In today’s competitive global markets, it’s not going to be enough for manufacturers to simply maintain the status quo. Lean and tech- enabled manufacturing process is more important than ever. Sharing information between the manufacturing floor and business systems can enable manufacturers to achieve new levels of efficiency. With the industrial Internet of Things (IoT) revolutionizing manufacturing by leveraging intelligent, connected devices in factories, there are even more opportunities to fine-tune operations with better data and process integration.

In a recent survey by Accenture of more than 1,400 global business leaders, 84% confidently asserted that they could create new income streams from implementing IoT solutions. BI Intelligence expects the installed base of manufacturing IoT devices to swell from 237 million in 2015 to 923 million in 2020. By that year, manufacturers will spend approximately $267 billion on the IoT.

Indeed, the anticipated efficiency returns from digitization over the next five years across all major industrial sectors are substantial: nearly 3% in additional revenue and 3.6% in reduced costs per year, according to a recent PwC survey. By proactively leading the digitization effort, industrial manufacturers can earn a growing portion of these gains.