Are Remote Manufacturing Sites Becoming IT Blind Spots?

Everything you touch, from your coffee mug to your keyboard, began as an idea. Manufacturing made it real. But “building reality” requires precision. As digital transformations expanded to manufacturers’ factories, troubleshooting at the network edges became harder without on-site IT support. Delays in diagnosing issues can slow production and disrupt supply chains—unless there’s a way to see problems fast enough to protect operations.

The Hidden Challenges of Remote Manufacturing Sites

According to MarketsandMarkets, the manufacturing sector will reach $46 billion by 2030, driven by decentralized manufacturing, microfactories, gigafactories, edge computing, artificial intelligence (AI), and other factors. We’re well on our way: Chipmaker TSMC’s recent $100 billion investment in U.S. semiconductor production highlights these growing trends.

Despite the surge in investment and innovation, monitoring and troubleshooting remote operations is complicated by distributed systems, limited visibility, network latency, and other factors created by complex manufacturing IT systems. Centralized IT teams may not be equipped to detect issues until remote workflows are disrupted and people complain.

Remote manufacturing environments rely on specialized software, such as manufacturing execution systems (MESs) and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) platforms, for product development and quality assurance. But managing these systems off-site adds new, sometimes self-inflicted, challenges. For example, modernization efforts, such as automated assembly lines, software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) migrations, and microservices bring efficiency but may also introduce new layers of complexity, causing centralized IT teams to struggle to:

• Keep production on track. Remote sites need ongoing oversight to prevent slowdowns and disruptions because their distance from central IT teams makes problem resolution more complex.
• Diagnose the root cause of machine and system issues. Without real-time performance insights, IT teams risk misdiagnosing problems or chasing false positives.
• Proactively manage risk. Remote sites often rely on edge devices or third-party services, where last-mile connectivity can introduce blind spots or delays in data transmission, making real-time risk detection more difficult.

Enriched observability is crucial for diagnosing issues quickly. Data, even if it’s high-fidelity, is garbage without correlation and causality. Enriched network observability provides the missing pieces, quickly turning data into actionable insights. Think of it as a network’s GPS and steering wheel—without it, IT teams are lost.

Detect Problems Fast Enough to Stop Them with Enriched Network Observability

Basic network monitoring tells you when something is wrong. Enriched network observability tells you why. It integrates data sources from logs, events, and real-time traffic analysis (etcetera), including advanced analysis such as NETSCOUT's deep packet inspection, providing IT teams with a complete, actionable view of network performance and user experience quality—regardless of their location—to pinpoint and resolve root causes faster.

Imagine an engineering team at a remote site struggling with a cloud-based quality control application. A basic monitoring tool might confirm the cloud service is up and running, but it won’t reveal if network latency or a sudden spike in data throughput is affecting real-time communication between the cloud and on-premises systems. Enriched network observability uncovers complex issues—such as bandwidth fluctuations, load balancer overloads, or microbursts—helping teams troubleshoot accurately.

As manufacturers scale their use of cloud computing, edge technologies, and containerized environments, IT teams need insights beyond individual systems. Something “more” is required. 

NETSCOUT’s “EMA Network Management Megatrends 2024” report provides strategies to help manufacturers become more proactive. For example, leading network observability solutions now combine real-time data intelligence with capabilities such as synthetic testing for proactive, 24/7 insights across:

• Remote locations, colocation facilities, and data centers to detect and address emerging issues before they disrupt operations
• Cloud and virtual environments to monitor performance and pinpoint bottlenecks
• Enterprise applications and workflows to minimize downtime and maintain productivity

More monitoring tools are not the answer, because tool sprawl often increases operational complexity and makes tools less effective and networking personnel less efficient (see the figure below from the EMA report).

To stay ahead of competitors, manufacturers need an end-to-end solution that scales with their production environments while minimizing complexity.

Observability Without Borders for Remote Manufacturing Sites

NETSCOUT nGenius solutions provide real-time Layer 7 packet intelligence for deep insight into how the network impacts applications and services, allowing IT teams to solve problems before they escalate. With NETSCOUT’s nGeniusONE for centralized network observability, InfiniStreamNG (ISNG) appliances for high-fidelity packet data, and remote ISNG and edge sensor appliances for synthetic testing, manufacturers gain scalable, real-time, enriched, enterprise-grade management. These solutions, trusted by the world’s largest companies, proactively identify issues and protect user experience, even when IT staff are not on-site.

Struggling with IT issues at remote sites? Read this case study to see how a global technology giant resolved performance failures at its remote manufacturing sites to prevent sales disruptions.