标签: INFRASTRUCTURE

There are times when I feel as though I'm walking around with blinkers on, because I discover there are all sorts of things going on around me of which I'm blissfully unaware (if the saying "ignorance is bliss" is true, that would go somewhat to explain why I'm such a jolly happy chappy).   As an example, I just discovered that there's an organization called Energy Huntsville here in town. My understanding is that this initiative was launched by our mayor, Tommy Battle, around three and a half years ago. Since its inauguration, Energy Huntsville has grown from being a local industry organization to a regional organization, and is now moving to having a "national footprint."   The goal of Energy Huntsville is to establish this community as the go-to technology center for solutions to energy programs and projects. They have a meeting on the third Tuesday of each month, and I was fortunate enough to be invited to this month's assembly.   This is a fantastic organization for anyone from an individual contractor to a major player if you want to be involved in the spectrum of energy sectors, including renewables, fossil fuels, power generation, energy storage, transportation, building energy efficiency, and energy management. In the meeting I attended, for example, the attendees were informed of a new $990 million business opportunity. It seems that over 60 local companies have been identified as being eligible to act as prime contractors and sub-contractors. I also discovered that members have access to a spreadsheet containing thousands of energy-related opportunities nationwide.   There's a keynote speaker at each meeting. This month's presenter was Stephen Bates, who is Director, Advanced Analytics at OSIsoft . As an aside, I met up with Stephen for breakfast before his talk, and was delighted to discover that he is a fellow beer quaffer, horologist, and Saddleback Leather junkie, but we digress...   Stephen's talk was titled "IoT Primer," so I'm afraid I went into this thinking "Ho Hum, I'm pretty sure I know all this stuff." Boy, was I wrong. The thing is that my expertise is more in the nitty-gritty implementation details. By comparison, although Stephen did introduce some key concepts, his talk also spanned current and future trends and business opportunities.   Quite apart from anything else, Stephen proved to be a very engaging speaker with lots of interest and fun in his slides. For example, after explaining how important it is to gather data, he pointed out that having reams of data is meaningless if you can't understand it.   (Source: OSIsoft)   Stephen also introduced me to a number of concepts I'd never heard of in these terms, such as The Industrial Awakening: The Internet of Heavier Things . The idea here is that there's around $6.8 trillion of existing "dumb" fixed infrastructure and machinery in the USA alone.   (Source: Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers)   This equipment needs to be dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century, either by being replaced or by being retrofitted with a wide range of capabilities and functionalities, including communications, networking, security, and... the list goes on. According to a report generated by the World Economic Forum, this "Industrial Awakening" will generate $14.2 trillion of global output by 2030.   I tell you, my head is still reeling by everything I heard at this meeting, I can't wait to hear what the Energy Huntsville presenters have to say in the 2016 get-togethers.

Many in the west know that India is a great place for low cost manufacturing of garments and other goods, and indeed some of the export markets continue to grow (taking into account the correction from the current world financial crisis). But the electronics manufacturing industry is one that doesn’t yet seem to have followed the path of textiles and novelty goods. Why is this? It’s probably down to supply chain issues and infrastructure, which is also one of the key reasons for the snail’s pace growth of Indian semiconductor manufacturing. According to Jack Chua, Siemens’ vice president for south east Asia, who spoke at the recent electronicIndia conference  in Bangalore, the manufacturing industry can only bloom when the supply chain is in place.   He had commented that the Indian market is dominated by foreign investors who are basically bringing all the material to India to produce either for the domestic market or for export. He said that to date the manufacturing sector is dominated by the telecoms industry but automotive also has a great potential in the future.   But there are always mixed messages in India – if you listen to Ravi Pagar , director for Farnell India, he says that they are planning a same-day or next day for supplying electronic components to designers – which seems to indicate that there is some existing infrastructure that can be used to good effect at least for the distribution side.   The challenges at these different ends of the ecosystem is borne out by a recent Frost and Sullivan report .   It says that the most significant challenge to becoming the next big electronics manufacturing destination in India is the lack of infrastructure- especially transport and communications. It says that sound infrastructure is essential to establish and sustain an environment to encourage manufacturing. Previously, India was slack in providing requisite infrastructure especially related to domestic transport, power, and telecommunications. What is most significant though is this: “Though this factor has not deflected the growth of electronic manufacturing in India, it has certainly prevented the country from exploring all opportunities, thereby allowing the sector to grow at a rate below its true potential.” While the Indian Government is said to be investing in improvements throughout the country, with initiatives already initiated to improve infrastructure in sectors such as telecommunications, ports, airports, and energy, India still lacks the requisite levels of high level infrastructure to make it more attractive for manufacturers. One of the major disadvantages of the Indian electronics industry is the lack of a sufficient supply base. Although the Indian electronics industry predominantly manufactures passive components, the lack of readily available supply has been a major deterrent in attracting manufacturing opportunities. Ultimately, India’s potential in electronics manufacturing needs a kick-start; and while government initiatives may improve the playing field in the near future, it needs players on the field to start building their plans to take advantage of the opportunities in electronics manufacturing in the country. of a sufficient supply base. Although the Indian electronics industry predominantly manufactures passive components, the lack of readily available supply has been a major deterrent in attracting manufacturing opportunities. Ultimately, India’s potential in electronics manufacturing needs a kick-start; and while government initiatives may improve the playing field in the near future, it needs players on the field to start building their plans to take advantage of the opportunities in electronics manufacturing in the country.