More than a half century after he postulated it, (Gordon) Moore’s Law is still highly relevant, and the consequences have dramatically revolutionized our world.

U.S. manufacturing expanded in December at the fastest pace in three months, as gains in orders and production capped the strongest year for factories since 2004, the Institute for Supply Management says.

Factories from America’s Rust Belt to Germany’s Ruhr region to Japan’s Aichi prefecture are revving up production lines in a unified acceleration not seen in years.

International Data Corporation (IDC) surveyed the global manufacturing landscape for its new report, "IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Manufacturing Predictions 2018." The global market intelligence firm examined ecosystems and experiences, greater intelligence in operational assets and processes, data capitalization, the convergence of information technology (IT) and operations.

China is churning out robots.

As the holiday season quickly approaches, it’s a good time to prepare. Unfortunately, with an ever-increasing amount of data, an increasingly complex and varied competitive landscape and demanding customers, the question is often: Where to begin?