March 1, 2022
Investments in Industry 4.0 technologies have grown ten times by 2021 and will touch US$ 200 billion by 2025.
Manufacturing spending is expected to be dominated by spending on IoT, robotics and IT-OT integration among others.
Brazil, India, USA, China and the UK are expected to make a majority of the investments by 2025.
A mix of Digital Continuity, Digital Convergence and Digital Insights technologies are expected to be adopted in the manufacturing sector.
A report titled ‘India Industry 4.0 Adoption: A Case to Mature Manufacturing Digitalization by 2025’ jointly developed by the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) and Capgemini makes the case for increased investments and enhanced capabilities in the manufacturing space. Along with strengthening technology readiness, the recommendations are expected to put the sector on the path toward achieving the US$ 1 trillion national target by FY2026.
The report documents that investments in Industry 4.0 have grown tenfold and are expected to touch US$ 200 billion by 2025 across the globe. Spending on technologies like human-machine interfaces, Internet of Things (IoT), robotics and information technology – Operational Technology (IT-OT) integration are expected to take up 40% of total manufacturing-based spending. Countries including Brazil, India, the United States of America, China and the United Kingdom are expected to make investments with a combined worth of US$ 100 billion by 2025. The two years to come will dictate the pace of Industry 4.0 growth in terms of IT and OT capabilities, business models and expertise in customer experience.
Experts predict that Industry 4.0 will be adopted by two-thirds of the manufacturing space with the amalgamation of Digital Continuity, Digital Convergence and Digital Insights technologies being crucial to sectoral development. Product innovations based on a nuanced understanding of customer requirements and experience are expected to be facilitated.
The next two years will play a significant role in shaping the growth of Industry 4.0. Some of the crucial technologies to be adopted include big tech analytics, process automation, connectivity technologies as well as central and remote-controlled monitoring. Other technologies include Cloud and IoT.
FY21 saw Industry 4.0 spending increase to US$ 5.5 – 6.5 billion across the Indian manufacturing sector. The sector is facing constraints in upscaling Industry 4.0 and creative leadership is key to mitigating these challenges. The report recommends that non-core tasks can be taken up by SaaS and Cloud-based solutions, assess and mitigate risks through big-data analytics and ensure quality compliance through AI-based computer vision.
Industry 4.0 presents exciting opportunities for multi-sectoral growth in India. Examining the challenges involved in scaling up the technology and mitigating them will be key to the proliferation of Industry 4.0.