New and Difficult Challenges

India's information technology (IT) services industry continues its mod-rate momentum as most of the IT services companies covered in the re-port exhibited above-average growth. In this report, we analyze the second quarter of financial year 2015-16 of India's IT services sector and compare it with same period the previous year.

Device Management: A Chronic Pain Point.

We've seen widespread adoption of basic (single- and dual-touch) touchscreen technology such for both consumer and industrial products. Multi-touch is also not uncommon in consumer products, such as smartphones and tablet computers. However, multi-touch interaction with industrial automation devices such as operator panels for machines is still in its infancy, with specific use cases still largely undefined. Earlier this year, ARC Advisory Group conducted an online survey to try to determine current adoption, and trends for multi-touch technology in the industrial operator panel market.

Several significant trends are driving both the overall PLM global market and the PLM technology space. The global economy continues to be primary constraint and/or contributor to PLM market growth. Several regions, most notably North America and parts of APAC, are seeing significant business activity. Currently, the economy in Europe is showing slower growth than other global regions, but the PLM market appears to be bucking this trend with very good growth, especially for the PLM leaders.

ARC Advisory Group recently attended Schneider Electric's 2015 Software Global SimSci Simulation for Business Excellence event in Pasadena, California. Customer feedback prompted the company to create this dedicated event for SimSci simulation and optimization users, just as it did this year for its Wonderware and Avantis software customers. The conference theme focused on applying SimSci simulation software to gain a better understanding of and optimize industrial processes to improve business performance and profitability.

Key takeaways include:

The third-party logistics (3PL) market, defined here as non-asset based transportation, warehousing, and integrated supply chain services, declined significantly in third quarter 2015. This was largely due to the soft market environment in both air and ocean freight, plus significant currency translation effects due to the strength of the USD. The 3PL market also witnessed some major acquisitions during the quarter.

• Menlo Logistics, a Division of Con-way was acquired By XPO Logistics
• UTi acquired by DSV

By connecting previously stranded data from smart sensors, equipment, and other industrial assets with advanced applications and predictive analytics in the cloud, the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is becoming a strategic enabler to improve manufacturing performance. Despite initial concerns, many companies now realize that, when properly implemented, internet and wireless technologies can provide appropriate security and availability of services across multiple plants and facilities.

The 26th annual SPS/IPC/Drives show in Nuremberg, Germany closed its gates last week with record-setting numbers. The continued success of the show is due its razor-sharp focus on factory automation and its reputation as a practical technical event rather than as an "image" event. Moreover, its position as THE industrial automation event in Europe gives specialist companies the voice they seek while providing the big players with a second platform next to the Hanover show to introduce innovations.

SPS/IPC/Drives: Best in Class

Related initiatives such as Smart Manufacturing, Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), and Industrie 4.0 are helping to stimulate manufacturing innovation. In this report, we will provide simple and clear terminology to distinguish Smart Manufacturing and Industrial IoT and describe application examples demonstrating that applications are feasible and can be economically viable. We will also provide some recommendations for how ARC clients can build and maintain a smart manufacturing strategy.

Are Smart Manufacturing and Industrial IoT Smart Strategies?