Industry 4.0
Siemens intensifies cooperation with SMEs
Siemens is focusing on even more intensive cooperation with SMEs to implement Industry 4.0.
"SMEs are the backbone of the German economy. That is why the digital transformation of SMEs is a prerequisite for the future viability of Germany as a business location," said Klaus Helmrich, Member of the Managing Board of Siemens AG, at the "Forum Deutscher Mittelstand" in Stuttgart. "This requires greater cooperation between companies of different sizes - from start-ups and SMEs to large corporations." At the conference, representatives from numerous well-known German companies from the mechanical and plant engineering sector discussed strategies for the future viability of SMEs.
"The successful digital transformation of SMEs requires top management to make strategic decisions on two levels: They must align their portfolio with Industry 4.0 and further develop their internal processes. This also includes the training and further education of employees," continues Helmrich.
Offer pay-per-use models
Companies should offer new solutions, digital services and business models, for example "pay per use" models for the sale of machines and systems. It is also important to use innovative technologies such as cloud applications, additive manufacturing, flexible handling systems and artificial intelligence. Integrated industrial security measures are essential to increase trust in IT technologies and minimize cyber risks.
The technical prerequisites for the digital transformation have been created, for example, with the Digital Enterprise offering from Siemens. Companies of any size and in any industry can use this with manageable, gradually increasing investment costs. As a result, they can already achieve greater flexibility, shorter time-to-market, greater efficiency and better quality. According to Siemens, there are concrete application examples from customers that show that products, machines and systems can be developed in up to 30 percent less time. Production efficiency and productivity can be increased by up to a quarter.
One platform for digital solutions that is already available is MindSphere - the open, cloud-based IoT operating system from Siemens - which enables companies to gain a competitive edge through data analysis. Users can implement MindSphere with low investment and scale it according to their requirements.
In this context, Helmrich cited the user organization "MindSphere World", which was founded in January 2018 and currently has over 50 members (in Germany and Italy), as an example of new forms of cooperation. Its aim is to expand the MindSphere ecosystem worldwide. The association supports the individual members in the development and optimization of IoT solutions on MindSphere as well as the development of new markets in the digital economy.
"MindSphere World is an example of new forms of collaboration between companies of different sizes and sectors as well as start-ups and research institutions," says Klaus Helmrich. "I am convinced that such collaborations are the key to the success of Industry 4.0."
You might also be interested in
ESTIA aims to strengthen Europe's cloud
New tech alliance for EU sovereignty
Twelve companies, including Dassault Systèmes, are founding the European Sovereign Tech Industry Alliance (ESTIA). The initiative aims to strengthen Europe's technological independence and define requirements for sovereign cloud services. The start...
read more...Deutsche Telekom and Nvidia launch one of Europe's largest AI factories
With the Industrial AI Cloud in Munich, Deutsche Telekom and NVIDIA are creating one of the largest AI factories in Europe. Companies can train AI models, carry out simulations and access 10,000 GPUs.
read more...Leveraging data potential with AI and streaming
Huge data treasures are still lying dormant in many manufacturing companies. And yet it is high time that these treasures were unlocked. There is often a lack of resources and capacity to make data usable in real time. Streaming production data can...
read more...More awareness of noise
Dematic offers solutions that are tailored to different cloud environments and reduce environmental impact through reduced material consumption and improved energy efficiency.
read more...Generative AI in the automation environment
The mechanical engineering and automation industry is undergoing profound change. This transformation is being driven by more volatile global trade, geopolitical crises and increasing market pressure, which demands greater agility, technological...
read more...Rigid data structures have had their day
The traditional data center is no longer the center of data. A hybrid cloud storage approach enables manufacturing companies to both meet the current requirements of data-intensive processes and future-proof their infrastructure.
read more...Software as a service in three stages
CIM Database Cloud is a new out-of-the-box solution from Contact for end-to-end digital product development.
read more...How production can benefit from AI
Together with AI technology, IIoT networking makes it possible to better control machine parameters and optimize quality with predictive quality. Downtimes and set-up times can also be further minimized. Cloud platforms also make these technologies...
read more...More expertise for digital engineering
Altair, a computational science and artificial intelligence (AI) company, has acquired OmniV, a technology from Michigan, USA-based software company XLDyn.
read more...