Enea’s New Private 5G Applications Deployed in Asia, Powering Industry 4.0 Use Cases
East Asia has some of the most technologically advanced industries in the world. It is also said to have performed better at managing the Covid-19 crisis and as the region recovers, its enterprises are leapfrogging their global counterparts with private 5G enterprise networks. According to a new study from ABI Research, Australia, China, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, and Singapore are leading the way with private enterprise networks. These nations will account for 65% of global private network revenues by 2025 and worth almost US$7 billion.
The demand for Enea’s solutions in Asia mirror ABI Research findings. In the past few months, we have secured six major channel partnerships for private 5G enterprise networks in Singapore, Japan and South Korea with major industrial system integrators and enterprises. Industrial and manufacturing businesses in the region are embracing private 5G networks to support smart manufacturing and Industry 4.0 initiatives.
Industry 4.0 relies very heavily on data. Why? Industry 4.0 uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to transform products and services into real game changers. So, Industry 4.0 has given impetus for enterprises to deploy robust data management solutions to effectively feed AI’s insatiable appetite for data effectively. Therefore security, interoperability and agility in data management is critical. That is why a growing number of vendors, system Integrators and enterprises have turned to Enea.
A data management powerhouse
Enea’s solutions for private 5G networks is one of the world’s most advanced data management solutions. It was developed for a minimal footprint and is based on our award-winning 5G Core solutions that have been deployed by tier 1 operators.
What makes this significant is that it is cloud-native and like its network operator version, it is fully interoperable. What this means is that enterprises have the flexibility to mix and match best of breed products and avoid the dreaded vendor-lock ins. What’s more the it leverages several 5G data management capabilities including Unified Data Manager (UDM), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), a mini-Home Subscriber Server (HSS) and User Data Repository (UDR).
There is a plethora of use cases that Enea’s 5G Private 5G have been tapped for. Here’s just a handful:
- Smart manufacturing: ‘Intelligent’ factories, especially for electronics, have proliferated in Asia and have transformed factory floors. There are now legions of robots crisscrossing warehouses. According to the International Federation of Robotics, Asia has the highest number of industrial robots in action. The use of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) are commonplace in Industry 4.0 workshops. Nearly half of the region’s manufacturers could have smart factories by 2022 – many taking advantage of Asia’s 5G lead for connectivity. Needless to say, interconnectivity plays a pivotal role in smart factories as sensors, machinery, robots and a variety of systems ‘speak’ to each other exchanging data. Smart manufacturing needs ultra-efficient data management systems.
- Defence: The defence industry has specific security needs to safeguard their data from cyberthreats while connecting to – excuse the pun – an army of sensors and devices. Enea and one the world’s largest operators delivered a security-grade data management system via a 5G private network slice to the Norwegian defence authorities. With a next-generation firewall, the enterprise network has bespoke policies to fit defence industry requirements for robustness.
- Healthcare: The last few months have stretched health services to breaking point. A growing number of healthcare providers are creating smart hospital ecosystems connecting everything from robots in wards to thermal imagery and X-ray machines to first responder cameras and surgical theatres. Similar to the defence industry, healthcare networks have specific requirements, sometimes legislated, for up-time and reliability along with security for their data management systems.
- Automotive: Electrification has truly revolutionized the automobile industry. Automotive manufacturers are creating private 5G networks that interconnect in-vehicle systems to garages and even to the factory floor for smart maintenance and for over-the-air updates. In addition, automotive manufacturers and telecom operators are collaborating on V2X systems. The connectivity leverages 5G for low-latency reliability and cloud native data management systems for continuous, anytime, anywhere data sharing across a complex ecosystem.
Multi-billion-dollar opportunities
These are just a small number of Industry 4.0 use cases. The global market size for industry 4.0 could reach a staggering US$260 billion by 2026. It is an unstoppable juggernaut that gorges and generates data at unprecedented levels. An effective data management system is not just a nice-to-have – it is essential for enterprises – it ensures data is in your own hands. There’s money on the table for partners and system integrators in enterprise 5G networks that will power Industry 4.0. A study from Mobile Experts has forecast that globally, the private LTE and 5G equipment market could grow at circa 20% CAGR to about $10 billion in 2025.
Over the next few weeks Enea will publish blogs looking at the opportunities private 5G offers both enterprise and system integrators to monetize their data.
For details of the Private 5G visit us @ Private 5G & IoT.
To discuss how to join our global partner network of system integrators and enterprises, contact [email protected]
