Another year of Hannover Messe is now behind us. While we missed the personal interactions we all value, one thing is clear: The thought leadership, the new ideas, and the excitement for innovation remain as strong as ever across the industry. My thanks go out to all of our partners, customers, and colleagues who joined our sessions.

The event welcomed over 90,000 registrants and Microsoft hosted several thought leadership sessions, including Challenging the Now, Creating the New with Microsoft Germany's Dr. Marianne Janik, and a digital twin keynote I hosted with Accenture's Tracey Countryman, Sight Machine's Jon Sobel, Blue Yonder's Hong Mo Yang, and Andy Pratt, former CEO of The Marsden Group and now part of the Microsoft family.

This was just the beginning. We spent the week with our partners, customers, and colleagues discussing the topics that manufacturers care about most as we demonstrated what's next for manufacturing.

I invite you to watch our Hannover Messe 2021: Digital Edition sessions on-demand and visit our virtual booth. This content will be available through June 11, 2021. We're continuing the dialogue in our Manufacturing Industry Digital Forum series, featuring McKinsey and Ericsson on May 4.

What's next for manufacturing

One thing we heard loud and clear during Hannover Messe was that manufacturers are urgently looking toward the digital path forward as we all recover from the pandemic.

This is a topic we have been exploring in earnest for the last year with leaders including McKinsey & Co. I was very fortunate to have Enno de Boer, Partner and Global Leader for Manufacturing at McKinsey & Co., join me at Hannover Messe this year to explore the learnings from the 69 advanced manufacturing sitespart of the Global Lighthouse Network, a World Economic Forum project in collaboration with McKinsey & Company.

As part of that discussion, we also heard firsthand from Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, and Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky about the impactful work companies are driving with Industry 4.0 technology. Specifically Johnson & Johnson's recognition as one of the latest Lighthouse factories driving incredible sustainability gains.

If the pandemic has taught us anything, it is that the fourth industrial revolution is no longer hype. Disruptions stemming from the pandemic are here to stay, and every business needs to be on a digital journey. Only a few have figured it out yet, but the ones who have done, such as the Global Lighthouse Network companies, are creating dramatic gains in terms of productivity, agility, sustainability, and speed to market. They are resetting benchmarks. They are investing for the long termfrom the factory to the supply chain, to the workforce, and beyond.

Microsoft is proud to be a strategic partner to these companies, helping them accelerate their journeys by connecting and scaling experiences across operations, workforce, design and engineering processes, customer engagements, and the end-to-end value chain with Microsoft Cloud for Manufacturing solutions.

Achieving scale through open standards and communities

What helps Microsoft Cloud forManufacturing solutions accelerate time-to-value and drive digital transformation at scaleisour commitment to industry-specific standards and communities, such as the Open Manufacturing Platform, the OPC Foundation, and the Digital Twins Consortium, as well as the co-innovation with our rich ecosystem of partners.

We have made two important manufacturing ecosystem announcements this last month that will help us further advance interoperability across the industry. We are deepening our collaboration with both CESMII and the Open Industry 4.0 Alliance by becoming formal members. The incredible work of these communities to champion industrial digitalization has been instrumental in opening up new and impactful opportunities for manufacturers. We look forward to contributing alongside the industry's growing ranks of partners and member companies.

Continue the conversation: Manufacturing Industry Digital Forum

We have just scratched the surface on what's next for manufacturing.

But the discussion continues. Our next event will be an informative and timely webinar on May 4, where Enno de Boer, Bodo Koerber, Partner and Global Leader of internet of things (IoT) and Platforms from McKinsey & Co., and I will discuss how to get out of 'pilot purgatory' and align business, organization, and technology to capture industrial internet of things (IIoT) value at scale.

And building on our theme of learning from the Global Lighthouse Network, we will also be joined by Erik Simonsson from Swedish multinational networking and telecommunications company Ericsson.Erik will share important learnings from launching the first greenfield 5G factory in the US, with specific, measured increases in output per employee, efficiency and quality improvements, sustainability, and more.

It will be a fascinating discussion, so be sure to join usregister here.

Get the latest from Microsoft for Manufacturing

We hope to be able to gather again in person at Hannover Messe in Germany next year. However, until we can meet in person again, we will continue to engage with you through digital events and discussions.

Along with our partners, we are committed to supporting your business, no matter where you are or where you are on your digital transformation journey.

Stay informed aboutMicrosoft Cloud forManufacturingto learn how you canhelpmanufacture a more resilient and sustainable future.

Follow us on social and visit our website to get the latest on how Microsoft and our partners are helping manufacturers create a more resilient and sustainable future with Microsoft Cloud for Manufacturing solutions.

The post The next step for manufacturing? Digital transformation at scale appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs.

Filled with unimaginable change caused by the pandemic, the manufacturing industry witnessed a perfect storm: a significant disruption in terms of business continuity, operational visibility, remote work, employee safety, and the list goes on. However, manufacturers have responded and are continually adapting as we all go through the recovery process.

To help you accelerate this journey, announcing theMicrosoft Cloud for Manufacturing, available for public preview by the end of June.

By aligning cloud services to industry-specific requirements, we give customers a starting point in the cloud that easily integrates into their existing operations. Microsoft Industry Clouds provide an on-ramp to the broader portfolio of Microsoft cloud services because they enable customers to begin with the areas where the need for technology or business transformation is most urgent. Our mission is to support the customer journey for each industry, delivering an integrated customer experience across the varied offerings of the Microsoft Cloud.

What makes the Microsoft Cloud forManufacturing uniqueisour commitment to industry-specific standards and communities, such as the Open Manufacturing Platform,the OPC Foundation, and the Digital Twins Consortium, as well as the co-innovation with our rich ecosystem of partners.

Why now? We know that the disruptions stemming from the pandemic are here to stay, bringing with them a heightened need for innovation and risk management. We are at a tipping point where the old ways of doing business will no longer suffice. Manufacturers are asking for help accelerating the transformation of not only their operations but all aspects of their end-to-end business, perhaps most notably their people and culture.

We have seenour customers accelerate investment in fivekey areas in response to COVID-19in 2020, and we expect to see this persist into 2021 and beyond. These are areas where Microsoft and our partners can help connect experiences across your operations, workforce, design and engineering processes, customer engagements, and the end-to-end value chain with Microsoft Cloud forManufacturing.

• Building more agile factories
• Transforming your workforce
• Engaging customers in new ways
• Creating more resilient supply chains
• Unlocking innovation and delivering new services

Building more agile factories

During the height of the pandemic, many manufacturers had limited-to-no access to their factories or employees, demonstrating that the industry was not prepared to operate remotely.

A pre-pandemic PwC study shows that 91 percent of industrial companies are investing in digital factories, but only six percent of all respondents describe their factories as "fully digitized." In multiple research studies conducted during the pandemic, manufacturing leaders surveyed are accelerating their smart factory investments. Operating remotely everywhere, simulating everything, and automating anywhere have taken on a new, vital importance.

Solutions from Microsoft and our partners have helped connect billions of different assets, process massive amounts of real-time data, and deploy artificial intelligence (AI) at the edge. For example, we have helped industry leaders like Kennametal become a cloud-first company, using the internet of things (IoT) to boost factory output in certain operations and bring better solutions to their customers.

Within the factory and beyond, security remains top of mind. According to Frost & Sullivan, 62 percent of manufacturers are concerned about securing their solutions edge-to-cloud. To strengthen and streamline IoT and OT security, we recently announced the general availability of Azure Defender for IoT. This security technology has been deployed in some of the world's largest and most complex environments, including Global 2000 firms in manufacturing, chemicals, and life sciences.

Transforming your workforce

Closing the skills gap and reskilling employees is more important than ever because now, we have added concerns about employee safety and working remotely.

Manufacturers are eagerly embracing technologies that help them attract, hire, onboard, and retain the next generation of workers. They are also striving to reskill their existing workforce to act on data insights, and use mixed reality and AI, to uplevel their work. Ultimately this, gives them the ability to address existing skill gaps, secure remote work, and enhance safety for frontline workers.

One striking example: when travel restrictions and social distancing requirements hit, Honeywell quickly turned to RealWear and Microsoft Teams to create a virtual version of their factory acceptance testing process and keep their business moving.

Customers are also using Microsoft Power Platform to help their workforce return to the workplace with confidence. We are also doing our part to ensure the next generation has the new skills needed for the digital age. For example, in June 2020, we launched a global skills initiative and reinforced our commitment to reskilling the 25 million people unemployed as a result of the pandemic.

Engaging customers in new ways

While we have been working with customers such as Lexmark and Sandvik Coromant for several years to realize their vision for product-as-a-service, the pandemic has only accelerated this need.

Customer service organizations are now delivering proactive service using AI. HP is a strong example: they have had great success in improving customer service by using AI virtual assistants to handle 70-80 percent of their help desk calls.

Manufacturers are telling us there is a need to have a fully connected system that provides one single view of their customers and devices. This will give them the intelligence to enable proactive service, accelerate agent and technician productivity, and simplify the contact center technology stack to reduce fragmentation and maintenance overhead. To that end, Microsoft has invested in the service suite of Microsoft Dynamics 365 applications to optimize support delivery and enhance customer satisfaction.

Creating more resilient supply chains

When it comes to supply chain, visibility and connectedness are key. Starting from the factory floor, transformation needs to move quickly, embracing the entire value chain, connecting from all suppliers to all customers.

Consider the efforts made in the UK at the very start of the pandemic. Thirty of the UK's leading companies came togetherincluding Microsoft partners Accenture, Avanade, PTC, and Siemensand used Microsoft Teams, Microsoft HoloLens, and Dynamics 365 Supply Chain Management to set up a brand new supply chain and produce 20 years' worth of ventilators in 12 weeks under the VentilatorChallengeUK program. Every ventilator built has the potential to save a life. Now, that is impact from a diverse and powerful ecosystem of partners and competitors alike, and at unprecedented speed. Manufacturers are using the cloud to build more resilience into their supply chains.

Unlock innovation and deliver new services

We believe we can accelerate innovation by empowering manufacturers to design, simulate, and validate sustainable products and processes using digital twins and the affordable, scalable power of the cloud.

As a manufacturer ourselves at Microsoft, sustainability is very much top of mind. Microsoft is on a mission to be carbon neutral and water positive by 2030, and erase our entire carbon footprint by 2050 from our inception in 1975. But we will only find success by partnering with others to amplify awareness and develop joint solutions that benefit both the business and the environment.

Just look at the work that Bosch is doing to help their customers improve building performance and reduce carbon footprints using the power of Azure Digital Twins.

Stay updated on Microsoft Cloud for Manufacturing

The pandemic has taught us that the fourth industrial revolution is no longer hype. Every business is on a digital journey. The ones who are well into their journey are creating dramatic gains in terms of productivity, agility, sustainability, speed to market and the list goes on.

It is exciting to see this work really taking hold. It might take several years before we see it scale across the entire industry, but it is happening. And with the Microsoft Cloud for Manufacturing, we, along with our partners, are committed to supporting your business, no matter where you are on your digital transformation journey.

Stay informed aboutMicrosoft Cloud for Manufacturingto learn how you can help manufacture a more resilient and sustainable future.

The post Introducing Microsoft Cloud for Manufacturing appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs.

The inaugural Microsoft Digital Manufacturing Summit launched on June 24th, and I hope you will join me and our global community as we share best practices and innovations to help create more agile factories and resilient supply chains during this time of disruption. The event includes over 30 on-demand webinars, product demos, virtual roundtables, and more. The Summit is free and available to everyone. If you have not already done so, you can register here.

The Microsoft Digital Manufacturing Summit features perspectives and guidance on the continued transformation of the industry from some of the best minds at Microsoft, our solution partners, and customers. The session topics cover engaging your workforce and customers in new ways, operating safe and agile factories, creating more resilient supply chains, unlocking innovations, and reimagining the new normalwith an emphasis on strategies and best practices to help organizations manufacture a resilient and sustainable future.

When you first arrive at the Summit, I invite you to start your experience with my day one keynote (please register to access) where I discuss how the community is coming together to collaborate and address the forces that continue to drive change. You will learn how Microsoft, our partners, and customers are coming together to meet new challenges and create opportunities through intelligent manufacturing.

Be sure to attend the day one and two roundtables featuring our partners and customers, followed by live ‘Meet the Experts’ sessions where you can have your questions answered by Microsoft. I also strongly encourage you to watch the day-two keynote hosted by Sabine Bendiek, Area Vice President, Microsoft Germany. Sabine's session will include her point of view on the latest trends shaping the future of manufacturing and our commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Once you have experienced the live sessions, there is rich on-demand content for you to explore. These sessions will be organized by the following industry scenarios:

Engage your workforce and customers in new ways

Combine productivity apps, intelligent cloud services, and business applications to transform the way you work and deliver value to customers.

Operate Safe and agile factories

Drive reliable quality and yield within safe, secure, and agile factories with IT, OT, and industrial IoT, while ensuring business continuity with remote manufacturing operations capabilities, leveraging digital threads of your assets and metrics.

Create more resilient supply chains

Improve visibility, traceability, resiliency, and profitability through intelligent supply chain planning and execution.

Unlock innovations and shape the new normal

Accelerate discovery and engineering of new business value using digital feedback loops and digital twins.

After you register you can consult our Suggested Learning Paths to help you navigate our Manufacturing Summit content, including over 30 webinars and demos that are in the session catalog. We hope you'll consider these suggestions as a "quick start" to put you on the path for insights and key learnings that will help you “navigate the now”. We recommend all roles learn how Microsoft platforms and technologies are addressing the challenges of the current pandemic. Watch our demos starting with COVID 19: Phase 1 crisis communication.

The Microsoft Digital Manufacturing Summit has a lot to offer every leader looking to accelerate their intelligent manufacturing initiatives. To access the on-demand content just complete the short registration form.

I look forward to seeing you at the Summit.

The post Reimagine a resilient and sustainable future with Microsoft at our Digital Manufacturing Summit appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs.

While many manufacturers face challenging disruptions to supply and demand in their businesses, some are reconfiguring their production, supply chains, and servicesto deliver critical supplies such as:

• A consortium of major UK industrial, technology, and engineering businesses from across the aerospace, automotive, and medical sectors have come together to produce medical ventilators for the National Health Service (NHS).The supply chain of the ventilators is being supported byDynamics 365 Supply Chain Management, and Microsoft worked with Accenture to launch it in just three weeks.
• Schneider Electric has joined forces with Air Liquide, Groupe PSA, and Valeo to produce 10,000 Air Liquide Medical Systems respirators in France.
• Chinese automaker BYD, the world's largest electric vehicle manufacturersapplied its R&D to alleviate shortages that affected hospitals and agencies across Chinaand built the World’s largest face mask manufacturing plantthat is now producing 5 million masks and 300,000 bottles of disinfectants per day.
• Honeywell is sharing its best practices at its own manufacturing facilities, and what it’s doing to address the shortage of N95 face masks.
• Rockwell Automation has shared its commitment to supporting its manufacturing customers and their supply chains with ongoing services.
• Siemens has also been at the forefront of addressing face mask production in China and is sharing its COVID-19 recommendations for manufacturers.
• Bloom Energy, Almo, and the State of California are partnering to refurbish ventilators for the U.S. healthcare system.
• Sandvik Coromant is working overtime to supply precision wire to ventilator manufacturers.

Microsoft applauds all of these amazing leaders and their innovativework.

Getting critical products delivered to where they are most needed

However, we know that the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases continues to rise every day. We have not yet reached the peak in terms of the number of global infections. When we do, it's predicted that we are going to face a huge shortage of equipment, supplies, and consumables.Estimates are that production capacity will need to ramp up by 20to 500 times to cope with what is ahead of us.Moreover, we will need to find intelligent, effective ways to provide goods where and when they are needed. This is an incredible challenge.

Microsoft has been in discussions with partners, customers, and industry associations around the globe to help support new,innovative ideas and plansto deal with what is ahead of us. This includes the National Association of Manufacturers, which has been assigned by the government to lead the manufacturing responsein the U.S., as well as many other partners, public and private alike.

COVID-19 response: Services and guidance for your business

In addition to this work, I also want to share key resources, solutions, and best practices from Microsoft that can help to address your immediate priorities and needs during these challenging times:

Supporting remote work

For those engineers, information workers, and first-line workers whoareworking from home, we can enable remote collaboration and productivity:

• Microsoft Teams allow you to work remotely without feeling remote. Teams of 10 or 10,000 can chat, meet, call, and collaborateall from one place, no matter where they are. If you’re a current Office 365 subscriber, you already have access to Microsoft Teams, and now is a great time to deploy to support your transition to remote work.
• We have compiled expertise and guidance to optimize remote work environments from our own experience over the last few weeks.
• We are also sharing the comprehensive work-from-home guide we created for our own employees, which you can tailor for your own organization.
• Get connected with our Enabling Remote Work community to stay up-to-date on best practice sharing for all employees.
• Enable employees with a virtual desktop experience such as engineers working on product and production changes to work on Azure with Microsoft 365 (WVD) from anywhere with advanced cloud-connected management capabilities to allow IT to stay in control while providing a secure, always up-to-date productivity experience.

Supporting employee safety

To help you focus on the health and well-being of your employees and access the most current data, situation reports, and analysis:

• You can leverage this CrisisCommunicationApp with steps to quickly build and implement an app for your organization to coordinate information-sharing and collaboration in response to evolving conditions.
• Use the Bing CoronavirusTracker with the latest fact-based information, statistics, and news on the current state of the virus.
• Build your own dashboards with your own proprietary data customized for specific geographies using the Azure Maps COVID-19 Open Source Project for Healthcare Agencies.

Supporting remote assistance for frontline employees and customers

To remotely assist those workers who are still needed on the manufacturing frontline and supporting customers operations, Microsoft and partners such as BluePrism, PTC, Realwear,and Tulip have announced programs for customers engaged in COVID-19 related activities:

• Dynamics 365 Customer Service, enables contact center employees to provide consistent, personalized support while working remotely. Customers are taking advantage of the ability to gain insights into case volume topics, ensuring agents are properly distributed across channels, and quickly deploying chatbots that are trained to respond to the highest volume of inquiries.
• Dynamics 365 Remote Assist allows field technicians and engineers to collaborate with colleagues and experts from different locations, reducing travel and resolving some of the immediate obstacles facing us all. Dynamics 365Customer Service or Dynamics 365 Remote Assist may beavailable free of charge for up to 6 monthsif you are implementing a solution in response to COVID-19, eitherona Microsoft-provided template or custom implementation.
• To increase the predictability and reliability of the work being performed by manufacturers the Blue Prism COVID-19 Response Program is taking applications for their robotic process automation (RPA) resources to help maintain critical business continuity.
• To provide technical support to your manufacturing and service employees, PTC is making their Vuforia Chalk augmented reality (AR) remote support and collaboration technology freely available to their customers and partners to use through June.
• RealWear has contributed its headset technology to the medical effort in China and just announced its integration with Microsoft Teams, enabling industrial workers to use both hands for complex work procedures while remotely collaborating with subject matter experts wherever they are in the world.
• Tulip hasjust announced that they are offering support and free use of their manufacturing app platform to any manufacturer or open-source manufacturing effort engaged in fighting COVID-19. They are actively working with pharma customersand others who are repurposing theirfactories to make medical-grade supplies. Their focus is on enabling remote work, GxP/GMP support for clinical trials as well as production, usingTulip to mitigate, crowd control, triage vitals, and on ramping up new manufacturing lines fast with their no-code app builder and templates.

These are just some of the ways that Microsoft and our partners are working to support the health and safety of our communities as well as help you to ensure business continuity and mitigate risk.

Youcanfind the latest information, updates, and resources from Microsoft:Responding to COVID-19 together. Also, I encourage you to read the recent post on LinkedIn from Satya Nadella on his current perspective and how Microsoft is working to support employees, customers, partners and communities.

On a personal note, to say that we are all are navigating our way through unchartered waters is an understatement. We are all in this together as a global community, learning each day from the crisis at hand.I am very inspired by the amazing work across our company, customers and partners to come together across industries, businesses, governments, health providers and more to mobilize technology to inform, empower, protect, and engage as we all work together to accelerate progress for solutions to the pandemic.

I want you to know that Microsoft is here to listen, learn, and do all that we can to assist you and your business during this difficult time.

The post Supporting the manufacturing community during this challenging time appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs.

This blog is the first in a series highlighting our newest research, IoT Signals. Each week will feature a new top-of-mind topic to provide insights into the current state of IoT adoption across industries, how business leaders can develop their own IoT strategies, and why companies should use IoT to improve service to partners and customers.

Manufacturing continues to be an ideal proving ground for the Internet of Things (IoT), given the industry's long history with operational efficiency programs like Six Sigma and the wealth of sensor-connected assets at companies' disposal that they can use to enable IoT. This convergence is driving a new wave of innovation: using digitization to drive throughput, prevent costly product and asset failures, automate processes, digitize whole supply chains, and build new services that push the boundaries of what's imaginable and possible. It's no wonder Gartner projects industry spending on IoT to reach $670 billion by 2023.

IoT Signals reveals manufacturers' challenges and success with IoT

Microsoft recently conducted a research survey with 3,000 key enterprise decision-makers to learn how they are applying IoT to their businesses. The resulting report, IoT Signals, sheds light on manufacturers' current level of IoT maturity as well as how they are using IoT to approach societal challenges such as the aging society, precision medicine, water shortages, sustainable energy supplies, and transportation. Among our key findings, we learned that 87 percent of IoT decision-makers in manufacturing has already started an IoT project.

Most manufacturers are laying the groundwork for long term IoT benefits by focusing on an area of maximum pain and stair-stepping their way to greater gains. According to the IoT Signals research, the top use cases for manufacturing IoT are:

• Automation (48 percent)
• Quality and compliance (45 percent)
• Production planning (43 percent)
• Supply-chain logistics (43 percent)
• Plant safety and security (33 percent)

Beginning the IoT journey with automation

Automation often serves as a stepping stone to beginning with IoT. Manufacturers need historic and real-time data and digitized processes to monitor, analyze, and interpret operational conditions. Only when those foundational elements are in place can they move forward with such applications as remote monitoring, and predictive and prescriptive maintenance, which have the potential to save millions by optimizing production and avoiding costly downtime.

In IoT Signals, one engineering lead commented, "Our engineers say, 'We want to know ahead of time when this motor is going to burn out to prevent downtime.' So we put on IoT sensors, and we can tell when the motor is not acting the way it should. And we can tell them, 'You've got another 300 hours before this is going to need replacement.'”

Quality and compliance go hand-in-hand with plant safety. Product quality and compliance ensure that finished goods are accepted by customers and regulators alike, avoiding costly returns and recalls. Effective production processes are also typically safe ones, using automated alerts to warn workers proactively of machinery or other defects before they cause physical harm.

Protecting IoT and OT from cyberattacks

Finally, IoT is converging with operational technology (OT). IoT connects devices, business processes, and industrial control systems to IP networks so they can operate on a common platform, making potential cyberattacks more deadly. Thus, manufacturers must harden their security before moving forward with IoT. IoT initiatives should be coupled with multilayer programs that provide end-to-end security of hardware, software, devices, connections, cloud services and use alerts, automation, and artificial intelligence to resolve incidents.

Using IoT for competitive differentiation

It's no wonder 92 percent of the manufacturers we surveyed see IoT as critical to business success. They recognize IoT's ability to add continual value to their business, transform their cost structure in an increasingly commoditized market, and identify levers for new sources of differentiation.

As just one example, IoT enables manufacturers to keep their finger on the pulse of customer demand, rapidly updating production plans, raw material ordering, and supply-chain processes to meet real-time conditions. In doing so, manufacturers have been able to capture more business, develop products for niche markets or seasonal demand, and avoid overordering, all adding to the bottom line.

As manufacturers gain greater competence and capabilities with IoT, they can push into new areas, such as product customization and product-as-a-service offerings, where analytics are bundled with finished goods to provide customers with additional value.

Michael MacKenzie, Vice President of the EcoStruxure technology platform at Schneider Electric, has noted, "[IoT is] a huge disruptor to our industry, to be able to connect more directly with our end-user customers, to be able to track our devices, to be able to track how the devices and the gear are performing, but then also to derive new business models, new value streams that help our customers do more with what they have."

Learn more about how manufacturing companies are using IoT to drive value by downloading the IoT Signals report and reading our Transform Blog on IoT projects driven by companies such as ThyssenKrupp, Bhler, Chevron, and Toyota Material Handling Group.

And in case you missed them, read the other posts in our series on the IoT Signals report:

• IoT Signals report: IoT's promise will be unlocked by addressing skills shortage, complexity and security
• Solve the IoT security paradox to unleash innovation
• Addressing the coming IoT talent shortage
• How companies are speeding their IoT revolution
• How to win with IoT in the digital marketplace

The post How manufacturers became world leaders in IoT adoption appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs.

Technology is evolving at breakneck speed and many manufacturers are struggling to keep pace. But for companies that fail to innovate quickly, the consequences are direthey're putting their survival at risk.

thyssenkrupp AG fully understands the crucial role technology plays in modern manufacturing.

That's why six years ago, the organization began to transform its business from the inside out, starting a quest to gain greater efficiencies that would provide more customer value and differentiate the company from its competitors.

By tapping into today's top technologies, thyssenkrupp found exactly what it was looking for: optimized processes, increased employee productivity, and improved asset reliability. Combined, these improvements have helped the organization cement its status as an industry leader.

But how did it embark on this game-changing journey? And what has it achieved along the way?

Plotting a path forward

Before taking the digital transformation leap, thyssenkrupp knew it needed two things.

First, the company had to plot a path for how it was going to reach its goals. It accomplished this by breaking down its journey into three linear steps:

1. Digitization: The foundation of digitization involves a transition from analog. It requires taking paper-based information and turning it into digital data.
2. Digitalization: The crux of digitalization entails giving employees access to a single version of truth so they can use real-time data to make actionable decisions and drive outcomes. It also helps optimize processes and, streamlines decision-making.
3. Digital transformation: This is the ultimate goal. Achieving it means re-anchoring a point in a business model or shifting an existing business model to provide more customer, employee, or stakeholder value.

Second, thyssenkrupp knew it needed to partner with a technology company to support its digital journey. And, the organization chose Microsoft to help it create a culture of continuous innovation.

From the moment the global manufacturer began collaborating with the technology company, it was quickly introduced to a wide variety of key technology enablers that would help reshape its business.

By laying out what steps it needed to take and partnering with Microsoft to capitalize on the latest cutting-edge innovations, thyssenkrupp gained the ability to:

• Capture real-time asset data to predict and prevent failures
• Empower employees to make quick, actionable decisions
• Improve customer experiences by delivering products faster and with better quality
• Create new revenue streams by reimagining current business models

Learning along the way and building on success

Of course, no digital journey is without its obstacles. Even a leader like thyssenkrupp experienced some bumps and bruises along the way. But the company never strayed from its mission. Instead, it learned from its mistakes.

If a pilot project initially fell short of expectations, thyssenkrupp didn't abandon it altogether. Rather, it took a step back and posed some questions:

• What's behind the shortcomings?
• How can the project better align with our business model?
• Did the project achieve any of its intended goals?

By continually asking those questions and taking a lessons-learned approach, the organization could course correct and proceed in a more positive manner.

And, once the company completed several projects, it had a better sense of what worked and what didn't. So, it could avoid many of the frustrations it experienced from past difficulties and build on the momentum of its successes.

Reaping the rewards of innovation

Innovation has been at the heart of many of thyssenkrupp's most recent crowning achievements.

In 2013, the company's elevator division, thyssenkrupp Elevator, started making its mark with IoT and mixed reality. With these technologies on its side, the organization cut maintenance costs, improved service performance, and increased overall asset reliability and uptime.

thyssenkrupp also used mixed reality to help people with physical limitations overcome their home mobility issues. Using wearable devices, the enterprise can now design, manufacture, and install stair lifts with added speed and efficiency, resulting in delivery times as much as four times faster than before.

In a warehouse in Poway, California, thyssenkrupp's BILSTEIN Shock Absorbers division transformed how its workers pick, pack, and ship customer orders. Mixed reality technology has given employees the tools they need to increase productivity and enhance order fulfillment accuracy, resulting in a 30 percent efficiency improvement per worker.

Finally, thyssenkrupp Elevator turned the company's Innovation Test Tower in Rottweil, Germany, into a rich ecosystem of data-driven insights using digital twin technology.

By creating virtual models of the building's physical systemsincluding elevators and heating, ventilation, and air conditioningbuilding owners and asset operators can analyze and optimize their operational performance. This helps create better experiences for building tenants, employees, and visitors.

Building the factory of the future

Among the company's accomplishments is how one of its divisions, thyssenkrupp Aerospace, used a slew of cutting-edge technologies to build a factory of the future.

By connecting its machinery with data-collecting IoT sensors and introducing other technologies inside its facility, the organization could keep production running smoothly.

The moment a sawblade shows signs of wear, thyssenkrupp Aerospace can repair or replace itavoiding the costly process of taking it offline for a prolonged period of time.

But above all else, embracing the latest high-tech tools has empowered thyssenkrupp Aerospace employees to work more quickly and efficiently than ever before.

By using a voice-activated virtual assistant integrated with a shared communications platform, the organization could optimize processes, simplify workflows, and improve collaboration. This has led to better, safer customer experiences.

For instance, if a grounded aircraft urgently needs a part, workers can more easily work together to deliver the necessary item quickly and put passengers up in the sky in no time.

Taking cues from thyssenkrupp

The path to digital transformation is a long journey, not a one-and-done project. While it can be an arduous process, thyssenkrupp has learned that with focus on creating customer value and being open to new ways of engagement with its technology partner, manufacturers can transform, truly changing the status quo.

In the end, many companies find the effort is well worth it. That includes thyssenkrupp, which over a span of six years, has experienced substantial gains in increasing employee productivity, improving asset efficiency, and providing greater customer value.

With an inside look at how one manufacturing industry leader embraced innovation to boost its business, setting your own journey into motion should be that much easier.

Learn more about thyssenkrupp's digital adventure.

The post thyssenkrupp embraces digital transformation for a better future appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs.

It's finally here. Hannover Messe 2019 officially started.

Every year, global leaders of the manufacturing industry come to Hannover Messe to educate, intrigue, and inspire attendees with fresh ideas and creative solutions to some of the most prevalent and persistent challenges in manufacturing. This year, I am excited that we will get to show our progress towards helping manufacturers transform their businesses from top-floor to shop-floordelivering improved customer and social outcomes with product-as-a-service.

Experience product innovations

Just last week Microsoft announced several new product innovations that will bring this reality of intelligent manufacturing even closer for our customers and partners.

These recently announced innovations, along with many others, will be on display at our booth at Hannover Messe (Digital Factory, Hall 7).

• Azure IoT Platform updates will power new, highly-secured Industrial IoT Scenarios to deliver increased security, productivity, efficiency and help achieve new business outcomes.
• With mixed reality applications such as Dynamics 365 Remote Assist and Layout, companies are using Microsoft HoloLens and HoloLens 2 to dramatically boost productivity, compliance, and safety. Also, available later this year, the new Microsoft Dynamics 365 Guides for HoloLens and HoloLens 2 will empower employees to learn by doing, with step-by-step instructions guiding them to the tools, parts and institutional knowledge they need in real work scenarios.
• Microsoft 365 is equipping organizations, including Firstline Workers on the factory floor, with the skills and tools they need to keep up with digital manufacturing in a secure environment. Microsoft Teams is transforming how today's manufacturing workforce collaborates and communicates securely. Learn more about how Microsoft 365 is being used in manufacturing.

Explore how AI, Mixed Reality and IoT have enabled our customers and partners

During the event, join us at our booth to get hands-on with how Microsoft is driving intelligent manufacturing innovation and enabling customers and partners to manufacture a better future. You will see highlights including:

• Siemens Gamesa, the leader in renewable energy, will demonstrate how they are reimagining manufacturing by streamlining inspection and maintenance of industrial wind turbines by migrating their autonomous drone-digital process to Microsoft Azure and infusing it with Azure AI.
• Hitachi Solutions will showcase how they are helping global organizations create outcome-driven, connected field services with IoT and mixed reality to support maintenance work by field workers to increase uptime and service continuity.
• PTC will also show how scalable mixed reality solutions from Microsoft and PTC allow Howden's customers to prevent the challenges and costs associated with unplanned downtime and better align overall maintenance strategieswhich were previously based only on conjecture and after-the-fact analysis.
• Bhler, one of the world's largest providers of food processing solutions, will share how they are leveraging Microsoft blockchain technology to improve global food safety standards and reduce food poisoning rates, while increasing production efficiencies.
• The latest in our Future Computed book series: The Future Computed: AI and Manufacturing explores the way manufacturers from across the world are embracing AI. It shares insights from our customers on the importance of creating the right company culture and talent pipeline to realize AI's potential, and explores the role of public policy in addressing labor market disruption and fostering the ethical use of AI. We'll preview the book and its key themes at Hannover Messe.

Explore how intelligent application of technology can accelerate digital leadership

On April 2^nd, I will speak at Hannover Messe's first Industrial Pioneers Summit about Digital Leadership in the Intelligent Manufacturing era. During my discussion, I will address key market and business opportunities in manufacturing, explore emerging, intelligent technology capabilities that accelerate digital leadership, and share best practices from those already at the forefront of innovation. Learn more about the Industrial Pioneers Summit.

Learn how AI can drive manufacturing innovation as well as an inclusive workplace

On April 4^th, Wendy Bauer, Business Strategy Lead for the Microsoft Manufacturing and Resources Industry organization, will speak at the WomenPower conference. She will share how manufacturers can embrace the new era of data and AI-driven automated processes in order to not only push the boundaries of manufacturing innovation, but to redefine a more inclusive, modern workplace. Learn more about the WomenPower Summit.

Look for Microsoft at HM 2019 and see for yourself how leading manufacturing organizations are using new technologies to reimagine manufacturing by delivering new services, empowering their workforces, and optimizing digital operations.

Learn more about the manufacturer’s guide to digital transformation.

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But as we've witnessed over the past 20 years, new technologies such as AI raise complex questions and broad societal concerns. As we look to a future powered by a partnership between computers and humans, it is important that we address these challenges head on. How will AI impact employment and jobs? How do we ensure that AI is designed, used and governed responsibly? How can AI be developed in ways that are human-centered and can ensure broad and fair access to its benefits as we move forward together?

These are all questions Microsoft is thinking about every day, as we work to democratize AI for every person and every organization.

My Digital Empowerment video series explores important topics like these, with the goal of helping to guide you through your journey of becoming a digital business. In a special two-part series, I explore AI from the ground up.

In our first episode, Microsoft's Indranil Sircar and Ted Way demonstrated how Microsoft is advancing manufacturing innovation with AI

In this latest episode, I sit down with Nick Tsilas, our senior attorney for Manufacturing & Growth Industries, to discuss the potential of AI to help us build a better, more responsible, more sustainable world.

Nick and I look at the important questions around ethics and trust. We explore Microsoft's ethical principles that guide the development and use of AI. And we delve deeper into what our AI-enabled future will look like in terms of future workforce, policies and regulations, and collaboration across global stakeholders.

At Microsoft, we are optimistic about the opportunities that AI provides to create a better future for all.

I highly enjoyed this conversation with Nick and I invite you to spend a few minutes exploring these ideas with us.

Twitter: @Caglayan_Arkan

Learn how AI is transforming industries in this free e-book.

The post Building AI on trust: A dialogue around Microsoft’s core values and principles appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has sparked a data revolution that is changing our world forever.

A study by PwC says that the global gross domestic product (GDP) will increase by 14 percent by 2030 as a result of AI adoption, contributing an additional $15.7T to the worldwide economy (PwC, 2017). And, in the next five years, business executives across the globe expect AI to have a positive impact on growth (90 percent), productivity (86 percent), and job creation (69 percent) in their country and industry (Economist Intelligence Unit, 2018).

At Microsoft, we have been investing in the promise of AI for more than 25 years. Our vision is bold and broad to build systems that have true artificial intelligence across agents, applications, services and infrastructure. This vision is also inclusive. Microsoft aims to make AI accessible to all consumers, businesses, developers so that everyone can realize its benefits.

For manufacturers, AI is changing every aspect of the industryfrom intelligent supply chains, to product-as-a-service offerings, to factories of the futureand providing the catalyst for new business models, products, services and experiences.

Wherever you may be on your digital transformation journey, you should be on a quest to figure out how to take advantage of the opportunities that AI can bring to your business.

To get you thinking about this, I'm launching a special two-part video series where we will delve deeper into AI. We will approach it from both sides: in our first episode, I, along with Indranil Sircar, our CTO of Manufacturing & Resources, and Ted Way, Microsoft Senior Program Manager for Azure Machine Learning, explore the powerful new opportunities AI opens up in terms of technology innovation for manufacturing and resources.

First, Indranil and I explore Microsoft's strategy and how AI is empowering the digital leadership agenda across the industry. We look at some examples of this innovation in action with companies like Ecolab, BAE Systems, and Jabil.

You will not want to miss Ted Way's absolutely sensational demo of Project Brainwave toward the latter half of the video.

Stay tuned for part 2 of this series, where Nick Tsilas, our senior attorney for Manufacturing & Growth Industries here at Microsoft, and I look at the important questions around ethics and trust when it comes to ensuring that AI is designed, used and governed responsibly.

As we start a new year, I look forward to continuing our exploration of AI's impact in manufacturing and resources in greater detailfrom what is possible to what is to come.

Enjoy!

Twitter: @Caglayan_Arkan

The post Pushing the boundaries of manufacturing and resources innovation with AI appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs.

Digital transformation is upon us, and every industry and every business is part of it. Change is happening fast and many, if not all, industries are being redefined. Manufacturing, especially, has huge gains to realize from this disruption, as advanced technologies like IoT, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, mixed reality, digital twins, and blockchain empower manufacturers to improve efficiency, flexibility, and productivity through new levels of intelligence.

Of all the technologies reshaping our industry, I would say that AI plays one of the biggest roles here in terms of the disruptionand resulting opportunityfor both our industry and our workforce. AI has made large strides in recent years and is poised to open up new types of employment opportunities. The transformational possibilities of AI for manufacturers, employees and the industry-at-large are enormous.

However, as we look to a future powered by a partnership between computers and humans, it is important that we work to democratize AI for every person and every organization something Microsoft is deeply focused on.

Two critical data points, from recent research, to establish the enormity of change:

• Machines complete 29% of tasks today, which is expected to go up to 71% by 2025.
• 75 million jobs to be displaced by automation and 133 million new jobs to be created between 2018-2022.

In this new paper, I share my thoughts on how the global workforce will be impacted by big disruptive forces including AI, as well as ideas around how three core groupsmanufacturers, employees and the industry at large (IT companies, large enterprises, education institutions, policy makers, government, etc.)can thrive during this massive transformation.

Download our whitepaper on The workforce of the future: Insights around disruption, transformation and the role of AI.

Twitter: @Caglayan_Arkan

The post Future workforce: Insights on disruption, transformation, and AI’s role appeared first on Microsoft Industry Blogs.