Industrial PCs

The industrial PCs (IPCs) market research report delivers current market analysis plus a five-year market and technology forecast. The report is available in multiple editions including worldwide, all regions, and most major countries. This market research report provides a comprehensive analysis of the market for industrial PCs.  These are PCs used on the plant floor and are ruggedized to be used in harsh industrial environments.

Industrial PCs Built with Artificial Intelligence Applications Will Rise

​After two years of solid growth, the market for industrial PCs experienced a marginal decline in 2019. This decline was expected as a series of negative economic factors came together in pre-coronavirus 2019. This decline was mainly due to a slowdown in some of the major discrete industries, including automotive and aerospace & defense industries, and a cyclical downturn in the electronics industry.  

This decline in the market is also due to fluctuations in currency exchange rates, business cycle dynamics, and uncertainties in political and economic factors in some parts of the globe. After a weak 2019, the coronavirus pandemic took the world by surprise in early 2020 and dashed any hopes of a return to anything resembling “normal.” Forecasts for how the pandemic will pan out and what shape the recovery will take are difficult.   

Looking closer at the IPC market, there are some trends that push demand, including the emergence of cloud applications platforms and the application of IPCs as edge devices.  Other reasons are the increased product variety and customization of IPCs as well as the role of IPCs in retrofitting and upgrading.  Artificial intelligence (AI) as an emerging technology contributes to this trend.  Looking ahead, ARC expects suppliers to build more and more IPCs with special focus on AI applications.

Industrial PCs Strategic Issues

In addition to providing a five-year market forecast, the industrial PCs market research provides detailed quantitative current market data and addresses key strategic issues as follows.

Growing Importance for Software and Services 

Information technology (IT) and operation technology (OT) convergence is driving the development of ecosystems and services for data science, machine learning, and AI solutions. Suppliers are moving fast, from providing only hardware, to software and service solution offerings. Major global suppliers started to focus on providing software consulting, engineering for middleware, other software solutions that enhance Industrial IoT or digitalization, and cloud computing and hosting services, in addition to providing hardware. This approach helps the suppliers to offer solutions that integrate OT with IT. 

Edge Computing 

To some degree, the edge computing market is also currently inhibited by a lack of education and a lack of understanding around the applications for edge computing, particularly in Industrial IoT or Industry 4.0 areas. The current environment clearly is forcing a significant portion of addressable market toward autonomous and highly reliable edge computing needs. 

Industrial Cybersecurity Issues

Suppliers are addressing cybersecurity in IPCs with built-in solutions. Today, widely available software applications and internet-enabled IPCs have been integrated into most Industrial Control Systems Security (ICS), not only delivering many benefits but also increasing system vulnerability. Sophisticated malware that specifically targets weaknesses in ICS is on the rise, posing a significant threat to industrial companies. Industrial cybersecurity is a major topic not just for users but also suppliers, and concerns about security are growing.  IPC suppliers need to address this issue with product services and cooperate with security experts to make sure that their solutions address industry- and application-specific aspects of industrial cybersecurity.  

Integration and Scalability of Solutions

The openness of IPCs is a beauty and a beast at the same time.  It may consist of a threat to security but makes it easy to add functionality to scale up in tasks and include additional aspects such as energy management, access control, condition monitoring, FSM, data connectivity, etc., in one box. OEMs and end users need to challenge their automation suppliers about their roadmap and their overall capabilities in terms of automation and not only in terms of IPC models.