The pharmaceutical industry has been traditionally slow in embracing new technologies, but Divi’s Laboratories is showing the way forward. Recently, this Hyderabad-based firm zeroed in on Juniper Networks to deliver advanced networking solutions across its manufacturing facilities. The net result: The Juniper-powered network has enabled Divi’s Labs to realise enhanced operational efficiencies and improved network experiences for its workforce of over 17,000 employees.
Divi’s Labs partners with many leading pharma companies, manufacturing and custom synthesising active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) for products including antidepressants, blood pressure medicine, antihistamines and more. Its nutraceutical division makes vitamins and beta-carotenes used in supplements, food and beverages. The company operates two manufacturing sites near Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam, with a third under construction. Collectively, these operations make up the largest API manufacturing facility globally, with a gross total of 14,500 sqm of manufacturing space spread across over 64 buildings in the two sites.
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“With manufacturing operations running 24/7, network services are mission-critical. Any disruption has the potential to cause significantly negative impact on production,” said Manoranjan Jasti, chief information officer, Divi’s Laboratories.
Due to its stringent quality-control processes, Divi’s required an ultra-reliable network that could securely transfer data between its two plants without any packet loss. After facing difficulties with its legacy network solution, it embarked on a network refresh mission with Juniper that will future-proof several operational needs.
Cut to present. Divi’s now has a highly secure, highly-available and ultra-reliable network that ensures it can maintain stringent quality control, as well as undertake research, development and the production of APIs. “It can effectively address growing data exchange requirements, and reduce power consumption to meet its sustainability goals,” said Ravinder Singh, director & head of enterprise, government and defense business, India & SAARC at Juniper Networks.
In his opinion, firms in the API space should prioritise sustainability and the ability to meet growing data exchange needs in line with projected growth. Furthermore, they should invest in reliable, flexible, and secure networks to support their production, research, development, and quality control operations, ensuring 24/7 uptime and the most stringent of quality controls. “This partnership is significant in raising the bar in terms of operational capabilities not just for Divi’s Laboratories but by extension the wider Indian pharma sector,” he told FE recently.
Technically speaking, Divi’s now has reliable Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) and PoE+ switching to drive its wireless infrastructure, high-capacity uplinks, and multigigabit downlinks. In the data centre, Juniper switches support critical manufacturing processes, including formula management, batch tracking, quality control, compliance tracking, and production scheduling.
Juniper now plans to help more pharma companies in their quest for modern networking solutions.
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TECH GAINS
* Divi’s Labs is one of the largest API makers
* Two manufacturing sites near Hyderabad & Visakhapatnam
* Needed a reliable network to securely transfer data between its two plants
* Network refresh will future-proof several operational needs
