Manufacturers actively invest in AI-assisted process control, predictive maintenance and digital twins. Most still get stuck. According to the 2025 Rockwell Automation State of Smart Manufacturing report, 81% of manufacturers face internal and external pressures accelerating digital transformation, but only 20% scale smart manufacturing beyond the pilot phase1.
Gaps in governance and data readiness play a major role. The network presents a structural constraint. Unreliable connectivity between edge devices, plants and cloud environments restricts the real-time data flows that AI models require to function.
The problem compounds at global scale
Operating across multiple continents creates systemic network limitations. A globally distributed manufacturer manages local carrier relationships in dozens of markets. You procure these connections independently and use different network management tools for different facilities. You define security policies centrally but implement them inconsistently across sites. There’s no coherent picture of how your network actually performs.
McKinsey found in 2024 that only 30% of businesses have supply chain visibility beyond their tier-one suppliers2. Networks built market by market lack the architectural consistency required to support global operations. This creates massive blind spots.2
Regulatory mandates add another layer of difficulty. Europe enforces GDPR and NIS2. Southeast Asia requires data localization. Network architecture decisions carry direct compliance consequences that vary by region. Enforcing a unified security posture across 15 countries is an operating reality for global manufacturers.
Why point solutions fall short
Evaluating individual products rarely solves network modernization challenges. You might buy SD-WAN for one layer, MPLS for another and cloud connectivity from a third company. Each component might perform well independently. The combined result is a functionally fragmented estate with multiple management consoles and disjointed escalation paths. You lose unified visibility across your production footprint.
Seamless multi-site connectivity requires a platform approach. Building an architecture that delivers consistent performance, governance and operational simplicity across hundreds of sites is the real goal. Internal IT teams cannot manage the coordination burden of fragmented systems. Consistency at scale requires an integrated architecture designed to operate as a cohesive system.
What an integrated approach delivers
GTT builds seamless multi-site connectivity on a single integrated architecture. We operate a top-ranked Tier 1 global IP backbone with over 400 points of presence across six continents. Up to 80% of customer traffic stays on-net. This reduces interconnection handoffs and enables consistent service-level performance across mature and developing markets.
This on-net architecture eliminates the need to manage local carrier relationships independently in regions with variable connectivity quality. You gain predictable performance across your entire global estate.
The GTT Envision platform provides the operational layer. It delivers unified visibility, centralized policy control and compliance reporting from a single interface. GTT takes accountability for deployment, standardization and service management across your entire network. Your internal teams can focus on modernization work instead of managing the network itself.
The foundation your modernization depends on
Digital twins require consistent data flows between the plant floor and the cloud. Predictive maintenance models lose accuracy with inconsistent sensor data. Industrial IoT systems connecting machines and suppliers require a network that performs predictably across every site.
Moving from pilot-phase smart manufacturing to production-scale deployment requires a globally governed network. A secure and compliant network infrastructure supports your digital transformation and streamlines your operations.
Simplify your network. Read the full GTT solution brief, Seamless Multi-Site Connectivity to see how manufacturers build this foundation and achieve verified operational success.
2 McKinsey, Supply Chain Visibility Research, 2024 (cited via Z2Data)
