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Industry Reports in Review: Cyber ​​Resilience, US Manufacturing Health, and the State of Industrial Networks

Posted on by darion

If you’re looking for a solid analysis of the state of the manufacturing industry, go straight to the source: the workforce. Solid research from industry organizations is invaluable when you’re trying to make decisions about your facility or business. In this roundup, we’ll highlight the latest surveys, reports, studies, and analyses that delve into the trends, topics, and technologies impacting the manufacturing sector.

MxD Behind the Firewall: Assessing Cyber ​​Resilience in US Manufacturing

Methodology:

To gather the data, MxD partnered with APCO to survey 750 U.S. manufacturers. The survey, conducted in late 2023, included input from senior cybersecurity decision-makers across a range of industry sectors and company sizes. To better analyze the results, respondents were divided into four sectors (aerospace and defense, defense industrial base, chemicals, and other manufacturing) and two company sizes (small and midsize manufacturers with 500 or fewer employees and large manufacturers with more than 500 employees).

Key conclusions:

  • 76% of surveyed manufacturers believe their companies are capable of preventing cyber threats and responding to cyberattacks
  • 82% of manufacturers plan to increase cybersecurity spending
  • Only 43% of survey respondents have a dedicated cybersecurity leader

Quotations:

“The supply chains supporting U.S. manufacturing are only as strong as their weakest link. We must strengthen at every level to ensure a resilient domestic manufacturing capability, including the defense industrial base. We see a sense of overconfidence in our research results, which is concerning given that everyone is at risk, from the largest multinational corporations to small and medium-sized manufacturers that often lack adequate resources to protect themselves from cyberattacks.” — Berardino Baratta, CEO of MxD

“Cyberattacks on the manufacturing sector are no longer rare, one-time events. The increase in incidents demonstrates repeated and coordinated efforts to steal IP or other company data, resulting in production disruptions, logistics delays, and more. Our manufacturing sector must stay ahead of these growing threats—and we can only do that by updating and improving cyber capabilities across the industry.” — Michael Tanji, MxD Cybersecurity Director

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Augury’s Second Annual State of Health Production Report 2024

Methodology:

Augury partnered with Endeavor Business Intelligence to conduct the study in March 2024. The study surveyed more than 700 manufacturing executives from the U.S. and Europe, representing a wide range of manufacturing verticals. Each company surveyed had global revenues of more than $100 million and at least five manufacturing facilities.

Key conclusions:

  • 83% of surveyed manufacturers intend to increase investments in artificial intelligence in 2024
  • 90% of manufacturers predict more supply chain disruptions in the next 12 months
  • 91% of industry leaders fear veteran retirement will widen knowledge gap

Quote:

“Our findings from 2024 paint a positive outlook for the industrial sector and technology adoption, as nearly all (96%) leaders are optimistic about the future of manufacturing. Manufacturers’ confidence in the value of AI is growing rapidly as they build their organizations’ AI capabilities and drive higher profits. While measuring the impact of AI on key business goals remains challenging for some, many industrial leaders have found their footing in 12 short months. This group of innovators will emerge as industry leaders and provide a blueprint for achieving the ideal of Industry 4.0.” — Saar Yoskovitz, CEO and Co-Founder, Augury

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Cisco’s Inaugural State of Industrial Networks Report

Methodology:

Cisco partnered with Sapio Research to survey more than 1,000 industry professionals from 17 countries across 20 industry sectors, including manufacturing, transportation/logistics, energy/utilities, and more. Survey respondents came from companies with annual revenues of more than $100 million.

Key conclusions:

  • 89% of manufacturers consider cybersecurity compliance to be very or extremely important
  • 41% of respondents say their OT and IT teams work independently
  • 63% of respondents increased spending on industrial infrastructure in the last year

Quote:

“Operational technology, and specifically the network supporting industrial operations, has become a key differentiator for organizations around the world. This study sheds light on how IT and OT leaders are recognizing that strengthening their OT security posture is critical to increasing business resilience, improving efficiency, and preparing for the next wave of AI innovation.” — Vikas Butaney, senior vice president and general manager, Cisco Networking – SD-WAN, Multicloud, and Industrial IoT

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