Last year, we wrote about the top challenges and trends in electronics manufacturing, highlighting three key points: pressure on supply chains, the increasing push for sustainability, and shorter product life cycles. We thought it would be interesting to revisit the topic, so let’s get started.
What’s Changed Since Last Year?
In 2023, we concluded that to stay ahead of the game, manufacturers must embrace new technologies and business models that enable agility and responsiveness to changing market conditions.
This could involve investing in new manufacturing equipment or processes. But manufacturers can also look at their backend systems to find ways to enhance their existing processes. This can lead to improvements in manufacturing or testing quality – reducing the need for reworks and speeding up the production process.
Top Three Trends
The message from 2023 remains just as relevant today as it was a year ago. However, in 2024, we clearly see three key topics that illustrate what this means for electronics manufacturers regarding Test Data Management. These three emerging trends are consistently observed in our daily conversations with customers and industry contacts.
- Growing demand for AI-driven technologies
- Growing Need for Data-Driven Decision-Making
- Custom-built solutions becoming more complex
Growing Demand for AI-driven Technologies
It comes as no surprise that the technology driving the most change across manufacturing is AI. At WATS, we’ve observed growing interest and curiosity about AI, which is completely understandable. On one hand, our customers want to invest in future-proof software, and with vast amounts of test data, the potential benefits of AI are clear.
Since 2023, WATS has expanded its features powered by WATS Alvea, our AI technology. At this year’s WATS UP event, there was tremendous interest in learning how these new features can streamline root cause analysis and deliver insights faster.
Growing Need for Data-Driven Decision-Making
How do we know data is more important than ever? Demand for WATS has surged over the past twelve months. While we benefit from word-of-mouth referrals and dedicated promotion, it’s clear that the market is increasingly interested in tools like ours.
Companies have recognized the vast wealth of data at their disposal and are actively seeking ways to leverage it. At this year’s WATS UP event, there was considerable interest among our customers and users in maximizing their data utilization even further.
However, with this heightened focus on extracting value from data, we’ve also observed a rising number of companies encountering difficulties. As the landscape evolves, it is crucial for businesses to confront these challenges and fully harness their data potential. By embracing data-driven practices, companies can not only overcome these challenges but also drive innovation and growth.
Custom-built solutions becoming more complex
In-house solutions for managing manufacturing test data are becoming increasingly complex. This complexity stems from the need to integrate multiple sites, connect with other systems (such as ERP and MES), address security concerns, and provide real-time, cloud-based data access.
As companies build larger, more intricate systems, we often see a loss of expertise in Test Data Management, leaving only IT infrastructure knowledge. The reality is that many companies seek an all-encompassing solution to manage their data needs simultaneously.
This pursuit of a universal solution often delays companies from adopting platforms that could deliver tangible value within days. Companies with in-house solutions for test data management frequently struggle to meet their business needs, not to mention the challenges of ensuring usability.
Additionally, the demand to integrate emerging technologies like AI complicates matters even further, especially when teams are already managing the day-to-day.
Conclusion
The best thing manufacturers can do is simply get started with a tool designed specifically for Test Data Management – one that is easy to integrate with your existing test systems and delivers immediate value. Instead of thinking you need one monolithic tool to manage everything, focus on the value specialized tools can provide.
With the evolution of software development, many platforms now integrate seamlessly with adjacent systems, making it easier to build a network of apps that address your business’s specific needs. This approach can often be more efficient and flexible than a single, all-encompassing solution.
In 2024, the smart move is to work with experts who understand Test Data Management, the right tools to support it, and what’s on the horizon. By adopting the right tools today, you can position your business to stay agile and competitive as technology continues to evolve.
