Malaysia’s total automation and control systems market, which will be worth US$409.0 million by 2021, must embrace new technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT) and increase collaboration to add value and growth opportunities, said Frost &Sullivan.
It said government incentives to aid manufacturing and infrastructure spend as well as an established end-user base of sophisticated automation systems, are driving growth in the region.
To succeed in a fiercely competitive ecosystem, it said automation vendors must embrace new technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT), collaborate with developers of machine-to-machine (M2M) technologies and improve production capabilities.
“Traditional end users such as the oil and gas, power and chemicals and petrochemicals industries will continue to be important revenue contributors for automation systems suppliers,” Frost & Sullivan Industrial Automation and Process Control Industry analyst Krishnan Ramanathan.
“However, as industrial IoT gains significance such companies will have to collaborate with multiple suppliers and service providers in the value chain to reap the full benefits of the latest technology,” Ramanathan said.
He pointed out that strategic imperatives for success and growth in Malaysia’s automation and control systems market include embracing change in both the short and long terms through new business models that offer scope for implementation of industrial IoT technologies.
Other strategies include vendor cutting costs at all levels to optimise client benefits due to popularity of main automation contractor (MAC) and main instrumentation vendor (MIV) concepts, expanding cloud-enabled services through partnerships and relationships with service providers to leverage technological benefits.
This include investing in requisite upgrades now to be able to adopt and integrate new technologies when they are available, offering development and training services and focusing on niche solutions.
“With the proliferation of industrial IoT and other digital technologies, the chances of a cyberattack on an industrial network increases. In most instances, the levels of readiness and skills to thwart cyberattacks are low,” he said.
“Collaborating or partnering with cybersecurity firms will be vital to future success,” he added.