
Cloud technologies offer an enormous potential to cut IT running costs and improve the availability of critical business applications. Cloud concepts can also be used in manufacturing to optimize production processes, adapt manufacturing IT to future demands as well as to create new business models related to new or existing products. Through the development of the Industrie 4.0 platform “Virtual Fort Knox” and the use of cloud technologies in various research projects, Fraunhofer IPA has gained extensive experience in implementing and applying cloud technologies in manufacturing.