Sven Hamann is Managing Director of Bosch Connected Industry. © Bosch Connected Industry

It is much more important to involve your own employees in the digitalization project right from the start. After all, the aim is not to ban people from production, but to enable them to work more flexibly with digital solutions. And above all, it is about making work and production processes more flexible so that they can be quickly adapted to new - and unknown - situations.

In addition to the Nexeed Industrial Application System and retrofit solutions for existing systems, we also offer our customers comprehensive services such as consulting, technical support, employee training and support during implementation. Especially in times of a pandemic, digital solutions can also successfully reduce contact between employees on site and thus protect their health.

Companies use systems and products from different manufacturers. The data is therefore available in different formats. How do you ensure data convergence?
This is exactly what is crucial: we don't come into a production facility as pure consultants or pure software manufacturers and tell the operator that they have to replace all previous solutions with ours. We - and our solutions in particular - are open to the integration of third-party systems. This is also evident in the Nexeed Industrial Application System. Basic functionalities make work easier for users and administrators thanks to simple operation, clear master data management and individually defined access rights. The system provides compatible and standardized data. In this way, we create transparency and generate new knowledge - and support our customers in the decision-making process in production and logistics. Thanks to open interfaces, the software can be easily integrated into common industrial platforms and existing infrastructures. Thanks to the interoperability of the system and modules for data pre-processing, all data - even from machines and systems of different types and ages - can be "translated" into the same language.

Nexeed consists of various modules for sub-areas of networked production. Can systems or modules from other manufacturers also be linked to the individual Nexeed modules? If so, how does this work?
The Nexeed Industrial Application System is designed as an open system. In concrete terms, this means that every application has open interfaces, for example. We use these to make the data accessible to our customers and create transparency. We connect other systems via these interfaces and enable seamless interaction between the solutions. Customers often already use self-developed solutions or applications from other providers in some areas of production and logistics. We also integrate these via the open interfaces. This is the only way to optimize value streams holistically and thus achieve significant savings.

The transparency of the data and its holistic recording across the various systems then also enable the implementation of data-driven innovations using artificial intelligence. With the Nexeed Industrial Application System, we also make our customers "AI ready".

Bosch is represented with products and systems in industry as well as in the automotive and home sectors. How do the individual Bosch divisions benefit from the experience of the other divisions?
Bosch is represented in many different sectors. When it comes to Industry 4.0 solutions in particular, the company sees itself as a leading user and leading provider. On the one hand, Bosch itself is an industrial manufacturer, for example of automotive components and consumer goods. On the other hand, Bosch also develops innovative IoT solutions for end users, industrial manufacturers and logistics providers. Based on its own requirements, the company has developed software that is geared towards practical needs and is suitable for customers from different sectors.

This means that we benefit from each other internally - and our customers in turn benefit from this experience. Although their needs and products are very different, industry and consumer products can also learn a lot from each other. The focus here is on the agile and iterative development of software solutions with the direct involvement of users.