Smart manufacturing requires ‘open platforms’, but are they safe?

Concerns over data security and the protection of intellectual property have become important issues as more companies embrace the open digital platforms which are needed to facilitate data sharing in the manufacturing process, according to experts.

Norbert Gaus, Siemens’ head of research in digitalisation, automation and platform development, said a key trend is towards “open source” and modular software development that allows external partners to participate in the innovation process.

“Having an ecosystem is not an option any more, it is a necessity,” he said.

Forming alliances with university research units and start-ups is key to meeting increasingly short product development cycles “without an explosion of costs,” he said.

Companies providing “smart manufacturing” technology to China have placed special emphasis on protecting clients from intellectual property theft risks.

Underscoring the importance of security, the Trade Development Council published a report highlighting the vulnerabilities of manufacturing systems “where a large amount of information and data is likely to be processed to achieve optimisation”.