The world in today’s generation demands applications to be fast, efficient, and scalable. Serverless architecture has emerged as the superhero of the tech universe. Just like the Avengers assembling to save the world, serverless architecture brings together cloud functions to handle application tasks without the need for developers to manage or provision servers. Introduced in 2012, serverless architecture is reshaping how we build and deploy apps, enabling a new era of cost-efficiency and rapid development. Functions execute in response to events, leveraging FaaS (Function as a Service) to handle small pieces of application code.

Serverless Superpowers

Imagine a world where you only pay for what you use – sounds like a dream, right? Serverless architecture makes this dream a reality. By charging only for actual compute time, companies can significantly reduce their operational expenses. No more idle servers eating up your budget! Instead, resources are optimized, and costs are minimized, much like Tony Stark’s efficient use of his Iron Man suit’s power.

Scalability is another superpower of serverless architecture. Serverless applications automatically scale to handle varying loads. Whether there’s a sudden surge in traffic or a gradual increase in usage, the architecture adjusts seamlessly to meet demand. This ensures consistent performance and reliability, without the need for manual intervention.

A Focus on Innovation

Serverless architecture offloads the burden of server management to cloud providers. This shift allows companies to focus on their core business activities and innovation, rather than getting bogged down with infrastructure management. Serverless architecture handles the backend intricacies, freeing you up to innovate and drive your business forward.

Rapid Development and Deployment

The modular nature of serverless applications facilitates rapid development and deployment. By breaking down functionality into smaller, independent units, developers can quickly iterate and integrate new features with minimal disruption. This approach accelerates time-to-market, allowing companies to swiftly respond to evolving user needs and market changes. Serverless architecture empowers developers to accelerate their workflow and bring innovations to market with unparalleled agility.

How Industry Giants are Assembling Serverless Technologies

Serverless architecture isn’t just for startups; industry leaders are harnessing its power to drive innovation and enhance operations. Let’s take a look at how some tech giants are using serverless technologies to their advantage:

Netflix

Netflix, the master of media streaming, utilizes serverless architecture to handle data encoding and processing tasks. By offloading specific workloads to AWS Lambda, Netflix processes billions of user events daily, ensuring a smooth streaming experience for its global audience.

T-Mobile

T-Mobile has adopted serverless to enhance its customer experience and backend operations. By using AWS Lambda and API Gateway, T-Mobile has streamlined its processes, enabling faster deployment cycles and more resilient applications.

iRobot

iRobot employs serverless computing to manage data and interactions from millions of Roomba robots around the world. This allows iRobot to scale its operations without worrying about infrastructure management, focusing instead on delivering superior user experiences. Serverless architecture empowers iRobot to handle vast amounts of data and interactions efficiently, ensuring smooth and reliable performance across its global network of robots.

BBC

The BBC has integrated serverless architecture to support its digital broadcasting and content delivery platforms. By leveraging AWS Lambda, the BBC can scale its online services dynamically, ensuring reliable access to its vast content library for millions of viewers.

The Future of Serverless

Serverless architecture is revolutionizing application development, offering cost-efficiency, scalability, and reduced management overhead. By leveraging cloud providers to manage infrastructure, developers can focus on coding and rapid deployment, optimizing resources, and minimizing costs. As industry leaders like Netflix, T-Mobile, iRobot, and the BBC continue to adopt serverless technologies, it’s clear that this architectural approach is here to stay.

Smart Manufacturing Dashboards: A Real-Time Guide for Data-Driven Ops

By : Divyanjali Gupta

Published on Jul 31, 2025

Data Science Manufacturing Analytics Smart Manufacturing

Smart Manufacturing starts with real-time visibility.

Manufacturing companies today generate data by the second through sensors, machines, ERP systems, and MES platforms. But without real-time insights, even the most advanced production lines are essentially flying blind.

Manufacturers are implementing real-time dashboards that serve as control towers for their daily operations, enabling them to shift from reactive to proactive decision-making. These tools are essential to the evolution of Smart Manufacturing, where connected systems, automation, and intelligent analytics come together to drive measurable impact.

Data is available, but what’s missing is timely action.

For many plant leaders and COOs, one challenge persists: operational data is dispersed throughout systems, delayed, or hidden in spreadsheets. And this delay turns into a liability.

Real-time dashboards help uncover critical answers:

What caused downtime during last night’s shift?
Was there a delay in maintenance response?
Did a specific inventory threshold trigger a quality issue?

By converting raw inputs into real-time manufacturing analytics, dashboards make operational intelligence accessible to operators, supervisors, and leadership alike, enabling teams to anticipate problems rather than react to them.

1. Why Static Reports Fall Short

Reports often arrive late—after downtime, delays, or defects have occurred.
Disconnected data across ERP, MES, and sensors limits cross-functional insights.
Static formats lack embedded logic for proactive decision support.

2. What Real-Time Dashboards Enable

Line performance and downtime trends
Track OEE in real time and identify underperforming lines.

Predictive maintenance alerts
Utilize historical and sensor data to identify potential part failures in advance.

Inventory heat maps & reorder thresholds
Anticipate stockouts or overstocks based on dynamic reorder points.

Quality metrics linked to operator actions
Isolate shifts or procedures correlated with spikes in defects or rework.

These insights allow production teams to drive day-to-day operations in line with Smart Manufacturing principles.

3. Dashboards That Drive Action

Role-based dashboards
Dashboards can be configured for machine operators, shift supervisors, and plant managers, each with a tailored view of KPIs.

Embedded alerts and nudges
Real-time prompts, like “Line 4 below efficiency threshold for 15+ minutes,” reduce response times and minimize disruptions.

Cross-functional drill-downs
Teams can identify root causes more quickly because users can move from plant-wide overviews to detailed machine-level data in seconds.

4. What Powers These Dashboards

Data lakehouse integration
Unified access to ERP, MES, IoT sensor, and QA systems—ensuring reliable and timely manufacturing analytics.

ETL pipelines
Real-time data ingestion from high-frequency sources with minimal latency.

Visualization tools
Custom builds using Power BI, or customized solutions designed for frontline usability and operational impact.

Smart Manufacturing in Action: Reducing Market Response Time from 48 Hours to 30 Minutes

Mantra Labs partnered with a North American die-casting manufacturer to unify its operational data into a real-time dashboard. Fragmented data, manual reporting, delayed pricing decisions, and inconsistent data quality hindered operational efficiency and strategic decision-making.

Tech Enablement:

Centralized Data Hub with real-time access to critical business insights.
Automated report generation with data ingestion and processing.
Accurate price modeling with real-time visibility into metal price trends, cost impacts, and customer-specific pricing scenarios.
Proactive market analysis with intuitive Power BI dashboards and reports.

Business Outcomes:

Faster response to machine alerts
Quality incidents traced to specific operator workflows
4X faster access to insights led to improved inventory optimization.

As this case shows, real-time dashboards are not just operational tools—they’re strategic enablers.

(Learn More: Powering the Future of Metal Manufacturing with Data Engineering)

Key Takeaways: Smart Manufacturing Dashboards at a Glance

Aspect	What You Should Know
1. Why Static Reports Fall Short	Delayed insights after issues occur Disconnected systems (ERP, MES, sensors) No real-time alerts or embedded decision logic
2. What Real-Time Dashboards Enable	Track OEE and downtime in real-time Predictive maintenance using sensor data Dynamic inventory heat maps Quality linked to operators
3. Dashboards That Drive Action	Role-based views (operator to CEO) Embedded alerts like “Line 4 down for 15+ mins” Drilldowns from plant-level to machine-level
4. What Powers These Dashboards	Unified Data Lakehouse (ERP + IoT + MES) Real-time ETL pipelines Power BI or custom dashboards built for frontline usability

Conclusion

Smart Manufacturing dashboards aren’t just analytics tools—they’re productivity engines. Dashboards that deliver real-time insight empower frontline teams to make faster, better decisions—whether it’s adjusting production schedules, triggering preventive maintenance, or responding to inventory fluctuations.

Explore how Mantra Labs can help you unlock operations intelligence that’s actually usable.

Loading More Posts

Serverless Architecture: Building the Future of App Development Like The Avengers