Why Cloud Native Infrastructure is Your Strategic Edge in Industrial Environments

Traditional industrial infrastructure struggles to meet the evolving demands of modern manufacturing and energy operations. Legacy systems can create bottlenecks that slow deployment, limit scalability and drain resources through high operational costs. Embracing cloud native infrastructure at the industrial edge delivers the agility, efficiency and competitive advantage organizations need to thrive in today’s demanding operational landscape.

Edge computing in industrial environments represents a fundamental shift from centralized processing models to distributed architectures that bring computation closer to data sources. Cloud native technologies transform how industrial organizations process data, deploy applications and manage distributed operations across multiple sites and diverse hardware configurations.

By processing information closer to its source, these computing strategies reduce latency while providing the real-time insights necessary for optimal performance and predictive maintenance capabilities. Organizations adopting this approach gain significant operational improvements, reduced maintenance costs and position themselves for sustainable growth in increasingly competitive markets.

The limitations of legacy systems at the industrial edge

High costs, low ROI

Proprietary licensing fees and expensive hardware create substantial financial burdens for organizations operating traditional SCADA and monolithic systems. These systems often require dedicated hardware configurations that limit flexibility while increasing capital expenditure requirements. Maintenance costs compound over time as aging infrastructure demands specialized support and replacement components become increasingly expensive.

Legacy systems also restrict the ability to optimize resource utilization across distributed manufacturing facilities and energy generation sites. Organizations can find themselves locked into vendor-specific solutions that complicate integration with modern technologies  making scaling cost-prohibitive. This dependency creates ongoing operational expenses that lower ROI while limiting strategic options for future growth and digital transformation initiatives.

Modern edge computing solutions for manufacturing operations can dramatically reduce these costs by eliminating proprietary licensing requirements and enabling standardized deployments across multiple locations.

Scalability and deployment nightmares

Traditional industrial systems create significant challenges when organizations need to expand operations or deploy new capabilities across distributed sites. Legacy deployments often require months of planning, custom configuration and on-site technical expertise to deliver a successful implementation. Each new location demands individualized setup processes that consume engineering resources and slow time-to-value.

These challenges become even bigger due to the complexity of managing diverse hardware configurations across multiple sites. Organizations must maintain specialized knowledge for different system versions while ensuring compatibility across their entire infrastructure footprint. This approach prevents rapid scaling and limits the ability to respond quickly to market opportunities or changing operational requirements.

Overcoming modern manufacturing challenges requires standardized deployment processes that eliminate the need for custom configurations at each location while maintaining operational flexibility.

Data overload, insight shortage

Legacy systems typically have limited capacity for collecting and processing the vast amounts of data generated by modern industrial operations. Traditional SCADA systems may handle only hundreds of data points per monitored system, creating blind spots that prevent comprehensive operational visibility. This limitation restricts the ability to implement advanced analytics, predictive maintenance programs and optimization strategies.

The restricted data collection capabilities of legacy systems also hinder proactive decision-making across industrial operations. Organizations cannot access the detailed performance metrics necessary to identify potential issues before they impact operations or cause costly downtime. Without comprehensive data insights, maintenance becomes reactive rather than predictive.

Real-time data processing and analysis capabilities at the edge enable organizations to collect thousands of data points per system, compared to the hundreds typically supported by traditional SCADA implementations.

Security and compliance hurdles

As organizations face growing cybersecurity threats, maintaining solid security across clashing legacy systems causes even more challenges. Older systems often lack modern security frameworks, leaving critical infrastructure exposed to potential attacks. Compliance with industry regulations becomes increasingly complex when managing multiple system types with varying security capabilities.

Legacy infrastructure also complicates the implementation of standardized security policies across distributed operations and remote facilities. Organizations must manage different authentication systems, access controls and monitoring capabilities for each system type deployed across their infrastructure. 

Enterprise-grade security frameworks integrated into modern cloud native platforms address these vulnerabilities while simplifying compliance management across distributed edge deployments.

Cloud native: the strategic answer for industrial edge environments

Cloud native edge computing represents a paradigm shift for manufacturing operations, combining containerized applications, microservices architecture and orchestration platforms like Kubernetes to create highly scalable and resilient industrial systems. 

Unlike traditional monolithic approaches, cloud native technologies allow manufacturers to deploy and manage applications consistently across distributed edge locations while maintaining centralized control and visibility. 

This approach transforms how industrial organizations handle everything from real-time data processing and equipment monitoring to predictive maintenance and operational optimization across their entire manufacturing ecosystem.

Agility and speed

Containerization and Kubernetes enable swift, consistent application deployment across thousands of edge locations, transforming deployment timelines from months to days or even hours. Organizations can standardize their deployment processes while maintaining the flexibility to adapt to local requirements at each site. This standardization reduces the specialized knowledge required for implementation while ensuring consistent performance across all locations and diverse operational environments.

Cloud native infrastructure supports seamless resource scaling based on operational needs without requiring significant re-architecture efforts or system downtime. Organizations can add computing capacity, storage or networking capabilities as demand fluctuates without disrupting existing operations. This flexibility enables rapid response to changing business requirements while optimizing resource utilization across the entire infrastructure ecosystem.

Cost efficiency and innovation

Kubernetes, the open source container orchestration platform central to cloud native edge computing, eliminates expensive proprietary licensing fees while allowing organizations to optimize hardware utilization through advanced virtualization capabilities. This opens an opportunity to reinvest savings from licensing costs into higher-quality edge equipment that offers better performance, reliability and security.

In turn, cloud native platforms accelerate innovation by enabling faster iteration and deployment of new applications at the edge through streamlined development workflows. Development teams can then create, test and deploy solutions more quickly using standardized containers and orchestration tools. This acceleration allows organizations to respond quickly to market opportunities while continuously improving their operational capabilities.

From data points to business insights

Cloud native infrastructure allows manufacturers to collect and process exponentially more data points, leading to deeper operational intelligence and predictive maintenance capabilities. This expanded data collection enables comprehensive monitoring of equipment performance, environmental conditions and operational parameters.

Real-time data processing at the edge empowers organizations with immediate insights for optimizing performance and preventing downtime. For example, sensors on a production line can detect subtle vibration changes in a critical motor, automatically triggering maintenance alerts before the equipment fails and halts the entire manufacturing process. Advanced analytics capabilities built into cloud native platforms can identify patterns and anomalies that predict potential issues before they impact operations. This proactive approach reduces maintenance costs while improving overall equipment effectiveness and operational reliability.

Fortifying security and simplifying management

Standardized, immutable infrastructure provides a more secure foundation for edge operations by eliminating configuration drift and reducing attack surfaces. Container-based deployments ensure consistent security configurations across all edge locations while enabling rapid deployment of security updates. This approach reduces the complexity of maintaining security across distributed environments while improving overall protection capabilities.

Centralized management platforms provide simplified control over distributed fleets of edge devices from a single interface. Operations teams can monitor performance, deploy updates and manage configurations across thousands of edge locations without requiring on-site technical expertise. This centralized approach reduces operational overhead while ensuring consistent management practices across the entire infrastructure.

Mitsubishi Power Aero: a real-world example of edge transformation

Mitsubishi Power Aero faced significant limitations with traditional SCADA systems for monitoring their aero-derivative gas turbine packages. High licensing costs strained budgets as operations grew, and data capacity was limited to handling only hundreds of data points per engine. Complex deployments across varied customer infrastructures required unique configurations for different hardware, security and connectivity requirements.

The company adopted a cloud native, Kubernetes-based remote monitoring and diagnostic reporting system using SUSE Edge Suite. 

The transformation delivered remarkable business outcomes. Mitsubishi Power Aero achieved a 98% reduction in deployment time, cutting the process from several months to just one to two days. The company doubled its number of deployed sites in just six months with the same core team of engineers. Data collection capabilities improved dramatically, with the new system gathering thousands of data points compared to hundreds with previous SCADA systems.

By eliminating SCADA licensing fees, Mitsubishi Power Aero invested the savings in better enterprise-grade edge server equipment, providing improved resilience, reliability and security. The standardized deployment process and reduced maintenance requirements contributed to overall cost efficiency while enabling enhanced security and compliance capabilities.

This success demonstrates how cloud native infrastructure transforms industrial edge operations through standardized deployments and enhanced data collection capabilities. Max Holschuh, RM&DR manager at Mitsubishi Power Aero, notes: “We recently completed our fastest deployment overseas. It was just me on a Zoom call with one of the plant operators for about an hour, and we got it connected. He’s not an IT professional who does this for a living — he’s a plant operator.”

Hear directly from Mitsubishi Aero about the benefits they realized from cloud native technologies for industrial edge computing in the video below.

Drive transformation at the industrial edge

Cloud native technologies translate into improved operational efficiency, competitive advantage, faster market responsiveness and stronger ROI for edge investments. Cloud native infrastructure eliminates the constraints of legacy systems while providing the scalability, security and cost-effectiveness necessary for modern industrial operations.

Organizations that embrace this paradigm shift position themselves to innovate, optimize and lead in the evolving landscape of industrial operations. The combination of reduced deployment complexity, enhanced data collection capabilities and centralized management creates competitive advantages that support long-term growth and operational excellence.

Ready to transform your industrial edge infrastructure? Download the Cloud Native Edge Essentials e-book to learn how cloud native technologies can revolutionize your operations and drive business success.