For several years, "digitalization" has been the leading subject in IDC's industrial coverage. It recently released a study titled "Investing in a Business Outcomes-Driven Digital Infrastructure," which was based in part on its North America Future Enterprise Best in Future of Digital Infrastructure Award program. Although the winners' names are not mentioned, their experiences have been included in IDC's list of best practices for the digital transformation of US manufacturing.

What Is Digital Manufacturing?

It is the use of computers in manufacturing services, supply chains, products, and processes to make them more efficient and effective. All aspects of production, from product conception to delivery, can be handled as one unit by digital manufacturing technologies, which connect disparate systems and processes.

Characters of Leaders in Digital Manufacturing

Per the IDC, leaders in the digital manufacturing space exhibit a "willingness to challenge the existing quo by aggressively dismantling operational silos and concentrating on business-centric KPIs."

However, the IDC stated there's typically a "lack of knowledge on the side of business leaders regarding the contribution that digital infrastructure brings to business outcomes, such as guaranteeing digital business resiliency, allowing operational agility, and driving deeper levels of consumer engagement."

A Key Approach to Adoption

According to the IDC, firms that successfully link digital infrastructure investments with business goals take these steps:

- Use excellence centers or collaborative decision-making, as this allows for strategic planning and decision-making;
- Identify the right number of business outcome-focused KPIs as "guiding lights." Each digital infrastructure team can then structure KPIs against those top-line business outcomes;
- Break digital infrastructure transformation projects into phases that generate business results.

The IDC believes organizations must also redefine how they fund and prioritize digital infrastructure by:

- Promoting trust and collaboration among IT, LOB, and DevOps;
- Business objectives and KPIs;
- Data-driven decision-making with continuous inspection and progress tracking;
- Documenting operating policies and automating enforcement where possible;
- Emphasizing platform-centric infrastructures and autonomous processes as enablers of digital business scalability, speed, and reliability;
- Using consumption-driven sourcing and payment mechanisms to expand investments and boost usage as business needs grow.

Digital manufacturing has thrown us some curve balls, but device and enterprise integration are finally starting to come together. And that should be good news for manufacturers who want to make their operations as efficient and effective as possible.

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