Legacy systems and legacy connectivity solutions seem to be the latest supervillain in an organization’s quest for profits. So many powerful tools out there, seemingly at reach, yet legacy systems—like the green, crystalline material originating from Krypton—frustrate progress.

If your organization is not already amidst a digital transformation, chances are it will be soon. These new digital tools help organizations unearth virtual superpowers: dashboards that predict the future and machines that learn. But for a digital transformation to be future-ready, rethinking about connectivity as a strategic technology platform to enable transformation, is a must. This report details how private wireless networks provide organizations cutting-edge tools that enable nimble and successful digital transformations.

With private wireless networks, organizations can have remotely-managed user equipment—from manufacturing facilities, warehouses, and mines to airports, hospitals, and even cities. The result is a private network that is more reliable, high-performing and secure than public networks.

A great example of how a digital transformation and reliable connectivity are solving problems and generating profits comes from the oil industry. For decades, oil companies suffered an expensive problem: if an oil reservoir ran dry as a rig pump was extracting, the (expensive) pump would burnout. Eventually, the technology came about to set sensors in place that help prevent this problem, but these sensors required pervasive field-area networks, software and computing power that legacy systems could never handle. This is where the digital transformation comes in. Once the new technology is in place, there is still another piece of the puzzle to solve: making sure the pump sensors are reliably communicating their alerts—this is where the private wireless network comes in.

Enterprises can set up custom-fitted private networks to deliver carrier grade connectivity to areas that are hard to serve with a public network like industrial plants, hospitals or stadiums. A private network can be used to add layers of data protection: endpoints could be set to require SIM cards and PINs, a form of two-factor authentication. The network can control all connections, and allow prioritizing certain SIMs and devices, providing better service quality. It can also leverage the cloud, such that automated applications—marketplace services, smart parking, predictive maintenance—can be added to support new features and use cases, and progressively build more and more AI-driven operations.

An organization is perfectly capable of setting up a private wireless network alone, but with a long-term outlook in mind the best practice is to surround yourself with strategic ecosystem partners. If you are making important investments in infrastructure and hardware, the approach is to establish solid relationships with the providers so that you can prevent spending in solutions that will soon be phased out or modified. This way providers can anticipate what technologies are better suited for them in the long run. Accenture has vast experience organizing ecosystems across different industries and understands the challenges of a holistic network strategy.

If your organization is contemplating a digital transformation or evaluating ways in which emerging technologies such as 5G, IoT, Edge Compute, AI/ML may change your business, then consider the advantages of private networks as a strategic technology enabler. Accenture has global experience leading private network implementations, and can bring the strength of its technology ecosystem across Industry X, cloud and communications to help your organization plan and achieve its transformation objectives. To find out more about how Accenture can custom-design your organization’s private wireless transformation program, please contact us and download the report.