Remote work is revolutionizing the office, but some of the most critical industries and workers have lacked the technology to keep pace.
While employees sitting at screens can now work from anywhere, their peers on the factory floor are still doing their jobs much the same way they did a decade ago. These operational technology (OT) workers, however, are poised to experience their own digitization transformation in the coming years, thanks to a range of advances in artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, the Internet of Things (IoT), 3D printing, quantum computing, and other Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) technologies.
But one hurdle remains: connectivity. More precisely, the challenge is to create secure, high-performance, reliable connectivity for both the environment these OT professionals operate in and the tools they work with. With 5G network technology designed for enterprise environments, the revolution is here.
In the near future, there will be commercial shipping ports with AI-powered cranes unloading 1,200-foot-long container ships, their goods seamlessly transitioning from sea to rail and road. Offices with health-monitoring sensors will track real-time ambient temperature, creating safe environments for people to collaborate in. Electric car plants will coordinate manufacturing between responsive machines and their human counterparts, resulting in greater numbers of vehicles produced more efficiently and safely. And all these industries will create new types of jobs that can be done remotely more often, with 5G offering the key to new possibilities for both businesses and workforces.
“We’re just beginning to realize the productivity gains that OT workers can achieve,” says Masum Mir, Cisco’s vice president and general manager for mobile, cable, and IoT business. “The inclusion of private 5G-connected devices for enterprises will only help accelerate their digitization journey—and play a very critical role.”
Leading the way in connecting the world is Cisco’s Private 5G, a network that is leveling the playing field with a “software as a service” (SaaS) model, making a subscription to private 5G affordable even for small businesses. The result is an accessible IoT connectivity upgrade that will both enable physical OT environments to connect online and begin to free more workers to do their jobs virtually.
“We want to make this technology accessible to more industries and more people,” says Mir. “The goal is to cloak advanced technology with simplicity.”
Revolutionary Outcomes, Evolutionary Additions
Similar to other cellular networks such as 4G, 5G uses a system of cell sites (like towers) to send encoded data via radio waves. Today’s 5G, however, offers roughly 10 times more bandwidth than 4G, enables extremely low latency, and can deliver speeds up to one gigabit per second—enough to download an HD movie in less than a minute. In most cases, these cellular radio frequencies belong to local communication service providers (CSPs). These CSPs can “private-label” Cisco Private 5G to simplify the process for faster time to market and become valuable partners in customer transformation.
Of course, introducing 5G doesn’t ensure that all industries will leap forward to take advantage of this next digital revolution—how it’s integrated within a business system is what matters most. Nearly every business already has sophisticated information technology (IT) and Wi-Fi systems that work. None of them want to begin anew. So, rather than replace existing infrastructure, Cisco’s Private 5G integrates with current IT to create a powerful new level of capability.
“Almost all the use cases we’ll see are 5G and Wi-Fi 6 residing next to each other,” Mir says. “Augmenting the network rather than replacing it provides more IoT capability, with the simplicity of a private network delivered as a service through our partners. That’s how we’re going to bring 5G to the market and make it the transformative tool we know it can be.”
As part of that simplicity, Cisco Private 5G offers end-to-end security across organizations to ensure that their information and infrastructure are protected. Also, due to its software subscription approach, Cisco Private 5G will allow businesses to pay as they go. This enables organizations to start small and grow rapidly, making private 5G more affordable for companies of all sizes.
“Our strength is that we’re reducing the barrier to entry so that any enterprise can participate in this new value chain and adopt new technologies,” Mir says. “We’re de-risking it, and you don’t have to retrain your whole staff or reimagine and redesign your identity policies and security systems to get the full benefits of Cisco Private 5G.”
Transforming Industries—and Jobs—for the Future
Over the next five years, the global private 5G market is expected to grow by nearly 40 percent annually, reaching more than $14 billion in 2028, according to a recent report. In the near term, these networks will ensure that sprawling corporate or college campuses have no blind spots, creating the connected 4IR environments that will allow employees or students to work from anywhere.
“We don’t stop at the factory floor,” Mir says. “When cars made by automated robots go out in the real world and they’re roaming the streets, they’ll be connected to the same Cisco system that was used inside the factory. Even today, about 90 percent of connected vehicles run on Cisco’s platform.”
Going forward, it’s this broader connection—opening possibilities from factory floors to homes to communities at large—that Cisco’s Private 5G network will unlock to truly transform the future. “This technology is going to have a profound impact,” Mir says, “not only for the industries we serve, but most importantly for the society we live in.”
Visit Cisco to learn more about how private 5G can transform your wireless network.
This story was produced by WIRED Brand Lab for Cisco.
