Author: Ramesh Kaza, Chief Commercial Officer for Shabodi
Among the abundant new technologies available amidst the beginning of the digital age, few have had a larger impact in as short a time as 5G networks. 5G connectivity is poised to revolutionize the way businesses handle their daily processes, ushering in a new era of digital applications headlined by virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI). In fact, at an organizational level, while the 5G enterprise market was most recently valued at USD 2.81 billion, experts are predicting massive growth at a CAGR of 32.6%, bringing the estimated market value to a staggering USD 47.07 billion by 2032.
However, as innovation never ceases, enterprises are already looking for the next step forward regarding 5G. The most notable path of choice among businesses currently is to make their 5G networks more advanced, with many enterprises desiring a way to elevate their 5G network’s awareness levels in order to leverage what is today known as network-aware applications.
Network-aware applications are an innovative leap in the application design paradigm that leverages the ultra-low latency, high bandwidth, and programmability capabilities of 5G. These applications can dynamically adjust their behavior based on the network conditions, enhancing application performance, user experience, and network efficiency and utilization.
When speaking of network technology, imagine it as the neural network of an enterprise, connecting all aspects of operations. Here, 5G represents the ultra-sophisticated, lightning-fast brain that coordinates these operations. However, without fully capitalizing on this ‘brain’s’ capabilities, we fail to unlock its true potential. This is where network-aware applications come into play, acting as the nerve endings that receive signals and can interpret and adapt based on them, thus completing the enterprise’s ‘digital nervous system.
For enterprises looking to leverage network-aware applications adequately, the most common way to achieve network awareness currently is through the use of Application Enablement Platforms (AEPs). AEPs, which are often built specifically for advanced networks, combine the features of network services discovery, services catalog, orchestration, publication of APIs to developers, and insights, simplifying and accelerating the development, deployment, and management of network-aware IIoT/IoT applications.
Usually SaaS-based, AEPs enable businesses to focus on their core competencies and create innovative solutions without spending excessive time and resources on building and maintaining the complex application infrastructure that powers it. This, in turn, offers an enterprise a host of benefits, such as improved application performance, application portability, and security, as well as enhanced cost savings.
While these benefits could surely make a positive impact on an enterprise within any industry, AEP technology and network-aware applications can truly revolutionize the mining sector. While the mining industry has historically been slow on the uptake of new technology, the global digitalization trend has mining operations setting out to simplify its operational complexities by embracing the next generation of digital applications.
Shabodi has built the industry’s first Network-Aware Application Enablement Platform (AEP), providing developers faster access to embed network and data services into applications via simplified Network APIs. Shabodi is the only company that exposes the Network APIs across multiple network operators, equipment vendors, and access technologies, thus enabling applications to operate with network awareness across hybrid networks.
There’s no doubt that 5G alone can provide a variety of advantages to the mining industry, with remote-controlled equipment, safety-critical communications, asset tracking, and real-time operational awareness being just a few of the potential use cases. However, AEP technology and network-aware applications can allow mining enterprises to go beyond standard 5G abilities and truly unlock all the benefits and potential of 5G capabilities.
For instance, while real-time remote-driven vehicles, drilling, blasting, and mission-critical IoT-based communication are some of the key mining areas that hold automation potential, all of the above activities require ultra-high-definition, low latency videos while maintaining high levels of operational security. Thankfully, AEP technology equips applications to process their prioritized images from all the devices of any vendor or supplier in the ecosystem, irrespective of the underlying network provider.
Furthermore, with AEPs, applications can also derive complete operational statistics and logistics for vehicle performance, location, and other parameters for optimal, insight-backed planning. This level of real-time operational awareness can feed into preventative maintenance actions or pre-emptive workforce rostering decisions while monitoring systems enable rapid identification of emergencies and appropriate responses, all of which can help to enhance overall productivity, which has decreased in the mining industry by 28% over the last decade.
Finally, the enhanced connectivity AEP technology provides can allow for better voice and data connections for workers, enabling optimized productivity. This is due to an AEP’s ability to enable applications to communicate vehicle location, availability, and usage, leading to enhanced utilization of assets and optimization of resources. This can also improve safety conditions, which is crucial in an industry with workers facing risks from toxic gasses, tunnel collapses, injuries from machinery, and vehicle collisions.
Ultimately, 5G will undoubtedly play a pivotal role in helping push the mining industry more towards digitalization than ever before. Still, it won’t be the silver bullet that the sector is not only hoping for but expecting it to be. The true transformation for mining operations will be with the introduction of network-aware applications that are built to address the most pressing efficiency and complexity challenges.
For mining enterprises looking to begin this transformation process, AEP technology can be a bridge between next-generation applications and advanced network infrastructures for businesses by offering a developer-friendly platform to give mining organizations the power to unlock the full potential of 5G.
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