to help our customers achieve the business outcomes they have set forth for their digital agendas. Our goal is to show up as a thought partner, guided only by our desire to help our customers achieve their transformation goals.

VMware meets customers wherever they are on the journey – it helps them manage all of this duality. We can show you how to build modern apps while maintaining the fleet, manage the existing data centers while moving to the cloud, protect and defend from cybercrime, enable a workforce both in and out of the office, and leverage our tools to reskill the workforce at the same time.

In a post-pandemic world driven by increased digital engagement, higher consumer expectations, and constrained resources, VMware is focused on providing solutions that solve the unique challenges of every industry. We aren’t just looking at the pressing issues of today, but we have our finger on the pulse of emerging trends of tomorrow. We are going to differentiate ourselves by being the partner that simplifies the complexity of IT and provides the digital foundation for innovation of the future.

Jennifer Manry

As we shift to more permanent hybrid workforces and lifestyles, companies have had to adapt and accelerate innovation across industries.

Companies are adapting to change at a rapid pace, causing everyone to rethink what is possible.

Helping Industries Accelerate Innovation

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Helping Industries Accelerate Innovation - VMware News and Stories

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Citizens increasingly demand a higher quality of life at a more sustainable cost. For governments, that means building the smart city and smart nation of the future.

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The pandemic led to an inevitable surge in the use of digital technologies. People and organizations all over the world have had to adjust to new ways of work and life. Lockdowns across countries accelerated the rise in the use of information systems and networks with massive changes in usage patterns and behavior.

These changes effected most organizations—business, societies and government. Now, more than ever, citizens expect easy access to government information and services digitally. The urgent questions are: How do governments modernize IT in a secure, scalable and functional way, while improving quality of life? How do they become smarter?

According to a recent <a href="https://granicus.com/resource/the-state-of-digital-in-government/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Granicus survey</a> of 115 government leaders, 61% believe their organization is not keeping pace with the private sector in its adoption and implementation of modern technologies. Additionally, 36% believe that government will never catch up with private sector in terms of technology.

Bureaucracy and budget are leading factors of why. But many governments are navigating these complicated environments by focusing on key areas, including:

In an ideal world, digital transformation in government would be as simple as aligning technological solutions to demand. However, the modernization of government bears significant change and requires close evaluation of:

After a decade of trial and error, municipal leaders are realizing that smart-city strategies start with people, not technology. “Smartness” is not just about installing digital interfaces in traditional infrastructure or streamlining city operations. It’s also about using technology and data purposefully to make better decisions and deliver a better quality of life.

Connected cities or “smart cities” mix technology and human capital to solve problems resulting from the growth of the urban population. 

Three layers work together to make a smart city:

This includes a critical mass of smartphones and sensors connected by high-speed communication networks.

This includes a critical mass of smartphones and sensors connected by high-speed communication networks.

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Translating raw data into alerts, insight and action requires the right tools. And this is where technology providers and app developers come in.

Translating raw data into alerts, insight and action requires the right tools. And this is where technology providers and app developers come in.

3. Usage by Cities, Companies & the Public

<h4>3. Usage by Cities, Companies & the Public</h4>

Many applications succeed only if widely adopted and ultimately change behavior. For example, government-deployed apps can encourage people to use transit during off-peak hours, use less energy and perform preventative self-care.

Many applications succeed only if widely adopted and ultimately change behavior. For example, government-deployed apps can encourage people to use transit during off-peak hours, use less energy and perform preventative self-care.

Today, cities are moving beyond the smart city pilot stage, using data and digital technologies to deliver results that are more relevant and meaningful to residents.

Case Study: Small Town. Smart City Dreams.

IoT has the potential to transform public sector operations at municipal, regional and national levels. These public entities can leverage the power of connected things to meet the needs of a population that is increasingly reliant on digital services and interactivity.

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Today, cloud technologies are considered as secure as than traditional software—if not more secure. Now, leaders are dedicating time to upscale IT talent and delving deeper into what security measures are pre-built into cloud technology. To get there, government leaders should be reframing the question of cloud security from “Is the cloud secure?” to “Am I using the cloud securely?”

The City of Venice, Fla., for example, has roughly 350 employees and a 6-person IT team that serves many departments in the city, including public safety. Previously, IT was haphazard. Different departments purchased tools and software, creating little to no cohesion. IT director Christophe St. Luce and team faced the challenge of consolidating all the needs of the departments and finding an endpoint security solution that would satisfy the needs of multiple stakeholders.

Case Study: City of Venice, Fla., to Secure its Digital Environment

The City of Venice IT department’s goal is to empower a transparent and agile digital government. Florida was a prominent target of ransomware attacks during the 2020 pandemic. And the city’s IT department has continued to strengthen their security stack to stay on top of events in their digital environment.

Fortunately for a small IT team with multiple duties and responsibilities, VMware Carbon Black Cloud helps them customize the platform to their specific workflows, giving the team peace of mind.

<a href="https://www.vmware.com/content/dam/digitalmarketing/vmware/en/pdf/customers/vmw-city-of-venice-florida-success-story.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dive deeper into the City of Venice's story.</a>

Data impacts everything from housing and transportation to the citizen experience. The data provides context and feedback in real time. This, in turn, helps government become more efficient and more responsive to citizens’ wants and needs. At the same time, government leaders acknowledge that clear rules are required for gathering, handling, and using the growing amount of data available.

But the final goal is simple: Improve the quality of life for everyone in the city.

Case Study: PCMC’s Smart City Transformation Journey

Pimpri Chinchwad has come a long way from its roots as a small village cluster. Today, it’s becoming a model smart city and leading business hub in the Pune region of India. A significant part of the city’s growth can be attributed to PCMC, in making sure that Pimpri Chinchwad progresses to be a vibrant, attractive, and livable destination.

With the responsibility to transform India’s Pimpri Chinchwad into a smart city, there was a critical need for Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation, also known as PCMC, to first modernize and update its own data center. The IT team had to ensure the tech stack was adaptable, agile, scalable, and resilient enough to support a large-scale transformation project.

PCMC had to resolve its IT constraints on data center management, micro-segmentation, and zero-trust environment to ensure seamless business continuity.

Through the evaluation process, VMware emerged as a trusted tech partner for PCMC in partnership with Tech Mahindra. VMware implemented an SDDC architecture that encompassed best-in-class virtualized compute, storage, and networking with comprehensive cloud management. This approach helped PCMC use a fully virtualized infrastructure that was inexpensive and simple to configure.

As cities begin to adapt to new ways of living, the inevitable questions are: How do governments achieve digital transformation at scale? How do smart cities ultimately lead to smart nations?

First, we must ask: What is a smart nation? According to <a href="https://www.tech.gov.sg/media/technews/digital-government-smart-nation-pursuing%20singapore-tech-imperative">GovTech Singapore</a>, smart nations mean people and businesses are:

Building a smart nation is a whole-of-nation effort comprising of three pillars:

Case Study: Pursuing Singapore’s Tech Imperative

When it comes to digital government, Singapore is fortunate to be building on strong previous efforts. Today, most transactions between citizens and the government can be done online, and integrated apps reduce the time taken to fulfill inter-agency requests.

According to <a href="https://www.itnews.asia/news/singapores-citizenry-gives-digital-government-the-thumbs-up-562343">IT News Asia</a>, nearly half of Singaporeans surveyed (49%) agreed that the Government now delivers better digital experiences. Additionally, 56% of respondents shared that the government has given them the assurance that their personal information is secure.

Soon after formation, Singapore launched five Strategic National Projects:

The <a href="https://www.singpass.gov.sg/main/singpass-our-ndi/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Singpass</a> is every Singapore resident's trusted digital identity, as well as a platform that bridges access to over 340 government agencies and private sector services.

The <a href="https://www.singpass.gov.sg/main/singpass-our-ndi/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Singpass</a> is every Singapore resident's trusted digital identity, as well as a platform that bridges access to over 340 government agencies and private sector services.

Singapore’s banking industry launched FAST (Fast and Secure Transfers) is a <a href="https://www.smartnation.gov.sg/what-is-smart-nation/initiatives/Strategic-National-Projects/e-payments-1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">payment system</a> that enables direct real-time transfers between consumers and businesses across different banks.

Singapore’s banking industry launched FAST (Fast and Secure Transfers) is a <a href="https://www.smartnation.gov.sg/what-is-smart-nation/initiatives/Strategic-National-Projects/e-payments-1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">payment system</a> that enables direct real-time transfers between consumers and businesses across different banks.

The <a href="https://www.tech.gov.sg/scewc2019/mol" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Moments of Life</a> (MOL) app places citizens at the heart of government digital services. It delivers integrated services and information to citizens at key milestones in their lives.

The <a href="https://www.tech.gov.sg/scewc2019/mol" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Moments of Life</a> (MOL) app places citizens at the heart of government digital services. It delivers integrated services and information to citizens at key milestones in their lives.

Through a shared network of sensors, the <a href="https://www.tech.gov.sg/scewc2019/snsp" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Smart Nation Sensor Platform</a> (SNSP) enables agencies to better maximize deployments by collecting and analyzing data to make decisions on city planning in a cost-effective way and improve the delivery of citizen-centric public services.

Through a shared network of sensors, the <a href="https://www.tech.gov.sg/scewc2019/snsp" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Smart Nation Sensor Platform</a> (SNSP) enables agencies to better maximize deployments by collecting and analyzing data to make decisions on city planning in a cost-effective way and improve the delivery of citizen-centric public services.

Using digital technologies to enhance comfort, convenience and reliability of their <a href="https://www.smartnation.gov.sg/what-is-smart-nation/initiatives/Strategic-National-Projects/smart-urban-mobility" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">public transport systems</a>, and support the vision of a car-lite Singapore.

Using digital technologies to enhance comfort, convenience and reliability of their <a href="https://www.smartnation.gov.sg/what-is-smart-nation/initiatives/Strategic-National-Projects/smart-urban-mobility" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">public transport systems</a>, and support the vision of a car-lite Singapore.

Most of these are digital platforms upon which more use cases can be explored over time. <a href="https://www.itnews.asia/news/singapores-citizenry-gives-digital-government-the-thumbs-up-562343" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dive deeper</a>.

IT investments once locked cities and nations into expensive and extremely long-term plans. Now, using the right combination of modern technology and smart solutions, governments can respond more dynamically to changing demands.

Governments around the world still have a long way to go—even the most advanced. <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/business%20functions/operations/our%20insights/smart%20cities%20digital%20solutions%20for%20a%20more%20livable%20future/mgi-smart-cities-snapshot.pdf">This snapshot</a> from McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) details deployment in 50 cities around the world. The report gauges each city’s progress using a checklist of smart applications. Mobility was a top priority for most cities. But those with the highest number of applications implemented overall—London, Los Angeles, New York, Seoul, Shenzhen and Singapore—branched out into multiple domains, like security, utilities and healthcare.

Some cities start their transformations with inherent advantages, such as existing high-tech industries. But even less-progressive countries can set themselves apart with vision, good management, a willingness to break with conventional ways of doing things, and a relentless commitment to meeting the needs of its residents.

Special Report: Digital Healthcare Innovation During COVID-19

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Jecoby Carter

Global citizens increasingly want a better, more sustainable quality of life. For governments, that means building smart cities and nations.

For governments, citizen demands for a higher quality, sustainable life means building smart cities and nations.

Special Report: Smart Cities & Smart Nations

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Special Report: Smart Cities & Smart Nations | Digital Government Trends

Getting 100% transparency into physical assets around the globe is becoming a gamechanger for modern factory operations.

Digital twin technology is going mainstream at global manufacturers.

<a href="https://www.accenture.com/us-en/insights/technology/_acnmedia/Thought-Leadership-Assets/PDF-4/Accenture-Tech-Vision-2021-Full-Report.pdf">Accenture</a> envisions digital twins among the top five strategic technology trends to watch in 2021 and 2022.

The definition of a digital twin, according to the <a href="https://www.digitaltwinconsortium.org/initiatives/the-definition-of-a-digital-twin.htm" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Digital Twin Consortium</a>, is "a virtual representation of real-world entities and processes, synchronized at a specified frequency and fidelity."

In plain language, this means a digital twin is an exactvirtual copy (or twin) of a physical thing.

The “thing” can be anything that has connected sensors that are capable of sending information to and from the virtual model.

For example, an automotive manufacturer could have a critical component in its assembly line sending continuous data about how quickly it’s processing materials back to a digital twin. The goal: without examining the physical component, workers can tell how it is performing—or will perform—by looking at the digital twin.

With digital twins, manufacturers hope to do any number of things better, such as:

Because it is wide-reaching technology, digital twins can be used throughout the entire manufacturing lifecycle—from engineering, to design, production and operations.

In manufacturing, organizations can create digital twins <a href="https://slcontrols.com/en/what-is-digital-twin-technology-and-how-can-it-benefit-manufacturing/">at various levels</a>:

Digital twin technology is being used in many ways. These are five of the most common applications and their benefits.

By monitoring and automatically responding to continuous data from sensors on the factory floor, teams can improve quality and dramatically reduce, if not eliminate, costly rework. Digital twins:

Continuous monitoring is much more effective than random inspection. Digital twins also allow teams to visualize products in use by real users in real time. Ultimately, this helps brands spot defects or anticipate issues before customers do.

Engineers that use digital twins as virtual prototypes during product design have low-cost, low-risk ways to perform simulations or proof-of-concept (PoC) templates before investing in solid material prototypes. This can dramatically reduce the number of physical iterations required to get the product into production, saving both time and money.

3.      Perform Predictive Maintenance

Sensors in a manufacturing component, device or process generate a plethora of data in real time. Teams then can use AI and advanced analytics to pinpoint potential issues and proactively address. This allows time to schedule preventive maintenance that is most convenient for operations, which in turn helps:

4.      Enhance the Customer Experience

Digital twins extend beyond factory walls, helping teams understand in real time how customers are using and enjoying products. Virtual prototypes collect a rich store of data that tells workers precisely how products are performing in the real world. With that data, design and engineering teams know what’s needed to improve customer experience, especially related to the user interface.

Manufacturers using digital twins can reduce risk in two ways. First, by iterating more often in testing and product validation. Secondly, by pinpointing potential process issues on the factory line before embarking on production. Teams can simulate different scenarios and disruptions, helping them mitigate any issues in advance. This greatly reduces production risk.

Digital Twin Insights Improve Business Outcomes

Digital twins are becoming critical “factory of the future” technologies. They provide insights into production lines, manufacturing processes and end-user experience. With a digital twin, workers can troubleshoot problems, identify future challenges and, ultimately, enhance customer satisfaction.

VMware Staff

Getting 100% transparency into physical assets with digital twins innovation is a gamechanger for modern factory operations.

Getting 100% transparency into physical assets is becoming a gamechanger for modern factory operations.

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Manufacturers globally were making some progress to digitally transform before the pandemic. Pilots and scaling of emerging technologies like robots and machine learning (ML) were underway to build smarter, increasingly automated and more cost-effective factories.

Yet no matter where their initiatives stood, the disruption caused by COVID-19 accelerated manufacturers’ digital plans and drove progress toward the "factory of the future."

A full 94% of manufacturers surveyed for the Fictiv <a href="https://www.fictiv.com/ebooks/2021-state-of-manufacturing">2021 State of Manufacturing Report</a> said the pandemic portends long-term changes for their businesses. And according to almost all (95%), now completing their digital transformation journeys would be critical to future success.

These are the most popular emerging technologies being deployed today to build and run the factory of the future.

AI and its subfield, machine learning (ML), are gaining popularity in manufacturing. By infusing computer intelligence and self-learning into factory processes, AI and ML have tremendous potential to increase efficiency, flexibility and quality for optimized operations.

A Boston Consulting Group (BCG) <a href="https://www.bcg.com/publications/2018/artificial-intelligence-factory-future">analysis of AI</a> in the Factory of the Future found the right combination of AI technologies can reduce producers’ conversion costs by as much as 20%. Seventy percent of the=at reduction could come from greater workforce productivity.

According to <a href="https://d110erj175o600.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Beyond-the-crisis_-How-interconnected-businesses-exhibit-leadership-and-resiliency.pdf">Oxford Economics</a>’ “Beyond the Crisis” report, more than one-third (34%) of manufacturers are already investing in AI to:

Manufacturing companies that adopt AI early will reap the biggest benefits. <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/operations/our-insights/lighthouse-manufacturers-lead-the-way" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">A McKinsey analysis</a> found a financial chasm between companies that adopt AI within the first 5-7 years and those that lag. AI “front-runners” will see a positive 122% cash-flow increase, whereas “followers” will see an only 10% boost in cash flow.

IoT is a critical foundational technology for many other factory of the future innovations, such as robotics, virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR), and wearables. All of these devices have embedded sensors to connect to and exchange data with each other and other systems over the internet.

Most of the value of deploying IoT in manufacturing comes from optimizing operations. IoT can radically reshape every aspect of product development and delivery—from the plant floor across the entire value chain. IoT provides real-time transparency into operations while delivering comprehensive information about the health of systems, down to the tiniest component.

VR and AR are already here—and quickly becoming more entrenched in manufacturing. Leading producers are using VR and AR for a wide variety of actions:

For example, in a sensitive manufacturing environment, a VR/AR device could automatically display temperatures, sound levels, user manuals and other critical information. This enables employees to understand all the components or equipment and how to best manage it.

<a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/653390/worldwide-virtual-and-augmented-reality-headset-shipments/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Statista</a> reports that across all industries globally VR devices will hit 40.1 million units in 2021, and AR glasses will reach around 19.1 million units, for a total of 59.2 million units.

One-third of manufacturers have either already adopted VR/AR or will within the next few years, found a pre-pandemic <a href="https://www.pwc.com/us/en/industries/industrial-products/library/augmented-virtual-reality-manufacturing.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">PwC survey</a>.

One-third of manufacturers have either already adopted VR/AR or will within the next few years, found a pre-pandemic <a href="https://www.pwc.com/us/en/industries/industrial-products/library/augmented-virtual-reality-manufacturing.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">PwC survey</a>.

Robots working on assembly lines go back decades. Today, less expensive, more flexible and more capable robotic technology is rapidly becoming embedded in manufacturing facilities around the globe. Two of the primary growth motivators are cost-efficiency and consistent quality.

The automation of virtually every factory function—materials, assembly, finishing, packaging—as well as completely “lights out” factories make robots highly attractive. There is no care and feeding required. Robots work 24x7x365. Robots also easily manipulate miniscule parts and complete complex joinings that humans are incapable of doing.

<a href="https://ifr.org/ifr-press-releases/news/top-5-robot-trends-2021" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">According to the International Federation of Robotics</a> (IFR), annual shipments of robots has more than tripled within the last decade (2010-2019), adding up to more than 381,000 units.

The biggest challenge for manufacturers: how best to use increasingly sophisticated—and intelligent—robots as they seek to move personnel to higher-value work while saving money.

As manufacturing IoT use increases—with sensors embedded into more solutions powering factory processes—wearable technologies are also on the rise. These smart devices—smartglasses, smartwatches or other diminutive accessories—can be used to both monitor and improve producer productivity, safety and efficiency.

Wearables overlap with AR and IoT in that they are designed to merge a continuous stream of real-time data into users’ working lives, so they don’t have to search for it when they need it.

The overall <a href="https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/wearable-technology-market https://iteratelabs.co/the-future-of-wearable-technology/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">global wearable market hit $27.91 billion in 2020</a>, including both consumer and industrial use. Wearables now outpace smartphone growth across all industry sectors.

The overall <a href="https://www.mordorintelligence.com/industry-reports/wearable-technology-market https://iteratelabs.co/the-future-of-wearable-technology/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">global wearable market hit $27.91 billion in 2020</a>, including both consumer and industrial use. Wearables now outpace smartphone growth across all industry sectors.

On manufacturing sites, a smartwatch can measure body temperatures and postures, as well as falls in high-risk environments. This can boost worker safety and accident prevention in real time.

Manufacturers are deluged with real-time data. Not only from IoT sensors on assembly tools and production equipment but from computer systems and video surveillance systems. The challenge: how to best leverage it all for competitive edge? The answer: modern applications.

Manufacturers already deploying <a href="https://www.vmware.com/possible/in/home/modernapps.html">modern cloud-native applications</a> are:

Through predictive analytics, for example, manufacturers can prevent a critical asset from causing unplanned downtime.

And increasingly during the pandemic, manufacturers have looked to cloud computing to help them store and process more data. <a href="https://tanzu.vmware.com/">Modern apps</a> and a robust <a href="https://www.vmware.com/cloud-solutions/multi-cloud.html">multi-cloud</a> strategy, enabled by the simplicity of a single <a href="https://www.vmware.com/cloud-solutions.html">digital foundation</a>, are reducing operational complexity while boosting resilience.

A critical difference between old and modern factories is the continuous sharing of data. This is true for both operations and offsite locations across complex supplier, distributor and other partner organizations in the value chain. Traditional databases don’t work well in such environments. Blockchain does.

For manufacturers, blockchain is useful for sharing data within complex supply chains. As a distributed ledger that offers users a single and tamperproof source of truth, it creates an immutable (unchangeable) record of all transactions of interest to the participants. Blockchain also offers complete visibility and a single source of truth.

Imagine creating an immutable record of quality checks of parts flowing through the supply chain, eliminating inbound audits. That’s what a <a href="https://www.vmware.com/products/blockchain.html">trusted production blockchain platform</a> can do for manufacturers.

The Factory of the Future: Technology-Driven Resilience

Manufacturers around the world are increasingly adopting emerging technologies to thwart disruptions and downtime introduced by unknowns. They are driving toward greater resilience—prepared for whatever happens today, tomorrow and beyond—by innovating with factory of the future technologies now.

From VR to IoT and predictive analytics to robots, these seven technologies are driving the factory of the future.

From VR to IoT and predictive analytics to robots, these seven innovations are driving the factory of the future.

7 Emerging Technologies Poised to Power Factories of the Future

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Factory of the Future: 7 Emerging Technologies Powering Innovation

In the face of disruption, manufacturers look to digital technologies to help create more resilient and collaborative supply chains.

People count on successfully operating supply chains. We’ve always trusted manufacturing supply chains to deliver most everything we consume—from food to pharmaceuticals, computers to clothes, automobiles to air conditioning. So, it’s no wonder panic set in when pandemic-related lockdowns caused supply chains to suddenly, swiftly stall—or in some cases, completely stop.

A recent <a href="https://www.ey.com/en_us/supply-chain/how-covid-19-impacted-supply-chains-and-what-comes-next" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ernst & Young survey</a> of senior-level supply chain executives revealed all automotive and nearly all (97%) industrial products companies said the pandemic had a negative effect on their businesses.

In addition to health and safety issues, the pandemic also exposed vulnerabilities in complex supply chains. The <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/daveevans/2021/05/03/2021-state-of-manufacturing-digital-transformation-is-the-key-to-winning-in-the-next-normal/?sh=507ffb4c4405" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">2021 State of Manufacturing Report</a> from Fictiv illustrates top supply chain concerns.