The end of the year and the start of the next is always a time of retrospection and celebration. In this blog, we'll take a look back at the key topics and trends that defined the industrial IoT journey in 2023.
Protecting industrial operations from cyberthreats is critical and always top of mind. Empowering our industrial customers to digitize and secure operations at the same time has been prevalent in every conversation this year. As it connects all systems and devices, the network is clearly in the best position to enable a defense-in-depth approach. Combining our deep expertise in both industrial networking and cybersecurity, Cisco has empowered the network to secure operations:
Simplification is a key theme at Cisco; deliver simplicity and scale for IT and operations. We bring simplicity and scale by delivering OT services such as Cyber Vision and Secure Equipment Access from the cloud on the industrial network. Our cloud software services for OT deliver on our vision of Cisco Cloud Networking to provide a simple and consistent experience across all Cisco platforms. For example, single sign-on (SSO) makes it easier to gain access and navigate across Cisco networking platforms. Common user interface and authentication methods bring greater consistency and ease of use for customers to learn and use Cisco networking platforms securely.
Sustainability is a key business priority across industries, and digitization is empowering organizations to achieve their goals. The path to a more sustainable future requires reliable connectivity and visibility into data for better control and management of highly distributed industrial assets. To accelerate the transition to clean energy, the grid operators require updated digital infrastructure. We are helping our customers connect clean energy sources such as wind and solar farms and digitize the grid to accelerate the energy transition. See how we helped ScottishPower Renewables.
Cisco's commitment to innovation consistently keeps us focused on what's ahead for industrial networking. We announced innovations to bring more enterprise grade capabilities to the industrial edge.
Cloud-delivered OT services to secure industrial networks at scale: Our industrial customers frequently tell us they often lack skilled resources to secure operations at scale. They need solutions they can easily deploy and operate, especially in the case of highly distributed sites such as roadways or renewable energy production. In 2023, Cisco has made Cyber Vision available as a cloud-based service to help easily gain visibility on OT asset inventories and their security posture. Cisco Secure Equipment Access simplifies managing remote access by centralizing policy configuration and enforcement in a cloud-based service that OT administrators can use.
Expanding network connectivity choices for industrial use cases:
Bottomline, we are helping our customers leverage the industrial network as a platform for innovation to ensure secure operations and unlock more value by enabling access to operational devices and data.
It's not just what's ahead but we also looked back at what we've achieved. We celebrated a key milestone with 25 years of industrial switching anniversary.
The AI topic is top of mind for the industrial customer. Industrial AI can unlock remarkable value for organizations and is seen as a key enabler for improving efficiency, reducing costs, enhancing security etc. It can help further enhance IT and OT collaboration. Now industrial AI models require large amounts of industrial data to train its algorithms. Also, once the model is trained, collection and transmission of data needs reliable, secure, high bandwidth, low latency connectivity. Hence for it to work effectively, you need a network that is ready for these demands. Cisco is helping organizations enable their AI use cases at scale by providing best of breed network and security.
As we move into 2024, we promise to continue pushing the boundaries driving digital transformation and shaping the future of industrial networks. Watch this blog channel as we continue to evolve our portfolio and bring the future to you. We look forward to seeing some of you at Cisco Live EMEA. To dive deeper into technical topics at Cisco Live, follow our industrial IoT learning maps.