NTT DATA Drives 5G Adoption for Manufacturers

NTT DATA, a global leader in IT infrastructure and services, has announced its partnership with Zebra Technologies, a leader in digital solutions. 

The partnership will accelerate innovation in the 5G device ecosystem, laying the foundation for its widespread adoption across a variety of industries.

The partnership will see NTT DATA and Zebra Technologies co-innovate to drive the adoption of 5G devices. 

They will enable intelligent asset tracking that allows for real-time monitoring and management of assets in industrial and enterprise deployments. 

This will ensure enhanced visibility, efficiencies, and security capabilities critical to the future of supply chain management.

The benefits of private 5G to manufacturers

"Manufacturers are accelerating digital transformation to harness Industry 4.0 and smart factory technology for operational excellence, automation and digital workers,” says Parm Sandhu, VP Enterprise 5G Products and Services at NTT DATA. 

“Private 5G provides a secure, low-latency network for all factory devices, from tablets to sensors," Parm continues. 

“Combined with Edge AI, it delivers real-time critical information on operations, enabling intelligent asset tracking, proactive management, and maintenance.

“This enhances customer control over their data, speed time to market, and boosts efficiency.

“NTT DATA’s Device as a Service bridges device lifecycle management and managed services to align factory deployments with business goals," he concludes. 

The partnership will bridge the barriers to Private 5G adoption, including the availability of 5G devices for enterprises- a market which Omdia estimates will grow 35% globally over the next four years, reaching nearly US$10bn by 2028.

AI key to Industry 4.0

The news follows NTT DATA’s recent collaboration with Qualcomm, aimed to accelerate the evolution of the 5G device ecosystem. 

As businesses experience more digital transformation, this should be met with more connectivity to support Industry 4.0 applications and the adoption of AI. 

The two companies aim to make the low latency and high-security features of Private 5G enabled devices easily accessible to frontline workers in the automotive, manufacturing, healthcare, and logistics industries.

“Our partnership with NTT DATA underscores our commitment to bring customers the latest innovations powered by Wi-Fi, Private LTE, and Private 5G networks,” says Julie Johnson, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Enterprise Mobile Computing at Zebra Technologies.

“We’re excited to leverage the global scale of NTT DATA’s capabilities to benefit our customers and be a vital part of a growing 5G device ecosystem, ensuring businesses can thrive in today’s rapidly evolving landscape,” Julie continues. 

Increased manufacturer visibility

Customers worldwide can benefit from the continual modernisation of device deployments, and from the ability to harness new connectivity solutions with a leading suite of Wi-Fi, Private LTE and Private 5G compatible devices.

NTT DATA is deploying a Private 5G network throughout Hyster-Yale Group’s manufacturing operations, to gain visibility into assets and materials and improve communications within its facilities. 

This network will work with Zebra Technologies' handheld mobile computers and tablets to track assets and materials as they enter and exit manufacturing sites, providing critical business intelligence, while also seamlessly connecting engineers, onsite teams, production lines, and materials storage locations. 

“Adding Zebra devices to our Store Front has allowed us to procure units through our Device as a Service program with NTT DATA, offering much more SKU customization within a standard device set,” says Pierluigi Mastroddi, Director of IT Infrastructure Services at Hyster-Yale Group.

This comes together through a cost-effective deployment at scale efficiently managed through NTT DATA’s Device as a Service practice.

This practice provides expert planning, procurement, configuration, deployment, ongoing support, analytics, repair management, and device retirement, all under the stewardship of a trusted partner. 

This allows customers to use a cost-effective per-user, per-month program model to consume technology products on a pay-per-user subscription basis instead of purchasing the equipment.

“In our relentless pursuit to drive Private 5G and Edge AI adoption within the enterprises, we’re thrilled to join forces with Zebra Technologies globally,” says Shahid Ahmed, Group Executive Vice President, Edge Services at NTT DATA.

“This alliance underscores our dedication to empowering enterprises with transformative capabilities that propel edge and Private 5G use cases and data-driven experiences,” Shahid concludes. 

****** 

Make sure you check out the latest edition of Manufacturing Digital and also sign up to our global conference series - Procurement & Supply Chain 2024 & Sustainability LIVE 2024

******

Manufacturing Digital is a BizClik brand.