All over the world politicians and companies talk about „digitization“. There is a competition between America, Europe and Asia. Whereas in America there are various bigger and smaller companies offering services and applications regarding the internet and digitized applications, it is said that Europe has to strengthen the efforts to be more competitive. On EU level there will be a Commissioner for digital economy. The main objective of the European Digital Agenda is to develop a digital single market. Besides enhancing interoperability and standards, consolidating online trust and security, promoting fast and ultrafast internet access for everyone within Europe, investing in research and innovation and enhancing digital literacy, skills and inclusion are important points of the agenda. In this way Europe tries to be a strong competitor for the US and Asia regarding digitization, i.e. better to exploit the potential of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). Thus each European country has to deal with the European Digital Agenda and has to take appropriate measures.
Mainly based on the activities in Germany some aspects are discussed in the following. Meanwhile digitization takes place in various sectors based on the use of interdisciplinary skills. A possible distinction where digitization takes place is the digitization of the classical industry and the development of digital and future-oriented technologies and applications. In parallel a very important aspect is that the required infrastructure has to be available.
The digitization of the classical industry in Germany is mainly known as industry 4.0, i.e. the use of cyber-physical systems (CPS). CPS is the expression that is also used in many other countries. A lot of fascinating approaches result in a change and improvement of processes in various areas, e.g. development & research, production and logistics, broaden the range of using a specific machine, improve the production quality and lead to cost savings, shorten the lead time and enhance the flexibility. Machines and plants are expected to communicate with each other, cloud services are used and virtual realities are created. The usage of digitization is also quite interesting when an entire value chain is covered. And in addition it can be stated that since years the percentage of software in cars is rising.
Examples for the development of digital future-oriented technologies and applications can be found in many sectors. Telematics applications and intelligent transport systems are one example. Since years within the automotive sector research and development regarding “connectivity” take place, i.e. the connectivity of cars with their environment, including the communication between different cars and the integration of mobile services and devices. Furthermore the web access and the use of internet applications are offered in cars. Another fascination topic is the automated driving which is expected to be used also in the vehicles sector. All around the world in the energy sector an energy transformation takes place. Therefore digital services and new business models are developed for the energy production, energy management and energy transport. In this way the energy sector proves to be very modern, innovative and flexible. Examples for digital applications are the virtual power plant to manage several in most cases smaller decentralized power plants by interconnection and in a central way, the online analysis of energy consumption and the so called smart home solutions for the energy management of households.
Also in the health care sector, in the education sector and in the public administration area several digital services are used and offered. Further examples could be mentioned.
A very important precondition for the success of digitization is the existence of an adequate digital infrastructure and the determination of technological standards.
Therefore in Germany there are several initiatives. In parallel especially in Europe, data protection regulations are requested mainly regarding the „Web of Things“, Big Data and cloud services besides further regulations and technological development, e.g. regarding IT security.
There are different ways and political programs in different countries and continents to use digitization in a successful way and to gain competitive advantages. Europe has to strengthen own forces and should develop and use the knowledge of own scientists and experts, especially regarding critical topics like developing a digital strategy, standards and IT security. In all areas that are not critical for gaining a competitive advantage a global collaboration under fair conditions is welcome and already exists in many cases.
In this way it is obvious that digitization entails a lot of opportunities. Risks have to be discussed and solutions have to be found. Due to the fact that some digital applications are quite complex and need a longer time to be developed, the challenge is to invent and develop applications which are promising for the future, to have cost efficient development processes, to use the available budgets in the best way and to develop new business models. In this way it is quite interesting that each country has its own way to deal with these challenges and we should try to learn from each other but always in a fair way!
Last but not least it is very important to involve the customer. Possible digital solutions have to be presented to the customer, whose requirements and needs have to be considered (in addition see news 1/2014), aspects of costs and benefit have to be balanced. Sales forces have to be trained, advertisement has to be placed. In addition it would be good to integrate digitization already into the education in the schools, to build up a digital competence in an early stage and to inspire children to use digital solutions in a responsible way.
Digitization – a very fascinating topic. A lot of news will follow within the next months.
What are your experiences regarding these topics? Are you currently working on the customer management, on operations or solutions within the supply chain management? Do you need any support or do you want to discuss any of the issues raised in greater detail? Please send an email toThis email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .