With high production targets, ensuring maximum uptime in a factory is critical. The ultimate goal is uninterrupted operations and a relentless 24/7 factory environment. Meeting stringent production schedules, maintaining quality control, and supporting complex logistical functions requires a robust, “always on” connectivity strategy. Therefore, Internet redundancy can be seen as a crucial element for business continuity.
In the high-stakes world of manufacturing, where downtime costs UK and European manufacturers more than £80 billion annually, connectivity resilience isn’t merely a technical consideration—it’s a business imperative. By providing a backup pathway, Internet redundancy ensures seamless operations even amidst potential Internet disruptions. This is particularly vital as we advance further into Industry 4.0, where connectivity forms the foundation of smart manufacturing.
The Staggering Cost of Connectivity Failure
The financial implications of connectivity failures in manufacturing are profound. Recent research shows that in 2025, UK and European manufacturers will lose more than £80 billion due to downtime. In some sectors, just one hour of inactivity can equate to millions in lost output, supply chain bottlenecks, or compliance risks.
The automotive industry alone could see projected losses of up to £12 billion in 2025, while the highly regulated pharmaceutical industry faces between £500 million and £1 billion in losses due to extended shutdowns. These figures highlight the urgent need for manufacturers to implement robust connectivity redundancy strategies.
Eight Critical Use Cases for Internet Redundancy in Manufacturing
We’ve identified eight compelling use cases that demonstrate why Internet redundancy is indispensable for 24/7 factory settings in the age of Industry 4.0.
Use Case 1: Minimising Downtime and Production Interruptions
Internet connectivity is the backbone of modern factory operations. A stable Internet connection ensures a factory can enable real-time monitoring, automated systems, supply chain management, and internal communication. A single outage can halt production lines, disrupt automated processes, and lead to significant productivity losses.
Redundant Internet connections act as a critical fail-safe, providing an alternative link if the primary connection fails. With this in place, you can minimise downtime, prevent production delays, and keep the factory operational around the clock.
Use Case 2: Ensuring Reliable Communication
In a 24/7 factory, effective communication is essential to coordinate all activities, manage staff, and troubleshoot issues as quickly as possible. Internet redundancy ensures continuous access to vital communication tools like email, VoIP, and instant messaging platforms.
With uninterrupted communication, you can coordinate between different departments, facilitate remote troubleshooting, and enable quick decision-making—all crucial elements for maintaining operational efficiency. This becomes particularly important when managing multiple shifts and remote teams.
Use Case 3: Supporting Real-Time Monitoring and Control Systems
There are roughly 18 billion Internet of Things (IoT) devices being used globally, and that number is estimated to almost double to 32 billion by 2030. IoT devices are vital to modern factories for monitoring and controlling machinery, tracking production metrics, and managing inventory.
These systems depend on a stable Internet connection to function effectively. Redundancy ensures that real-time data from sensors and control systems remain accessible, allowing your devices to consistently monitor production parameters, detect issues, and provide prompt responses to anomalies. This safeguards product quality and operational stability.
Use Case 4: Maintaining Supply Chain Integration
Today’s manufacturing relies on just-in-time inventory management, order processing, and logistics coordination, all dependent on a fully-connected supply chain. Internet redundancy helps maintain the continuous flow of information between suppliers, the factory, and distributors, which is crucial for managing supply levels, scheduling deliveries, and avoiding bottlenecks in the production process.
Redundant connections ensure that supply chain integrations remain active, preventing disruptions that could lead to production delays and inventory shortages. This is particularly important given that supply chain disruptions can cost manufacturing businesses an average of £610,000 per incident.
Use Case 5: Facilitating Remote Access and Management
Many 24/7 factories require remote oversight of operations, particularly during different shifts. Remote managers and technical staff need to be able to access factory systems without interruption, even if the primary connection goes down—in fact, especially if the primary connection goes down.
Internet redundancy supports remote troubleshooting, system updates, and real-time oversight, enhancing the factory’s responsiveness to issues and maintaining continuous operational control. This capability has become increasingly important as manufacturing operations become more distributed and complex.
Use Case 6: Enhancing Cybersecurity Resilience
Redundant Internet connections also contribute to cybersecurity resilience. Depending on what kind of back-up connectivity solution you use, they can segregate different types of traffic or provide backup pathways in case of a cyber-attack on the primary connection.
In the event of an attack or Internet service disruption, redundancy ensures that the factory can switch to a secure backup connection, reducing vulnerability to data breaches and minimising operational risks and potential downtime. This is particularly important as manufacturing becomes a prime target for cyber threats, with ransomware attacks posing a significant risk to both IT environments and production operations.
Use Case 7: Supporting Compliance and Reporting
Many factories need to adhere to regulations that require continuous data collection and reporting on various aspects of production and their environmental impact. Redundant Internet connections help ensure that data logging and reporting systems remain operational, avoiding non-compliance due to Internet outages.
This continuity is essential for meeting legal obligations, maintaining transparency, and avoiding penalties. As regulatory requirements become more stringent, particularly around environmental impact and product quality, maintaining consistent reporting capabilities becomes increasingly critical.
Use Case 8: Cost Efficiency in the Long Run
There are initial setup costs for Internet redundancy; however, it is a very cost-effective measure long term. The potential financial impact of production stoppages, missed deadlines, and lost revenue far outweighs the expense of maintaining redundant connections.
Internet redundancy mitigates the risks associated with connectivity failures, protecting your factory from significant financial losses and enhancing overall operational reliability. The investment in Internet redundancy ultimately fortifies your factory’s ability to adapt to challenges and sustain uninterrupted operations, crucial for success in today’s competitive manufacturing landscape.
Implementing Effective Internet Redundancy Solutions
Implementing robust Internet redundancy requires a strategic approach that considers the specific needs of your manufacturing environment. Key considerations include:
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Diverse Connection Types: Combine different connection technologies such as fibre, fixed wireless, and cellular to ensure true redundancy.
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Automatic Failover: Implement systems that can automatically switch to backup connections without human intervention, minimising downtime.
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Regular Testing: Periodically test your redundant connections to ensure they function properly when needed.
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Scalable Solutions: Choose redundancy solutions that can grow with your manufacturing operations and adapt to changing connectivity requirements.
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Security Integration: Ensure your redundant connections maintain the same level of security as your primary connection to prevent vulnerabilities during failover.
Digital Carbon’s Approach to Manufacturing Connectivity
Digital Carbon specialises in providing tailored connectivity, cloud, and security services for manufacturing environments that address the unique challenges of factory connectivity. Our comprehensive solutions offer manufacturing companies a holistic SD-WAN, SASE, and Remote Access framework, incorporating ISP Lifecycle Management, Edge Computing, Cloud-Scale Security, and Advanced Monitoring.
Digital Carbon’s Fixed Wireless Access and mobile 4G/LTE/5G Internet coverage is available everywhere you need to do business. We provide quick and easy deployment for “always on” connectivity designed specifically for your 24/7 factory locations.
Conclusion
In the high-stakes environment of a 24/7 factory, Internet redundancy can be the difference between uninterrupted operations and failing to hit your production targets. As manufacturing continues to evolve with Industry 4.0 technologies, the importance of reliable connectivity will only increase.
If you’re looking to enhance your resilience, maintain consistent operations, and uphold your commitment to continuous production and high-quality output with redundant Internet options, get in touch with Digital Carbon today. Our expertise in manufacturing connectivity solutions can help safeguard your operations against costly disruptions and position your factory for success in an increasingly connected world.
