We are in the midst of the 4th Industrial era. The improvements in compute and storage technology, clubbed with advances in AI and ML, have made it imperative to employ smarter methods in industrial processes. A couple of decades back, when using manual & person-driven assembly lines, we had reached a barrier in productivity and quality which only the robotic-arms and automated control systems could break. The current barriers are further being broken through employment of connected systems, analytics and ML. It is no longer just an option to adopt Industry 4.0. The efficiencies of scalable compute and storage have already revolutionized and enabled digital services like Uber, eCommerce businesses such as Amazon, and even bitcoin, wiping off traditional business. The same is happening with the Industrial sector, manufacturing and construction. A smarter factory is going to produce more goods at a faster rate, at better quality, lower price, at elevated levels of safety and security and in an environmentally friendlier way. The question really is, are we ready to embrace the change?
