Infosys Engineering Cloud Is a Unique Core-Engineering Platform” Says Gopikrishnan Konnanath

Designing engineering products, in the current world, is supposed to be easier in delivering profitable yet sustainable products. Given the market competition, the time to market is dwindling, increasing the cost of development. It requires the availability of a complex of tools and knowledge sharing amongst different stakeholders for engineers to release a minimum viable product. Engineering cloud, which is fast emerging as a go-to solution for engineers, is the new resort for companies seeking both software and advisory services. Analytics Insight has engaged in an E-mail conversation with Gopikrishnan Konnanath, Senior Vice President, Global Head, Engineering Services and Blockchain, of Infosys to get a deep view into the company's strategy for leveraging the concept of Engineering Cloud and how unique it is from other such service providers.

1.How is Infosys enabling its clients to simplify their digital transformation journey of core engineering processes?

Infosys provides a comprehensive portfolio of engineering services with strong product development experience, spanning more than 25 years, to clients across the life cycle from product development, product manufacturing support, operations, and maintenance. Digital transformation is moving at a faster pace across industries helping organizations to increase their competitive edge and to improve better customer experience by creating next-generation smart, connected, and autonomous products and services. It is also helping organizations improve their efficiencies across the value chain through digital technologies.

Infosys aligns with the changing needs of the industry in four broad themes such as digital thread (Industry 4.0), Next Generation Mobility, NextGen Collaboration and Connectivity encompassing 5G, NextGen Platform engineering through cloud-native engineering. Infosys industrial automation, plant automation & controls, and Industry 4.0 services like IOT, Cloud Engineering, 5G, Robotics, and autonomous systems aim to improve the efficiencies in the manufacturing shop floor.

The digital thread offerings include integration of Engineering Technology (ET), Operational Technology (OT), and Information technology (IT) services across the value chain for industries like Aerospace, Automotive, Turbomachinery, Heavy Engineering, etc.

• The ET services span across Computer-Aided Design (CAD), Computer Aided Engineering (CAE), Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM), Product Life Cycle Management (PLM), Knowledge Based Engineering (KBE), and Model-based System Engineering (MBSE).
• The OT services include industrial automation, Plant automation and controls, and Manufacturing Execution Systems (MES) across the ISA 95 stack.
• The IT services include Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and scheduling offerings.

Infosys developed Industry 4.0 maturity index under the umbrella of Acatech Germany to understand the current Industry 4.0 maturity on the shop floor and define the Industry 4.0 roadmap for its clients. This maturity index has been a foundation for our engagement with our clients. It provides an end-to-end framework from consulting to implementation across the manufacturing shop floor covering various efficiencies like operations, maintenance, information, and energy.

Infosys' digital engineering services through 5G, Cloud, IoT, AI, Robotics, Autonomous Technologies, Digital Twin, AR, VR, Cyber security, and blockchain provide value across the product life cycle from design to manufacturing to operations to maintenance.

Infosys as an ecosystem integrator has a vibrant partner ecosystem with the leading product vendors. Our ready-to-deploy IP and solutions like Connected Ops on Cloud, Machine connectivity framework, Infosys edge gateway, and Pharma Manufacturing Insights, to name a few, are solutions to reduce the time to digital transformation and go live.

2.How is Infosys using the power of engineering cloud to support enterprises?

Infosys Engineering cloud service focuses on the cloud transformational journey of our customers integrating their infrastructure, tools, and processes. This transformation helps to sense the problems in real-time, take corrective actions at a much faster pace, predict the future, and plan to increase business resilience.

"Infosys Engineering Cloud" built as part of Infosys engineering cloud practice is an Industry leading and first-of-its-kind core-engineering platform, solutions, IPs, and accelerators with the power of cloud technologies, which propels Digital Engineering Transformation for our clients across the value chain.

• This brings for the first time, all facets of product engineering namely R&D, manufacturing, operations, support, and maintenance into a cloud-enabled model.
• Engineering cloud provides visibility, flexibility, scalability, availability & adaptability of engineering systems providing reusable solution architecture, reference design, solution accelerators, POV and best practices based on industry implementations to cater to the market demands precisely.
• Infosys developed many solutions on the cloud for engineering and manufacturing enterprises. These include PLM on the cloud, Connected operations on the cloud, etc.
• Infosys has a strong cloud-native engineering practice to architect and reengineers applications for cloud. Infosys has a strong partnership with hyper scalers like Azure, AWS, and Google, and engineering platform providers like Dassault Systems, PTC, Siemens, etc. Infosys has developed and deployed many IoT platforms on the cloud for the manufacturing enterprise.

Infosys Agile digital frameworks like "connected operations on cloud" which is cloud agnostic as a service enables pre-configured solutions to revamp industrial manufacturing with predictable outcomes.

3.As organizations strive towards achieving sustainability by implementing sustainable practices, how is Infosys providing them with measurable business value across the product cycle?

Infosys aggressively pursues ESG goals internally across its campuses. Infosys built and deployed systems internally for energy efficiency, water management, and waste management. Infosys is utilizing this experience in building smart connected and energy-efficient products and processes. This holistic approach brings together the best of tactical and strategic initiatives for the enterprise. The tactical engagements help realize immediate needs while the strategic initiatives help in realizing ESG goals consistently. Infosys is carbon neutral and focuses on green energy alternatives like Solar and wind for its campuses.

Infosys' sustainability practice brings together best practices in implementing sustainable solutions across its enterprises like smart campuses, smart equipment, smart factories, and smart utilities. Our sustainability initiatives focus on a circular economy centered around people, the planet, and prosperity dimensions. Infosys brings the best of consulting and technology implementation practices focusing on both greenfield and brownfield environments through digital technologies. Infosys helped customers win global awards in their journey toward sustainability.

4.How do you see disruptive technologies such as cloud emerge as a trend in the industry in the near future / what is the future of engineering cloud services in India?

Cloud adoption in manufacturing is growing rapidly. Manufacturing will undergo a large-scale, technology-led transformation.  That will also include industrialized deployment across the plants while at the same time implementing comprehensive Industry 4.0 solutions. This will utilize emerging technologies like AR/VR, AI/ML, 5G, Blockchain, Robotics, Automation, and so on. A few aspects that we will see the industry adopt in terms of disrupting technologies will be:

• Hyper Automation with Computer Vision, Video Analytics, and Autonomous Technologies that will drive more automaton resulting in more productivity, reconfigurable manufacturing shop floor, and resilient to supply chain issues.
• The intersection of IoT and Blockchain will ensure trust, transparency, and traceability enabling a very secure and trusted data exchange platform with multiple stakeholders.
• Infosys believes sustainability is going to be the future and an integral part of our services. Digital products and processes will provide immense opportunities. Newer technologies like electric vehicles and hydrogen vehicles will provide immense opportunities in the future.
• To maximize the potential of 5G, customers need to look at the opportunities to integrate the offerings vertically. For example, private 5G can benefit the manufacturing industry by improving the operational efficiencies of autonomous and remote-guided vehicles. Infosys is working with one of the leading auto manufacturing brands integrating Private 5G management, 5G network stack, and Edge infrastructure for remote guided vehicle operations and management.

Cloud is a technology disruptor for the engineering enterprise to improve efficiencies across the value chain and enable people to work from anywhere especially in the post-pandemic era to make operations reliable, sustainable, and efficient. It enables the smooth integration of operational technology with information technology. It helps realize both horizontal and vertical integration smoothly making the whole process cost-effective and efficient. Digital transformation in Manufacturing is driven by major trends in Cloud engineering to help them succeed.

• With the convergence of Hybrid and Multi-cloud strategy that gives them the ability to target specific workloads in a cost-effective and efficient manner.
• With the use of 'Industry cloud' for manufacturing which accelerates the transformation with contextualized building blocks, process, and infra capabilities designed to serve core processes and requirements of the manufacturing industry.
• AI Platforms that enable the required capabilities for huge amounts of data hosting, processing, and contextualized insights for quick decisions for manufacturing industries.

Indian-based manufacturing industries and global customer manufacturing facilities in India also are adopting the above and are seeing increased traction.

5.How is Infosys contributing to the sector in India?

Infosys is helping organizations in their digital transformation journey. Infosys is utilizing its Industry 4.0 maturity index reference framework, solution components, and Innovation Labs in the areas of IOT, 5G, Robotics, Cloud Engineering, and Autonomous technologies to help the manufacturing industry in its digital transformation. These solutions are being implemented in Indian native industries, global client manufacturing facilities, and defense establishments. Some of these customers include automotive, aerospace, heavy engineering, shipbuilding, railways, etc., with use cases like automated inspection, predictive maintenance, and remote monitoring, etc.

Infosys will continue to focus on these areas going forward bringing differentiated services to our clients. Infosys works with the partner ecosystem in electric vehicles, autonomous vehicles, and drones. Infosys and Maini partnered to launch India's first autonomous buggy and autonomous tow truck to improve manufacturing operations.