Powering industrial networks: key highlights from Cisco Stay 2023 in Las Vegas


It’s simply two weeks since Cisco Stay 2023 in Las Vegas wrapped up. The joy and power on the occasion have been contagious. We loved many discussions with prospects and companions in regards to the industrial IoT improvements we launched on the occasion.

It’s clear that safety and visibility throughout the economic surroundings are crucial. To realize this, organizations want insights into their safety posture, and management and oversight of distant entry to their linked industrial belongings, in addition to safe entry to information from these belongings. Usually, these capabilities are enabled by introducing level {hardware} options, which in themselves enhance the assault floor, whereas additionally increasing upkeep wants. We have been excited to speak about how we’re serving to organizations deal with this problem: cloud-based IoT Operations Dashboard now allows you to deploy OT providers that present safety and information entry capabilities instantly onto your Cisco Catalyst industrial switches. This eliminates the necessity for these level {hardware} options, and so the potential for cyber-attack is lowered, whereas upkeep prices are contained. This reduces value and danger throughout the group.

IoT Operations Dashboard delivers on the Cisco Networking Cloud imaginative and prescient to simplify IT. It permits easy, constant experiences throughout our portfolio with the pliability to fulfill your particular wants. And on the identical time we proceed to drive innovation in connectivity with new fashions for the Cisco Catalyst IE9300 and the brand new industrial wi-fi IW9165I system—a wi-fi entry level for industrial environments with an inside antenna.

There have been many memorable moments – from formal displays to casual conversations. Nevertheless, a key theme that shone via was how industrial organizations are accelerating their digital transformation, and the way they want the proper instruments to drive this transformation efficiently. The challenges are actual throughout many {industry} verticals, like manufacturing, utilities, and transportation.

Actual-world examples

Nice insights have been offered by Dr. Henning Loeser, head of Audi manufacturing lab and Tony Geara, Deputy chief of mobility innovation on the Metropolis of Detroit, as friends in Samuel Pasquier’s Innovation Discuss entitled ‘Bettering the IT + OT Partnership Expertise to Digitize the Bodily World’, Dr. Loeser mentioned challenges confronted in manufacturing and Tony spoke about delivering long run resilience, sustainability, and security for roadways. Dr. Loeser described how Audi is main the way in which in enhancing safety and decreasing complexity on the manufacturing unit ground via virtualization. He highlighted the partnership between Audi and Cisco, and defined how the manufacturing lab is aware of why digitization is important and Cisco has been instrumental in serving to IT implement the answer.

In flip, Tony described the complexity of Detroit metropolis roadways infrastructure and challenges confronted, together with the beforehand excessive charge of auto and pedestrian fatalities. He mentioned the significance of connectivity and entry to information, and the way his groups plan to make use of this to dramatically enhance security, in partnership with Cisco.

Shared concepts in {industry} summits

We have been delighted to carry three {industry} summits, targeted on manufacturing, roadways and transportation, and utilities. In these summits, prospects and companions engaged with us in open discussions and Cisco consultants shared greatest practices and recommendation on the way to deal with industry-specific challenges. We had nice discussions that enabled us to know the place prospects achieve essentially the most profit from our merchandise and options, and what we have to do extra of. I used to be excited to attend the Utilities summit, the place prospects and companions shared their challenges. And we heard from power service suppliers and companions how they’re creating extremely resilient communication networks in partnership with Cisco to ship a dependable power provide.

Options in motion

As ever, our Cisco workforce within the World of Options welcomed prospects and companions to a full set of demonstrations. Listed below are a couple of takeaways:

Takeaway #1: Safety is essential for industrial networks.

Options for securing industrial networks embrace a mix of safety posture visibility, zero belief, and distant entry. We confirmed how Cisco Cyber Imaginative and prescient gives visibility of the safety posture of each system or asset on the economic community. Cyber Imaginative and prescient additionally integrates with Cisco Id Providers Engine for sharing asset profiles and the economic zones and conduits that needs to be enforced via microsegmentation. This permits a “zero belief” method to connecting industrial belongings, guaranteeing they’ll solely talk with particular units and solely as soon as they’ve been granted community entry. And Safe Gear Entry retains linked belongings protected by offering managed, safe entry for upkeep and troubleshooting.

Takeaway #2: Scaling discipline operations is getting so much simpler.

Cisco consultants illustrated how easy it’s to deploy OT providers from the cloud to our Cisco Catalyst industrial switches with IoT Operations Dashboard. Individuals have been enthusiastic in regards to the hands-on demonstrations of our cloud-based IoT Operations Dashboard with Safe Gear Entry, Cyber Imaginative and prescient, and Edge Intelligence.

Delivered from the cloud and operating natively on our industrial switches and routers, these OT providers take away the necessity for advanced level {hardware} options. To make this actual, the demo highlighted a use case for roadways, utilizing a LiDAR sensor and visitors management system with signage. The demo confirmed how IoT Operations Dashboard’s cloud-delivered OT providers simplify upkeep and administration of linked belongings on the roadside – making it straightforward to scale up operations and defend crucial infrastructure.

Takeaway #3: Wi-fi can go right here, there, and anyplace.

Totally different functions want completely different wi-fi options to supply connectivity in a variety of business environments. One measurement doesn’t match all. Our complete portfolio of business wi-fi options helps Wi-Fi, Extremely-Dependable Wi-fi Backhaul, 5G, LTE and LoRaWAN. Assembly the wants of consumers who want to attach cameras or laptops outside, robots on the manufacturing ground, tele-remote functions in ports and mines, low-power sensors deployed over intensive areas or building-to-building connections the place fiber isn’t an choice.

We confirmed our vary of Cisco Catalyst IW heavy obligation entry factors, together with the brand new Catalyst IW9167I, our newest Wi-Fi 6/Wi-Fi 6E-ready industrial and outside entry level. We additionally highlighted LoRaWAN and our industrial sensors – a subject my colleague Kevin Holcomb and I lined in an interactive breakout session. (To everybody who attended, an enormous “thanks” for being such a tremendous viewers!)

And that’s a wrap. It’s not straightforward to seize all the things from the occasion, nonetheless it was wonderful to have the chance to have interaction in so many classes, displays and discussions and listen to from you, our valued prospects and companions.

Do mark your calendar for February 5-9, 2024, Cisco Stay in Amsterdam, the place we’re trying ahead to sharing what’s subsequent.

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