by Petra Sargent, Head of Business Development at Dot Group
Welcome to our new blog series, “Unleashing the Power of Data with Dot Group.” As European specialists in IBM solutions, we’re excited to explore how cutting-edge data transfer technologies are reshaping various industries. We’re kicking off with a look at the engineering and manufacturing sector, where the ability to seamlessly share vast amounts of information can make or break a project.
The Data Dilemma in Engineering and Manufacturing
In the fast-paced world of engineering and manufacturing, the ability to swiftly and securely share enormous volumes of data is not just an advantage—it’s a necessity. Companies in this space face numerous challenges, from global collaboration and software development to remote technical support and manufacturing coordination. They grapple with the need to rapidly exchange large design files, CAD drawings, and test results across worldwide teams. Additionally, product launches demand quick deployment of high-definition marketing assets, while the rise of IoT and big data necessitates efficient collection and analysis of vast amounts of information from various devices and sensors.
These challenges, if not addressed effectively, can lead to delays in product development, inefficient processes, and ultimately, a loss of competitive edge in the market.
Enter IBM Aspera: A Game-Changer for the Industry
IBM Aspera addresses these challenges head-on, offering a suite of high-speed, reliable, and secure transfer solutions that are transforming the engineering and manufacturing landscape. Here’s how:
- Enhanced Global Collaboration: Aspera enables seamless sharing of large files across global teams, breaking down geographical barriers. Teams can exchange massive CAD drawings, design documents, and test results with both internal and external partners at unprecedented speeds.
- Streamlined Software Development: By accelerating the sharing of large code bases, build artifacts, and digital files, Aspera significantly reduces development cycle times. This allows global development teams to collaborate more efficiently and bring products to market faster.
- Efficient Remote Technical Support: Aspera facilitates quick transfer and analysis of sizable log files from customer-deployed software. This capability enhances troubleshooting efficiency, leading to improved customer support and satisfaction.
- Optimised Manufacturing Coordination: The solution enables rapid exchange of detailed design documents, CAD files, and test cases among worldwide teams throughout the design, engineering, testing, and production cycle. This streamlined information flow ensures all stakeholders are always working with the most up-to-date data.
- Impactful Product Launches: With Aspera, companies can swiftly deploy high-definition video and high-resolution marketing assets to field teams, PR partners, and retail locations. This coordinated dissemination of materials ensures synchronised and impactful product launches.
- Advanced IoT and Big Data Analytics: Aspera efficiently collects and transfers vast amounts of structured and unstructured data from IoT devices, machine sensors, and product performance reports to high-performance computing (HPC) clusters. This capability enables deeper insights into production processes, enhancing operational efficiency and decision-making.
The Tangible Impact
By leveraging IBM Aspera, manufacturers are experiencing a profound transformation in their operations. The technology enables companies to gain valuable insights into their production processes, leading to enhanced operational efficiency across the board. Supply chain management sees significant optimisation, with faster and more reliable data transfers facilitating smoother coordination between partners.
Perhaps most critically, IBM Aspera accelerates product development cycles and reduces time-to-market. This speed advantage allows companies to respond more quickly to market demands and stay ahead of competitors. Product launches become more synchronised and impactful, as marketing assets and critical information can be disseminated rapidly to all relevant parties.
The ripple effects of these improvements are far-reaching. Overall productivity sees a marked boost as teams spend less time waiting for file transfers and more time on value-adding activities. Customer satisfaction increases, driven by faster response times and more innovative products. Moreover, the streamlined processes and reduced need for workarounds translate into significant cost reductions, improving the bottom line.
Real-World Results
Our clients’ experiences with IBM Aspera illustrate its transformative power. One engineering firm saw a dramatic acceleration in their file transfer speeds, reducing wait times from 6 hours to a mere 15 minutes. Another client, a global manufacturing company, eliminated £5 million in annual consultant fees by optimising their data transfer processes.
Even organisations with the most stringent security requirements have found a compliant solution in Aspera, opening up new possibilities for secure collaboration in highly regulated industries.
Jabil: Revolutionising Global Manufacturing Services
Jabil, a global supply chain management and electronics manufacturing company, faced significant challenges in exchanging large design files across their vast network of customers, peers, and partners. With over 30 million square feet of manufacturing space, Jabil needed a solution to transfer CAD models and circuit diagrams quickly, reliably, and securely.
By implementing IBM Aspera faspex on Demand, running on IBM SoftLayer cloud, Jabil achieved remarkable improvements:
- Dramatic speed increase: Transfer speeds now reach up to 95 Mbps, enabling rapid exchange of critical design files.
- Handling large file volumes: In one instance, Jabil securely transferred 124 GB of data (3,400 files across multiple sub-folders) in less than 5 hours over the public Internet.
- User-friendly solution: The intuitive interface of faspex allowed 1,400 external and 1,100 internal users to adapt quickly with minimal training.
- Enhanced security: Built-in features like SSH authentication and encryption in transit and at rest protect Jabil’s high-value design files throughout the transfer process.
- Substantial cost savings: Jabil reduced annual operating expenditures by replacing their previous managed file transfer solution.
Dan Eng, Director of IT at Jabil, emphasises, “Aspera’s speed, security, and ease of use enable us to provide quality service to our valued customers.”
Overcoming Restrictive Networks: A Federal Contractor’s Success Story
Another client, a federal contractor, faced critical challenges with slow and unreliable file transfers over highly restrictive networks. These issues threatened to derail manufacturing deadlines and incurred unsustainable costs of approximately £80,000 per week in workaround solutions.
IBM Aspera’s SaaS solution provided a game-changing alternative:
- Secure and reliable uploads: The solution enabled partners to upload large design files securely, which the client could then access and download seamlessly.
- High-speed transfers: Even the largest files moved quickly and securely, overcoming restrictive network limitations.
- Tailored security compliance: The highly configurable SaaS solution operated in a restrictive mode, meeting stringent security requirements for both the client and their partners.
- Dramatic time savings: Transfer times were reduced from 6 hours to just 15 minutes – a 25-fold improvement.
- Significant cost reduction: The client eliminated about £4 million in annual consultant expenses.
- Pioneering compliance: This marked the first SaaS solution to meet the extremely stringent requirements of federal contractors.
These case studies illustrate the transformative power of IBM Aspera in the engineering and manufacturing sector. By dramatically accelerating file transfers, ensuring ironclad security, and significantly reducing costs, IBM Aspera enables companies to streamline their global operations, meet tight deadlines, and ultimately bring innovative products to market faster.
At Dot Group, we specialise in implementing these powerful IBM solutions tailored to your specific needs. Whether you’re grappling with slow file transfers, seeking to enhance global collaboration, or aiming to extract more value from your IoT data, we have the expertise to guide your digital transformation.
Ready to revolutionise your data transfer capabilities? Contact Dot Group today to discover how IBM Aspera can transform your engineering and manufacturing processes. Let’s embark on this journey together, unlocking the full potential of your data and propelling your business into the future of manufacturing.
Don’t miss out on the upcoming instalments of our “Unleashing the Power of Data with Dot Group” series (read the introductory post here with a list of the topics we plan to cover), where we’ll explore how innovative data transfer solutions are transforming other industries. Subscribe to our LinkedIn newsletter to have the latest articles delivered directly to your inbox.