Manufacturing

Modernize plant technology around production demands.

We help manufacturers connect plant-floor and enterprise systems, strengthen cyber resilience and put AI to work closer to production, with infrastructure and operations designed around the requirements of the plant.

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Manufacturing technology is becoming more connected and interdependent

Manufacturers are connecting machines, MES and historians to enterprise systems to improve visibility and put AI to work. Each connection also changes the security and operational dependencies around production. At the same time, manufacturers are managing aging ERP platforms, shifting supply chains and the loss of experienced engineering talent.

Downtime carries production-wide costs

When a line stops, the impact includes lost output, scrapped work in progress, overtime and missed shipments. Infrastructure decisions on the plant floor are production decisions.

Connected plants widen the attack surface

PLCs, SCADA and plant networks built for isolation increasingly connect to enterprise and cloud systems, creating additional paths attackers can exploit to reach production.

Plant and enterprise data remain siloed

MES, historians, quality systems, PLM and ERP each hold part of the operational picture, leaving engineers to assemble data before they can act on it.

Core systems are due for change

With SAP ECC mainstream maintenance ending in 2027, manufacturers face ERP decisions while keeping orders, inventory and production planning running.

0.4T

lost each year

to unplanned downtime by the world’s 500 largest companies, about 11% of revenue

cyber incidents

in 2025 hit manufacturing more than any other industry

0 Years

in a row

as the most attacked industry, as plants connect more systems to the network

Solutions

Built around how plants actually run

Start with the priority on the plant floor or across the enterprise. Rackspace connects infrastructure, security, data and operations under one accountable operating model.

Bring compute to the plant floor

Run private cloud at the plant and edge, centrally managed and designed to maintain local operations when network connectivity is interrupted.

Protect production, recover fast

Segment OT and IT networks, monitor threats 24x7x365 and maintain isolated recovery capabilities to limit disruption and support clean recovery.

Connect plant and enterprise data

Bring MES, historian, quality and ERP data into a governed foundation that engineers, analytics and AI can use.

Modernize ERP and core systems

Move SAP and other core platforms to environments aligned with workload requirements, in controlled stages planned around production schedules and period close.

See the whole operation, supplier to shipment

Prioritize use cases, then connect supply chain, production and quality data through Palantir Foundry and AIP to support faster decisions across plants.

AI in Manufacturing

AI that works where products are made

Moving manufacturing AI into production requires low-latency compute near the line, clear boundaries between OT and IT, and protection for proprietary designs, recipes and process data.

Rackspace runs manufacturing AI on governed private cloud and edge infrastructure, keeping models close to the data they use while giving you control over intellectual property, models and platforms.

Forward-deployed engineers work beside your plant and IT teams to take use cases from pilot to production, then stay accountable for running and improving them across every site, so a model that proves itself on one line can scale to the next.

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Predictive maintenance

Models trained on sensor and historian data identify early signs of equipment failure, helping teams intervene before the line stops.

Visual quality inspection

Computer vision at the line identifies defects in real time and maintains a traceable record for each part.

Supply chain and demand planning

Forecasts combine orders, supplier signals and plant capacity to help planners respond to disruption sooner.

Engineering and service assistants

Assistants grounded in manuals, work instructions and service history help technicians find relevant answers on the floor.

Who we serve

Expertise across the manufacturing landscape

From discrete and process manufacturing to automotive, industrial equipment and consumer goods, Rackspace Technology helps manufacturers modernize operations with secure cloud infrastructure, resilient IT environments and governed AI solutions across key sectors.

Discrete Manufacturing

Process Manufacturing

Automotive & Mobility

Industrial Equipment

Consumer Goods

Chemicals & Life Sciences

Security and Compliance

Security designed for the plant and the enterprise

Manufacturing resiliency spans data protection, production uptime, worker safety, intellectual property and the operations behind every customer shipment.

ISO 27001

Compliant

SOC1, SOC2, SOC3

Ready

IEC 62443

Compliant

NIST CSF

Compliant

DFARS & CMMC

Compliant

Plant data can remain on site or in dedicated private environments, with OT and IT segmentation, audit trails and residency controls for multi-country operations.

It’s the best of both worlds. We get the control of dedicated infrastructure with the flexibility of virtualization.

Ian Chizmar

CEO and Co-Founder, Chain Reaction Systems

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FAQ

Common questions about cloud and AI solutions for the Manufacturing sector

How does Rackspace help manufacturers securely connect OT and IT environments?

Rackspace helps manufacturers securely integrate operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT) through network segmentation, monitoring and access controls. By separating plant networks from enterprise and cloud systems, manufacturers can share production data with analytics and AI applications while limiting access to critical manufacturing systems.

Can manufacturers deploy AI at the plant edge with Rackspace?

Yes. Rackspace supports edge AI deployment by running AI inference on private cloud infrastructure located close to manufacturing equipment, sensors and cameras. This enables low-latency applications such as predictive maintenance and AI-powered visual inspection, with centralized management across multiple manufacturing sites.

How can Rackspace help manufacturers migrate from SAP ECC before mainstream maintenance ends?

Rackspace helps manufacturers plan and execute SAP ECC migrations by assessing workload requirements, system dependencies and connections to production environments. Using a phased migration approach aligned with manufacturing schedules and financial close periods, Rackspace helps minimize operational disruption and provides ongoing management of the modernized ERP environment.

How does Rackspace help manufacturers protect against ransomware and recover critical systems?

Rackspace helps manufacturers strengthen ransomware resilience through 24x7x365 threat detection and response, immutable backups, validated recovery points and isolated recovery environments. These capabilities support the recovery of critical manufacturing and enterprise systems while helping reduce downtime and the risk of reinfection.

How does Rackspace support DFARS and CMMC compliance requirements for defense manufacturers?

Rackspace Government Cloud provides infrastructure and security capabilities designed to support defense manufacturers and suppliers handling Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI). These capabilities can help organizations address applicable Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) and Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) requirements, with the relevant CMMC level and service scope determined for each environment.

Modernize on the terms your operations require

Whether your priority is plant-floor compute, cyber resilience, ERP modernization or AI, Rackspace can build and operate technology around your production requirements.