July 30, 2024 at 10:00AM
Cisco’s inaugural State of Industrial Networking Report highlights cybersecurity and artificial intelligence as top investment priorities for industrial organizations. Based on a survey of 1,000 individuals across 17 countries, the report reveals that 89% prioritize cybersecurity compliance. Significant investment in operational technology (OT) and increased spending on AI-enabled devices and cybersecurity solutions is observed. The report indicates that AI could facilitate collaboration between IT and OT teams to address cybersecurity challenges and enhance network management.
From the meeting notes, it is clear that the inaugural State of Industrial Networking Report published by Cisco highlights cybersecurity and artificial intelligence as the top investment areas for industrial organizations based on a survey of 1,000 individuals across 17 countries and 20 sectors.
Key takeaways from the report include:
– 89% of respondents consider cybersecurity compliance as very or extremely important.
– Cybersecurity risks are cited as the main barrier to growth for industrial organizations and one of the top external growth obstacles.
– Over 60% of respondents have increased spending on operational technology (OT) in the past year.
– The highest percentage of respondents named AI-enabled devices (31%) and cybersecurity solutions (30%) as key areas of investment.
– Both AI and cybersecurity are top spending priorities and emerging technologies for industrial organizations.
– 39% of respondents cited cybersecurity as the main challenge in running and maintaining industrial infrastructure, particularly vulnerabilities in legacy systems, malware attacks, and insider threats.
– 41% of respondents admitted that IT and OT teams currently work independently on cybersecurity, but 46% believe AI deployment will lead to increased collaboration between the teams.
– Nearly half of the respondents believe AI will help improve network management and lead to enhanced reliability and cybersecurity requirements.
The report also emphasizes the importance of embracing AI in industrial networking infrastructure for optimizing efficiency, harnessing data for AI models, supporting employees, and defending against cyberattacks. The full 2024 State of Industrial Networking Report is available in PDF format from Cisco.