Drowning in data, but starving for insights

Subscribe to receive updates on Industry 4.0 The digital supply network (DSN) can be a powerful tool for companies, allowing them to harness data and information to make more effective decisions in the physical world via their assets, machines, and people. The benefits can be myriad: deeper visibility into the supply network; greater connectivity with suppliers, partners, and customers; smarter factories; and the ability to act, respond, and adapt intelligently to shifts in the ecosystem. Whatever the result, data--and the ability to analyze and derive insights from it--lies at the heart of the DSN. Companies may think they need to make significant infrastructure investments to realize these benefits, given the typical cost, complexity, and time to "rip and replace" existing applications. However, the road to a fully realized DSN does not necessarily equate to a wholesale replacement of IT assets. In fact, legacy systems are often able to support more DSN capabilities than previously imagined--and the data they already generate often contains significant potential.