Top 10: Predictions For 2025
With approximately 70,000 employees and a 2024 revenue of US$17.9bn, Lenovo is a global leader in electronics manufacturing.
Lenovo intimately understands that the future of manufacturing is high-tech. It is a staunch adopter of AI and was recognised by Fortune in its 2024 list of the World’s Most Admired Companies in the ‘Computers and Communication’ industry category.
Here, Anthony Sayers, GSI Lead Solution Consultant – UK&I, Northern Europe and Western Europe, provides his predictions on what manufacturing will look like in 2025.
10. Edge to grow in importance
Anthony argues that edge computing will grow in importance in 2025, due to the way it enables manufacturers to move processing power directly onto the factory floor – integrated into everything from robots to programmable logic controllers (PLCs) that monitor machines.
“Lenovo Manufacturing Solutions empower manufacturers to make intelligent decisions by harnessing data,” he says.
“I anticipate that, in 2025, edge IoT and AI will form a foundational framework to help manufacturers integrate, consolidate, and digitalise their operations.”
9. A move towards prescriptive maintenance
Anthony contends that we’ll witness the evolution of predictive maintenance to prescriptive maintenance in manufacturing.
This represents a transition from flagging and monitoring potential machine issues to stopping them from arising in the first place.
“Manufacturers will move towards ‘prescriptive maintenance’ where machines are repaired long before they fail,” Anthony explains. “This improves uptime and extends equipment life.”
8. Federated learning will boost privacy
Anthony highlights the value of federated learning technology in manufacturing, helping to keep confidential safe in 2025.
He continues: “Thanks to federated learning, edge devices can learn from data without sending it to a central cloud server, making AI and edge an even more attractive option for manufacturers.”
7. Manufacturing-as-a-service to grow
Another development Anthony anticipates in 2025 is the growth of manufacturing-as-a-service (MaaS).
“In the same way software-as-a-service has become a dominant force in IT, we’ll see MaaS grow thanks to lean, connected factories powered by edge computing and internet-of-things sensors,” he says.
“These factories will switch from manufacturing one product to another, meaning a lower barrier of entry to the sector and reduced set-up times.”
6. Workers will be safer and happier
The future of manufacturing labour is in flux amid a digital skills gap and the rise of automation.
However, Anthony is adamant that positives will emerge in 2025.
He says: “Rather than ‘dark factories’ where there are no humans, we’ll see factories where vision sensors and AI free up workers from mundane jobs, such as endlessly checking machines, and sensors monitor employee safety, for instance by ensuring no one goes into restricted areas.”
5. Sustainability as a revenue stream
Sustainability is often thought of in terms of cost – sometimes as a financial sacrifice for the greater good.
Anthony undercuts this by explaining that, in 2025, sustainability will create new revenue streams for manufacturers: “Manufacturers will embrace sustainability with enthusiasm in 2025, switching to renewable energy, adding solar panels to factories and ‘cleaning up’ dirty industrial processes.
“At Lenovo, we already have 17 megawatts of solar operational at our factories and are investigating new opportunities in several countries. Manufacturers will embrace sustainability to the extent that carbon credits could even become a new revenue stream.”
4. OT will bond with IT
The interoperability of operational technology (OT) and IT technologies has long been the bane of manufacturing.
However, Anthony foresees a 2025 where these two areas begin to form an effective bond.
“Bonding OT to the IT of the wider business will increasingly deliver measurable returns for manufacturing leaders,” he says.
“Smart factories, energised by edge computing and AI, will connect to other areas of the business, including supply chain, research and development, helping business leaders unlock new ways to do business.”
3. Digital twins become mainstream
In 2024, Digital twins were still very much an emerging technology in manufacturing.
In 2025, Anthony foresees them going mainstream: “The effectiveness of digital twins as a way to test hypotheses and plan for innovation will see the technology become mainstream in manufacturing.
“Digital twins will enable managers and engineers to simulate scenarios while not impacting production, allowing factories to move towards agile production which adapts to market demands.”
2. Large language models enter the factory
Anthony’s second-biggest prediction for 2025 is that emerging forms of generative AI technology, like large language models (LLMs), will enter the factory on a larger scale.
“AI technology is already widely used for everything from anomaly detection and predictive maintenance,” he explains.
“But emerging Gen AI technology such as LLMs will increasingly be used to interpret machine telemetry and monitor for anomalies, alongside other areas such as improving visibility in the supply chain.”
1. The metaverse gets real
Anthony’s final and biggest expectation for manufacturing in 2025 is that the metaverse and other augmented reality forms will come to the forefront as impactful tools.
“The metaverse and augmented reality have been overshadowed by AI in recent years,” he concludes.
“But the technologies have important applications in manufacturing, in everything from digital twins to training to remote access to sites, where experts can talk on-site teams through repairs. Mixed reality in particular will be extremely important in manufacturing.”
In 2024 we saw mixed reality solutions playing an impactful role in repairs, predictive maintenance and training, uses which are sure to expand as we move into 2025.
To read the full story in the magazine, click HERE.
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