Many industries are impacted because of the rapid advancement of technology. Smart manufacturing is not an exception. In today’s highly competitive market Utilizing Managed IT Services is essential to remain competitive and stay afloat.
SMBs and companies that are growing have a difficult time be competitive with more resourceful and established rivals. However established companies have the potential of being disrupted in the event that they remain complacent and do not take advantage of the technological possibilities.
The NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) defines smart manufacturing as “fully-integrated and cooperative manufacturing systems that can respond immediately to the changes in demands and conditions within the factory, the supply chain, and the needs of customers.”
There are many aspects of embracing “smart manufacturing” or the “smart manufacturing” concept. Today we’ll look at one specific solution called thin clients and how they could benefit your company.
What is a thin client?
In IT Services, we have what’s known as thin and thick client. Let’s look at an example of a typical network structure with many clients linked to a center or server. A thick client is equipped with all capabilities and features built-in and is able to operate independent of a central server.
A thin client relies on the server that runs it to perform its primary functions. They are a stripped-down version of software that primarily provides a simple and user-friendly interface for the server and the user. Thin clients are typically utilized as shared terminals web-based browsers, virtual desktops or as regular software applications.
In manufacturing settings one of the most useful uses of thin clients is serving as servers for terminals.
We all understand the importance of efficient reliable, precise, and accurate control of production processes. The use of internet-connected machines that continuously transfer massive quantities of data to be processed and collected via central servers is becoming more popular.
But, there is room for improvement to be made to the way information is distributed in order to make it accessible, analyzable and actionable by humans.
Thin Clients are able to enable smart manufacturing
- Security Little or no information is saved on terminal servers. Even if a server is compromised, access will be required for the server central in order to cause damage.
- accessibility: Thin client can be placed throughout your workplace and even remotely to provide 24/7 accessibility.
- Cost Reduction Thin clients don’t require complex hardware or software. They are inexpensive to maintain and commission.
- Efficiency: All of the above advantages should result in improved productivity.
Who is able to benefit from it?
The most straightforward answer is that anybody who would like to adopt”smart manufacturing,” or the “smart manufacturing” philosophy will benefit from thin client architectures. For instance, site administrators are able to monitor various aspects of their facilities from thin clients. They can be used as mobile devices or terminals. Anyone who wants to monitor machinery is able to access it at any time via any of the thin clients in close proximity.
Conclusion
However, despite the benefits that could be gained from it the implementation of new technologies can present certain challenges. Maintaining continuity of business, ensuring the efficiency of your solution and implementing it using an effective strategy are only some of the challenges you need to tackle. But these issues are easily solved by working with an skilled company IT solution firm that specializes in creating secure, durable and solid network infrastructure.
