In response to the significant transformation in the manufacturing industry towards digital, the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines Foundation, Inc. (SEIPI) held regular webinars that aim to help the manufacturing sector navigate key drivers and barriers to the implementation of Industry 4.0, the fourth industrial revolution.
Already the third in a series supported by PLDT Enterprise, Melvin Jeffrey Chan, the Vice President & Head of Enterprise Innovations, Business Development, Consulting & Presales, joined other key speakers from the industry in enlightening attendees on the importance of Industry 4.0 and the role of connectivity, data, and intelligence in driving growth and innovation in the manufacturing industry. And specifically, Chan suggested how he believes in the seamless integration of 5G, SD-WAN, and Internet of Things (IoT) can help enabling Industry Revolution 4.0 and thus drive digital transformation especially in high value industries like electronics manufacturing and semiconductors.
“With more and more cloud based application and workloads like CRM or ERPs such as inventory management, supply chain management, equipment tracking, QA, to purchasing apps, and even heavy-bandwidth-usage applications like digital twins for real time monitoring or simulations, more SaaS-typed applications are moving to the cloud, which means the connectivity solution is even more important than ever, and the integration of next generation connectivity like 5G, SD-WAN, and IoT can greatly improve efficiency, achieve simplicity, scalability and reduce cost of the manufacturers across multiple sites, warehouses and offices,” said Chan.
According to Chan, SD-WAN is significantly being recognized as an integral solution to manage increasing workloads, evolving workspaces, and maneuvering multi-cloud environments. This is delivered through its capability on efficient traffic shaping, intelligent routing, as well as internet breakouts that allow direct access to cloud apps to allow faster exchanges of data. Synergizing this with 5G allows for the connection of sites or branches without fixed networks, while maintaining an increased level of performance brought about by 5G’s higher network capacity and faster data transfer speeds.
He then continued to highlight how 5G technology is shaping the future of the Philippines, as leading mobile operator Smart continues to drive the adoption of 5G technology being the country's fastest 5G mobile network based on the analysis by Ookla® of Speedtest Intelligence Data Q1–Q2 2022.
“The technology ecosystem is huge, and not a single player can cover everything. So, it requires the collaboration of key stakeholders in the ecosystem to come together to co-innovate and collaborate,” he adds.
PLDT Enterprise is one with the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries of the Philippines, Inc., supporting initiatives that promote growth in the manufacturing industry. The leading telco provider has enabled the digital transformation initiatives of businesses with its comprehensive suite of digital solutions, wide portfolio of fixed-line and wireless solutions, cloud-based collaboration tools, managed services, IoT solutions, and more.
