Zooming in on the fast pace of digitization in all industries, the transformations many companies are implementing to their strategies have become more obvious, all for the purpose of surviving and thriving in Industry 4.0.
Interconnected digital technologies are becoming a necessity for every business that wants to survive and thrive in this era. Here are 4 ways to stand out and lead in Industry 4.o:
Innovating Rapidly in Industry 4.0
… and with transparency, especially since innovation and leadership go hand in hand. It’s a common mistake for any company to opt for disruptive innovations; however, smaller innovations are in fact easier to generate to test in the market. With the tools of the Industrial Internet, products can be prototyped, produced, and tested before launching them on a worldwide scale.
In addition, being open and transparent about the innovation applied allows more room for collaboration between businesses, various suppliers, and investors. In fact, much of the technology in the Industrial Internet is not just cross-functional, but cross-industry.
When whole supply chains and customer ecosystems are automated, integrated, and transformed, innovation follows a similar pattern.
Having a Purpose
… It’s not just about product. For anyone to become a successful leader in the Industrial Internet, they need to take a step further that surpasses just developing a big product line, but rather developing a clear purpose: a value proposition that is more effective than anyone else’s and can actually compete with what everyone else is doing.
Anyone can create a product or develop a service, but have a “purpose” means looking closely at the reasons people come this particular business and not another one. The equation is very simple: customers recognize when a company fulfils its purpose because nowadays it’s all about the “full experience”, not just tangible goods.
Building Strategies Around Platforms
What the value chain was to the old industrial system, the platform is to the new.
A platform is a combination of standards and systems. What does it mean exactly? It’s about developing an efficient technological base that allows vendors, suppliers, and customers to interact seamlessly with the same collection of hardware, software, and services; kind of like Microsoft with Windows, Apple with its mobile iOS, and Amazon with its “everything store” merchandising system. The same will be true of the new industrial operating systems for business-to-business markets. The users of a platform become, in effect, an ecosystem: a group of companies exchanging goods and services.
Trustworthiness With Data
As the IoT spreads to consumables, cars, and every conceivable part of a customer’s surrounding and daily life, the information shared is growing uncontrollably. The Industrial Internet will bring that level of data collection into the workplace of data collectors which will fuel the next industrial revolution.
And just as earning digital trust will be key to success, forfeiting people’s trust will be a surefire route to failure. The information is very private, sensitive, and should absolutely go through extensive cyber-security.
In this case, data integrity systems are essential in helping companies avoid breaches and better manage disruption to operations because, without a clear idea of how rules are defined and implemented, stakeholders and particularly customers will question a company’s integrity.
This trustworthiness cannot be acquired without a proper academic background to support it:
The engineering Master’s major in Industry 4.0 trains future engineers to implement modern industrial systems that fully integrate the tools and technologies of the digital revolution worldwide. And with job opportunities ranging from the technical, to the industrial side, their ethics in protecting data and using it wisely will determine their professional pathway.
Discover more about the Industry 4.0 Major at ESiLV.