Extending collaboration through digital continuity
Digital transformation is a marathon, not a sprint, and will require collaboration to overcome legacy technology challenges.
In Europe in particular, there is often an inherited technological debt (machines, systems, platforms, etc.) that can act as a brake on change. This must be taken into account just as much as delays caused by human behavior.
‘Platformization’ and ‘big data’ are recent buzzwords to the general public, but are old news in the context of the industrial environment. MRP, ERP and MES are over 30 years old. The first PLM suites are over 20 years old. That has led to lots of disparate data and systems that were never designed to be completely joined up.
The level of Digital Continuity between industrial companies and their suppliers varies a lot, both between companies and along the supply chain. Major Tier 1 contractors are usually well ahead of tier 2 and 3 suppliers in terms of their digital capabilities and IT/OT infrastructure. Nonetheless, companies at all levels are taking this seriously and developing IT/OT strategies to create greater digital continuity and reap the rewards (improved quality, reduced cycle time, etc.) that come with it.
At the same time, these firms are becoming more and more aware of the tremendous opportunities represented by Digital Continuity when combined with other maturing technologies, like Digital Twins and AI.
To date, we have observed two major trends:
A drive by certain sectors to analyze digital discontinuities – points where information does not flow adequately for your desired use cases –and assess which are priorities for intervention, mainly in a manufacturing context
Renewed attention among more advanced players on the links between manufacturing and upstream phases, between system engineering and product engineering, or even for a range of products sharing components or technical platforms
In both cases, Digital Continuity facilitates information exchange and process efficiency, by replacing the existing time, energy and resource intensive information transfer processes that cause errors.
Among more mature organizations, there is also an effort to preserve data on the histories of different versions/generations of products to gain greater insight. For example, Airbus began deploying a global PLM for the A350 ten years ago. Companies also increasingly seek to gain depth by improving exchanges with upstream partners, beyond tier 1.
Digital Continuity facilitates better collaboration, in order to further reduce cycle times, improve the adaptability of the entire chain and meet the expectations of ramp up in certain sectors (aerospace and defense particularly, in 2024 and beyond).
However, small and medium-sized enterprises may face issues of cost, as well as the complexity of operating and maintaining Digital Continuity technologies. Cloud offerings from the hyperscalers should improve the situation - allowing SMEs to overcome some of the complexity of administering their solutions, whilst reducing hardware and software costs.
Newer players tend to integrate Digital Continuity natively. The absence of “legacy” tech can help companies take advantage of more recent technologies. This is the case for new entrants in electric vehicles or NewSpace. In the past, car and rocket manufacturers could rely on their size and capital to outcompete new competitors, but recent history has challenged this trend.
Author NICOLAS CROUÉ Vice-President, CTO Digital Continuity Capgemini Engineering
