IT-OT convergence steers Industry 4.0 market for mechanical test applications towards prosperity

Frost & Sullivan

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Frost & Sullivan’s recent analysis, Information Technology and Operations Technology (IT-OT) Convergence Powers the Global Industry 4.0 Market for Mechanical Test Applications, finds that the complexity involved in creating products creates the need for predictive and proactive maintenance of machines in the mechanical testing field, as traditional inspection and test mechanisms such as coordinate-measuring machines (CMMs) or optical measurement systems can no longer inspect and test such intricate products.

Primarily driven by the rise and prevalence of supporting technologies, the global industry 4.0 in the mechanical test market is likely to experience a nearly two-and-a-half fold growth, reaching US$257.9 million by 2024 from US$109.9 million in 2019, up at an impressive compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.6%. Additionally, the COVID-19-triggered disruptions to businesses and the economy have also compelled companies to adopt Industry 4.0 technologies because their deployment ensures business efficiencies.

“The heightened demand for smart test equipment in end-user verticals such as automotive, aerospace, electronics, and Food and Beverage (F&B) presents tremendous potential for Industry 4.0 in the mechanical test market that comprises four sub-segments—non-destructive testing (NDT), condition monitoring (CM), dimensional metrology, and material testing,” said Sujan Sami, Research Manager at Frost & Sullivan in a prepared statement. “Going forward, prominent industry 4.0 technologies impacting the mechanical test equipment market are sensors and Internet of Things (IoT), cloud, analytics, and visualization.”

Sami added, “Test and measurement enterprises will use artificial intelligence (AI)-based analytics to model solutions that can make intelligent decisions, intensify human innovations, optimize costs, perfect operations that involve high precision, and perform many more tasks. Further, simulation and immersive visualization technologies will play a vital role in the achievement of immersive human-machine interaction in the industrial environment, which will help achieve safety and production optimization in a factory environment.”

Industry 4.0 has enabled the convergence of the IT and OT landscapes, thereby presenting immense growth prospects to its market participants. Participants should:

• Embrace Industry 4.0 as an extraordinarily beneficial advance that will enhance the efficient functioning of manufacturing processes and effective data sharing;
• Pursue machine learning-powered condition monitoring solutions that will eliminate human error and deliver an effective form of predictive maintenance; and
• Understand and prepare for the impact immersive visualization will have on end-user interaction with digital data.