CTE Manufacturing Guide

How you can address this challenge:

You benefit most when your telecommunications provider provides you with comprehensive support in setting up or expanding your digital infrastructure. This means that you receive solutions from a single source that is well coordinated and meets your needs and requirements. In addition, you can be sure that everything complies with the regulations and legislation of the respective country. For example, in China there are strict requirements for storing and transferring data abroad.

The IT industry is responding to the rising cybercrime rate with increasingly effective developments. In addition to appropriate protection software, the basis of your digital security should be encryption of your channels. The best way to achieve this is with a VPN (Virtual Private Network) specifically for your company. A VPN redirects data traffic so that it cannot be viewed by third parties. This way, you can not only encrypt communication within your company, but also send data from Europe to China-APAC region without risk. Good to Know: The protection of intellectual property has increasingly improved in China in recent years. Chinese companies are more innovative than ever and have a great interest in protecting their ideas and developments.

Fortunately, a lot has happened in recent years and decades, especially in this area. Platforms that enable chats, meetings and file uploads have long been established. Neither time differences nor national borders are an obstacle to continuous exchange these days with the right solutions. By setting up a WAN (Wide Area Network, a geographically wide-spanning computer network), you can network your locations and optimise communication. Modern cloud solutions further simplify collaboration on an international level by making data and documents available regardless of time and location. The biggest opportunity, however, comes from modern technology in the form of IoT solutions that collect relevant machine, process and manufacturing data needed to analyse productivity, efficiency and process optimisation. With these, you can identify potential improvements, evaluate production processes and even discover new potential revenue streams, even from a distance. IoT solutions such as smart camera systems give you even more assurance that your production is running according to plan. Through automation alongside AI and Big Data technology, you can find more potential for optimisation.

at the same time, they rely on the powerful 5G network to deploy advanced technology solutions and connect their production.

#4 Challenge: Digital Security

Data security and cybersecurity are among the greatest challenges multinational companies who are dependent on digital technologies to bridge the large distances of their offices and production facilities. Cybercrimes such as hacking, sabotage or data theft should be of concern. Online crime also often targets industrial assets and inadequately protected operational technology. A study on cybersecurity in the manufacturing industry reveals that 60% of companies surveyed have not holistically protected their operational technology against cyberattacks. 31 Ultimately, the stability of your digital infrastructure is the foundation of successful cross border manufacturing operations. Intellectual property theft is also a concern, and one that is well justified against a backdrop of growing competition.

How you can address this challenge:

The strong roll out of 5G network in China and much of the APAC region is first and foremost a great advantage. However, you should be aware of the risks that come with it - even if they are small and the benefits far outweigh the disadvantages. With the aforementioned security measures and the right security strategy for your digital infrastructure with your telecoms provider, you can compensate for the issues with 5G architecture.

#5 Challenge: Risks and opportunities of 5G

5G is much more than a faster 4G network . The technology is much more focused on advancing software capabilities. This is a great advantage when implementing IoT solutions. However, vulnerabilities in software can also be exploited as a primary gateway for cyberattacks. Since all software systems have such vulnerabilities (especially in the early stages), this is likely to apply to the complex 5G software architecture as well. As mentioned earlier, manufacturing companies are particularly vulnerable to cybercrime - but

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