INDUSTRY RENAISSANCETransforming invention, learning, production and trade

A profound societal transformation is underway on a scale not seen since the great European Renaissance. Then, Gutenberg’s printing press made books, and the knowledge they contained, available to all. Today, the new book is the experience. Digital technology, which enables virtual experiences, is enabling an Industry Renaissance that is shaking all sectors of society with new ways, both real and virtual, of inventing, learning producing and trading.

WORKFORCE OF THE FUTUREPlatforms help employers meet workers’ need for lifelong learning

The leading businesses of tomorrow will be those that empower their workforces and value networks with the knowledge and knowhow to deliver new categories of sustainable solutions. With rapid evolution of workplace roles, learning how to learn is now essential, and virtual platforms support people as they innovate, produce, share and learn.

THE VOICE OF EXPERIENCEPatrizio Carlucci, Head, ECCO Innovation Lab

While it’s axiomatic that no two feet are alike or average, most footwear is produced to standardized sizes and based on average fit. At the Innovation Lab of ECCO, however, we are close to achieving a strategy for true mass-customization.

EXPERT OPINIONKarel Eloot, Senior Partner, McKinsey and Company

The global race for innovation leadership in digital manufacturing and broader enterprise operations is accelerating. The global race for innovation leadership in digital manufacturing and broader enterprise operations is accelerating. 

INDUSTRY MARKETPLACES SURGEB2B digital marketplaces bring agility and innovation to industrial markets

B2B digital marketplaces are reshaping industrial markets and supply chains. Experts say the disruption of traditional business models offers companies across the supply chain an opportunity to expand and create innovative new customer experiences.

FUTURE OF COMMERCEBlockchain adds traceability and transparency to the supply chain

Blockchain provides traceability, transparency and automation for digital marketplaces; it is an an ideal framework to create trust for trade between parties that don't know each other and eliminate the friction in traditional trade processes.

THE NEW B2B SALES FORCEAdapt your workforce for digital marketplaces to increase success

B2B industry marketplaces are disrupting conventional sales and distribution models. Thriving in this environment requires shifting to digitalized self-service channels, while also using these platforms to deepen customer engagement and generate higher revenue in more complex sales situations.

THE VOICE OF EXPERIENCEGabriel Guigue of TraceParts

A new generation of online B2B markerplaces is bringing suppliers and buyers into an open and direct ecosystem that eliminates the middle man and removes the geographical, scale and process barriers to trading.

EXPERT OPINIONB2B marketplaces play a key role in digital transformation

B2B digital marketplaces are reshaping industrial markets and supply chains. Experts say the disruption of traditional business models offers companies across the supply chain an opportunity to expand and create innovative new customer experiences.

CLOUD AND MORE CLOUDCompanies are harnessing the public cloud as a critical enabler for competitive business

Faster time to market, lower costs and closer connections with partners and customers – the cloud brings these benefits and more to businesses of all sizes.

SILVER LININGSEight reasons to move to the cloud

More than a third of organizations have a cloud-first policy where new applications are deployed on a public cloud platform, unless there’s a compelling case to deploy it on-premise. Here is why cloud computing is becoming the architecture of choice for companies small and large.

VANISHING OBJECTIONSMany of the reasons enterprises have resisted cloud are no longer relevant

Citing a range of concerns from vendor lock-in to data security, some enterprises have been hesitant to move operations to the cloud. As adoption spreads, however, more companies are realizing that perceived inhibitors are not show-stoppers after all.

THE VOICE OF EXPERIENCEEdward Stilson, Product Engineer, Joby Aviation

Joby Aviation was founded in 2009 with the goal of creating a product capable of completely revolutionizing the way people travel. As a modern company creating designs that are innovating and exciting, it is important that the way we work is supported by a modern platform. That’s why we are using the cloud.

EXPERT OPINION The cloud is now a business imperative

Roughly a decade ago, the first commercial cloud computing services began. At first they were viewed as a curiosity; then as solely relevant to cash-strapped startups; then as a means for enterprises to reduce IT costs; and then as a way to increase agility.

THE RISE OF PLATFORM BUSINESSHow digital networks are changing competition

Whether we have purchased a book through Amazon or watched videos on YouTube, most of us have used a digital platform – an online framework for social and marketplace interactions. From Alibaba to eBay to Google, platform dealings have become part of everyday life for consumers. Now businesses are creating these high-value exchange environments to facilitate interaction with one another and, in the process, a pivotal change in the way businesses compete.

BIG PROFITS FROM BIG DATAPlatforms create another potential revenue stream with platform-generated data

Platforms collect data from many sources, with multiple benefits for the platform provider and member companies. The data they generate can enable the platform company to make smart business decisions, while opening new markets to its members. Whether a platform operator chooses to analyze the data itself or sell it to others for analysis, the data represents money to be earned.

COMPLEMENTARY GROWTHOffering related products and services can help platforms keep expanding

A typical product line has linear growth – a direct result of a product or service sold to increasing numbers of consumers. A multisided business platform that connects customers or groups with multiple products or services, however, allows for complementary growth. By first creating a healthy ecosystem, multisided platforms are benefiting from additional revenues by expanding into unexpected areas.

THE VOICE OF EXPERIENCEDale Wiggins, Vice President and General Manager, Philips HealthSuite

When Philips was in the planning stages for our digital platform HealthSuite, we also were in the midst of a dual transformation.

One transformation was from a conglomerate of multiple industries – consumer electronics, health care and lighting – into a health technology company that is focused on every phase of the health continuum.

EXPERT OPINION Businesses are moving to platform-powered ecosystems

B2B platforms are very different to launch and to scale from B2C platforms. Ironically, 15 years ago, many people felt that B2B platforms would be more successful than B2C platforms. The opposite happened, partly due to the fact that many large firms were not prepared to relinquish control of their business relationships to a platform, or could not agree to governance principles. Small firms were rarely connected to the Internet at the time and, therefore, could not participate.

IMMERSIVE VIRTUALITY GETS REAL As VR and AR become affordable to all, business finds powerful ways to use them

With the introduction of low-cost viewers, 2016 has been awash in hype about virtual reality, augmented reality and other immersive virtuality (iV) technologies. Less hyped, however, is that many of the world’s biggest companies have been using high-end versions of these technologies for decades.

PRODUCT DESIGN ENTERS A NEW REALITY Immersive virtuality helps companies design better products faster and more economically

Seeing a virtual product in 3D on a computer screen is good, but the small screen makes it easy to miss the fine details of complex products – details that could be expensive to fix later. The arrival of low-cost head-mounted displays is eliminating that challenge.

ERROR-FREE MANUFACTURING Immersive technologies reduce errors and detect them faster

Errors made in product design can easily be replicated in the design of manufacturing processes. Virtual reality (VR) helps to find them before manufacturing begins and production suffers. On the factory floor, meanwhile, augmented reality (AR) is helping workers to assemble parts in less time with fewer errors while helping quality control inspectors catch those errors that do occur.

WITH VR, SEEING IS BELIEVINGFrom automobiles to real estate, VR helps marketers show consumers what they’re buying

For decades, buying something that doesn’t exist yet – a car configured to your precise specifications or a pre-construction apartment, for example – required consumers to make a major leap of faith.

VIRTUALIZING MEDICINE AND SCIENCEImmersive virtuality gives researchers the power to explore hidden realms

For centuries, medical and scientific discoveries have been constrained by what researchers could actually see. With advanced computing power and immersive virtuality, however, modern researchers have the tools to watch a beating human heart from inside its chambers, or discover how never-before-seen biological processes build a cell and evolve its properties.

THE VOICE OF EXPERIENCEKevin Hallock, Visualization and Modeling Scientist, Pfizer

It could be the start of a bad joke: a chemist, a biologist and a clinician walk into a room and try to agree on how to describe a protein.

At Pfizer, however, that room is a virtual reality (VR) lab where scientists can immerse themselves in massive visual 3D representations of proteins,human physiology and more, and the payoff is no joke.

EXPERT OPINIONImmersive technology’s future implications for business

After 50 years of being almost exclusively confined to academic, corporate R&D, and military research labs, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR), known collectively as immersive virtuality (iV), are now available at a consumer-friendly price.

HYPERCONNECTED BUSINESSAlways-and-everywhere connectivity is re-inventing every aspect of business

As mobile devices proliferate, individuals generate data trails that businesses can use to instantly fulfill every whim. Things, too, are getting connected through the Internet of Things (IoT), raising the level of customer experience. The result is a hyperconnected world where communities collaborate to solve challenges and every company must rethink its fundamental assumptions about the business it is in, the services it provides and its relationships with customers, competitors and the world at large.

PLACEMENT GETS PERSONALMarketing tech delivers customized messages to each consumer

You Google “green stilettos.” Minutes later, the pages you surf all feature advertisements for high heels. How? Your browsing ‘cookie’ relayed your search to an ad placement algorithm, which processed automated bids from companies eager to sell just what you want to buy. Personalized advertising is just one way that hyperconnected technology is enabling 1:1 marketing … and the bots will only get smarter.

THE VOICE OF EXPERIENCEArnaud Ribault, Executive Director, Global Sales & Marketing, DS Automobiles

As the luxury division of PSA Group, DS Automobiles - a company launched in 2015 - is a 21st century brand. So we wanted to develop a system of communication, distribution and sales of the 21st century. Our customers are all connected, and this is their way of life. If we want to be with them we have to be in their environment, and so we have an ongoing digital conversation with our customers, primarily on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. 

WORKFORCE DISRUPTIONGlobal economist predicts economic turmoil, followed by accelerated growth

Is the digitization of business contributing to prolonged global economic sluggishness? Many economists believe that it is, and Stephen Koukoulas of Australian advisory firm Market Economics has been one of the most outspoken. Compass talked with him about the perils and pluses of removing inefficiencies from the marketplace

EXPERT OPINIONCommunities: Important partners in the deconstructed business ecosystem

Thanks to modern technologies, transaction costs are falling dramatically. But transaction costs are the entire reason for vertical integration. So, in many instances, vertically integrated business definitions are breaking up. This redefines not just businesses, but entire industries.

BEYOND THE IOTThe Internet of Experiences will change the way the world operates

Participants in the Internet of Things (IoT) tend to focus on individual smart devices, but the Internet of Experiences aims higher, concentrating on what becomes possible when smart devices work together to create experiences.

THE VOICE OF EXPERIENCECharles F. Bolden Jr., Administrator, NASA - What humanity’s time in space can teach us about the Internet of Experiences

The great Archimedes, one of the forefathers of both modern astronomy and invention, is said to have boasted to King Hiero that if he were given a lever and a place to stand, he could move the Earth.

SMART KITCHENWith connectivity, Miele is changing the experience of owning a home appliance

Miele, Germany’s premium home appliance manufacturer, was founded in 1899 on the concept of “immer besser” – always better. Today, Miele is delivering on that promise in a new way, with smart connected appliances that make the consumer’s life easier and more enjoyable – an entirely new home appliance experience.

VIRTUAL SINGAPORECreating an intelligent 3D model to improve experiences of residents, business and government

Powered by sophisticated analysis of images and data collected from public agencies and real-time sensors, Virtual Singapore is designed to give a whole new meaning to the term “smart city.”

MIND-BOGGLING COMPLEXITYSystems engineering critical to tackling IoT’s challenges

Systems engineering was developed to manage the trade-offs among dozens of competing subsystems to create a product with optimum overall performance.

EXPERT OPINIONThe Internet of Things: Business as usual is history

For the past 30 years, the Internet has been about connecting people to information. For the next 30 years, it will be about connecting people, data, processes and machines – from cities to cars to wearables – to information.

MARKETING COMES OF AGEArmed with data-driven strategies, marketing shifts the balance of power in business

Modern technology helps marketers to better measure, predict and influence consumers’ purchasing activity while creating exciting new ways to engage their senses. With new success, however, comes new pressure.

DONGFENG NISSANMEMORABLE AUTO LAUNCHES

It is fairly typical for emcees at auto shows to receive applause at the end of their new-model presentations. But for the audience to burst into applause at the beginning of a presentation requires true showmanship.

BRITISH AIRWAYSMAGIC OF FLYING

To raise awareness about new routes and the frequency of its flights, British Airways created a digital video billboard that literally pointed out planes flying overhead. It was a simple, “magical” idea, but it required coordinated and precise execution and a lot of behind-the-scenes technical wizardry.

GOOGLE+: FRONT ROW

Built on the idea that Google+ offers people the chance to get closer to the things they love, Google and its UK ad agency, adam&eveDDB, created a virtual “front row” for Manchester United at its home stadium, Old Trafford.

LAMBORGHINICREATING RECORD-BREAKING DEMAND WITH GAMING

With the launch of Lamborghini’s Huracán, the successor to the Italian company’s most popular car ever, the Gallardo, Lamborghini wanted to get closer to prospective buyers by allowing them to experience the newest 10-cylinder model – all before the car was even available.

MISEREORSOCIAL SWIPE MAKES GIVING A GAME

While futuristic technology usually conjures up images of over-the-top gadgets, users don’t always need astonishing special effects to be drawn into a brand experience. Sometimes the simplest, most familiar activities can be the most satisfying.

SANTA CRUZ BIKESWHERE GOING 'GREEN' MEANS GOING DIGITAL

How can a small, high-end mountain bike frame maker serve customers more efficiently than its big-name competitors while reducing its carbon footprint ? Santa Cruz Bikes, based in California, found the answer by taking its design, development and marketing processes digital. 

AMOS: TRACKING SOCIAL MEDIAFOR STRATEGIC MARKETING INSIGHTS

As the first post-graduate business school specializing in sports management, AMOS (Académie du Management des Organisations Sportives), which is based in Paris with programs worldwide, was already unique. However, AMOS wanted to set its program apart even more by providing cutting-edge training in modern marketing techniques. 

ACURA NSX: OMNI-CHANNEL MARKETINGWITH ALL-DIGITAL ASSETS

Launching a new model at an auto show is a tug of war between competing priorities: Engineering wants as much time as possible to finish perfecting the show car. But with dozens of car companies courting journalists for their models, every day of delay in producing assets cuts into the quality and quantity of coverage that the marketing team can generate. 

CHICO'SASSEMBLING A VIRTUAL OUTFIT

With retail consumers’ rapidly shifting shopping, buying and technology-adoption behaviors, Eric Singleton, CIO of women’s fashion retailer Chico’s, realized the company needed a digital road map to stay in step with its audience.

HILTIDEMONSTRATING THE VALUE OF A PREMIUM PRODUCT

As a manufacturer of premium tools for construction professionals, Liechtenstein-based Hilti has an ongoing challenge: demonstrating to prospective buyers that, although the outside housing looks similar to lower-priced competitors’ products, superior engineering inside justifies the extra investment. 

HUAWEI: DIGITAL IMAGESFOR A FAST MOVING INDUSTRY

In 2014, Chinese electronics manufacturer Huawei faced a perception problem. 

Although it made a broad line of premium products similar to those from Apple and Samsung, and although Huawei is the world’s third-largest smartphone maker, its awareness and reputation did not rival those of its foreign competitors. To change that, Huawei decided to use data visualization in its marketing. 

SCOTT SPORTSENDLESS CUSTOM POSSIBILITIES

High-performance bike and sports gear maker Scott Sports of Switzerland has been using 3D imaging to design and manufacture its products for several years, but the company’s leaders knew it could be doing more with the technology. 

THE VOICE OF EXPERIENCEMike Accavitti, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Acura Division, American Honda Motor Company

EXPERT OPINIONCreative Collaborative Consumerism

My son is putting the finishing touches on a photo edit. He adds color filters, graphic overlays, texture, text – and a delicate insignia that expresses his authorship.

THE SCIENTIFIC METHODNew technology is changing how research gets done

Scientific research isn’t producing as many breakthroughs as it once did. But new capabilities and processes, from computerized simulations to big-data mining and personalized medical data monitoring, offer the potential to reinvent how scientific discovery is done.

THE DATA EXPLOSIONScientists come to grips with Big Data’s pitfalls and promise

The ability to manage large quantities of data at each stage of the discovery, development and commercialization cycle is critical to success, and analysis tools are helping researchers transform data into knowledge.

THE VOICE OF EXPERIENCEAlain Bernard, Vice President for Technical Operations, GPS (Governance & Prioritization and Science liaison), UCB SA

TECH TRANSFERCoordinated handoffs result in a better product

Throughout the life sciences industry, a key focus is on improving “technology transfer,” the process for moving complex data from discovery to development and ultimately to manufacturing. Elegant tech transfer shortens timelines, eliminates rework, protects quality and frees scientists to focus on innovation.

MATERIALS GET A MAKEOVERComputer modeling accelerates development of substances with special properties

Researchers are using advanced modeling software to manipulate materials at the molecular level, giving them properties that enable once-unthinkable products.
By accelerating the rate at which new materials are developed, simulation is reshaping the modern world.

MODELING LIFESimulation helps scientists explore and predict

Scientists are learning how to use data to predict which patients will respond well to particular drugs. Even more advances are occurring in understanding human cells, organs and – ultimately – the unique variations of each individual’s body.

EXPERT OPINIONIf your employees resist change, you’re going about it wrong

Deadline-focused scientists often resist taking the time to learn new technology – especially if it will expose their unfinished research to colleagues. Global change expert and clinical psychiatrist Leandro Herrero explains how leaders can help their researchers embrace efficiency-boosting change.

BUSINESS ON THE CLOUDMobile, social and big data convergence on the cloud is a competitive game-changer

The technology landscape shifts constantly, but the changes happening today – supported by the cloud’s innovative technology and processes – are transforming the ways companies do business. As small companies grow skilled in harnessing the cloud’s advantages, large companies are discovering that each day they delay may be costing them competitive advantage.

BIG BENEFITSThe advantages of cloud computing

A lot can be said for the advantages of adding (or subtracting) infrastructure and software in seconds, a benefit only available on the cloud. Here are some others:

THE VOICE OF EXPERIENCEJonathan Mallie, Principal, SHoP Architects, and Managing Principal, SC (SHoP Construction)

Architecture is a highly collaborative business. Keeping numerous stakeholders – owners, architects, engineers, general contractors, utilities, permitting agencies, fabricators, suppliers and subcontractors – on the same page is a daunting task.

COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGETop-performing companies leverage Third-Platform technologies

Information Technology has entered a new era with the advent of “Third- Platform” technologies. The first platform was the era of mainframe and terminals, the second the era of LAN/ Internet and client/server. Now, in 2014, we have entered the Third Platform: the era of cloud computing, mobility, big data/analytics, and social business.

SAFETY IN NUMBERSCloud security can be superior if businesses choose wisely

Because cloud providers support hundreds of businesses, they should be able to afford better security than any one business can, just as a bank vault provides better security than a home safe. But security varies widely from provider to provider, so due diligence is advised.

CHANGE IS COMINGIT redefines its role in the new cloud reality

IT is facing unprecedented change, brought on by trends that allow users to cheaply and easily deploy their own cloud-based software and services. In such an environment, IT’s role shifts to that of partner, helping users improve their productivity through technology.

ADVERSARIAL RELATIONSHIPSThough facing a common enemy, government and business are often at odds

The relationship between government and business is often adversarial, but each could benefit from the other in the field of cybersecurity. Can these two powerful interests learn to get along for the common good?

BANG, BANG! YOU’RE BREACHEDWorried about being hacked? You probably have been

Technology shifts are allowing information to be easily shared across multiple platforms, devices, and data centers. While these capabilities facilitate speed, convenience and efficiency, they also create the high risk of being hacked, spied on or robbed.

THE VOICE OF EXPERIENCEEugene Kaspersky, Chairman and CEO, Kaspersky Lab

We’re in a situation where the bad guys can hack any system if they really want and if they have a big enough budget. Most IT security solutions are not ready to guarantee adequate protection for these types of attacks: The value of information is many times more than the cost to steal it.

CYBER EXPERTSCompetition for the best is heating up

As cybersecurity becomes a more widespread challenge, demand for experts skilled in recognizing the data patterns that signal the presence of an intruder are expected to skyrocket – along with the competition to hire them.

YOU’VE BEEN HACKEDCorporations are a prime target, so decide what to protect and how

Early in 2013, US Attorney General Eric Holder issued a report on online theft in which he said that companies fall into two categories: Those who have been hacked and know it, and those who have been hacked and don’t know it.

FULL DISCLOSUREWeighing your corporation’s obligations after an attack

You’ve been hacked, your systems are back in your control – and now the real work begins. What are your legal obligations if your company is publicly traded? How do you balance the need for full disclosure with the need to survive? Be prepared for some of the toughest decisions of your career.

MANUFACTURING’S NEW MATHCEOs juggle complex factors in calculating where to locate tomorrow’s factories

CEOs are rethinking their global manufacturing footprints, locating plants and R&D facilities as close as possible to major customers and preparing for a new wave of technologies that could transform the shop floor. To seize the future, they must persuade their organizations to experiment at a time when risk control is paramount.

RESHORING JOBSMaster Lock proves it can be done

Several western companies have made headlines by “reshoring” manufacturing jobs previously offshored to countries with lower labor costs. The new jobs require higher skill sets than the ones they replace, however. As US-based Master Lock discovered, finding workers to fill them is a challenge.

GLOBAL SHIFTWhy manufacturing is anybody’s game ... again

The equation for deciding where to locate manufacturing on either side of the Pacific Ocean is shifting. With the opening of China decades ago, the labor cost differential was so big, and communications had improved so dramatically, that you could make a lot of money. The cost differential was anywhere from 30-to-1 to 100-to-1 in terms of labor costs. I could shift production to China, and even if it took three times as many people, or ten times as many, I was still ahead. We saw dramatic decreases in costs for sneakers, electronics and many other products. Massive numbers of jobs were offshored.

THE VOICE OF EXPERIENCESir James Dyson, CEO, Dyson Ltd.

SIR JAMES DYSON is the founder and chief executive of Dyson Ltd., makers of the Dyson Ball line of bagless vacuums, plus blade-free fans, near-instantaneous hand dryers and other innovative products.

3D PRINTINGDisruptive technology poised to transform manufacturing

3D printing – a technology that builds products layer by layer rather than milling or forming them from metal or plastic – is beginning to earn its place in everyday use at some of the world’s largest manufacturers. As the technology becomes more powerful and less expensive, the potential to locate small factories everywhere for everything from automobiles to fashion, even for a market of one, becomes a distinct possibility.

NAVIGATING CHANGEConnecting people, ideas and data accelerates market leadership

In an increasingly “always on” world, connected consumers are using the power of information to drive prices down and services up – and their expectations for stellar experiences with everything from retail to healthcare will only increase as smart devices proliferate. To keep up with the pace of change in the connected world, enterprises must transform unprecedented data complexity into operational simplicity while generating the rich insights and responsive service certain to delight even the most demanding customers.

THE VOICE OF EXPERIENCEDidier Evrard, Executive Vice President and Head of the Airbus A350 XWB Program

In today’s fast-paced environment, market needs change so quickly that staying connected to the customer is critical. We learned this lesson the difficult way when our first definition of the Airbus A350 didn’t suit our customers. This gave our competitor the lead in an environment of massive competition. We had to close the gap, which is when we developed the A350 XWB (extra-wide body).

CLOUD COMPUTINGRenting hardware and software comes of age

The cloud, like many new technologies transforming business and society, is gaining significant traction. With cloud’s clear advantages in terms of costs and flexibility, the biggest challenge most companies face now is deciding how to integrate the cloud’s varied services with existing operations.

CONNECTED COMPANIESEnterprises need to act like organisms, not machines

Historically, we have designed companies like we design machines. We need the company to perform a certain function, so we design and build it to perform that function. But once a machine’s purpose has been set, it has no way to adjust to new situations; it just becomes obsolete.

WORKING SMARTERPowerful new tools make technology work for everyone

An automotive supplier uses a social innovation tool to unite its employees worldwide in dreaming up the automotive electronics of tomorrow. A mining company “explores” unmined ore deposits in 3D. A global economic development lender uses a dynamic search tool to “mine” past projects for insights that will make future projects more successful. From New York to New Zealand, innovative companies are employing intuitive digital tools to increase their operational agility and empower employees to serve customers better.

THE NEW B2B SALES FORCE