Blog

Morten Stilling shares a white paper that outlines a strategy-focused model for systematically

identifying organizational pains and opportunities as well as underlying themes.

“Industry 4.0 is here, and Digitalization is hyped. But most organizations pursue their digital

agendas with a technology focus, which brings alluring short-term results but gets in the way of

delivering true long-term value. This article outlines a strategy-focused model for systematically

identifying organizational pains and opportunities as well as underlying themes. By applying The

SPOT Model to your digital discovery process, your organization will be able to pursue a digital

agenda with maximum impact on your strategic business objectives.

Industry 4.0 and Digitalization

Sophisticated technologies have been around for a long time, but something new is

happening. Technology has developed to such a level of maturity that the human mind has

become the limiting factor. If we can dream it up, machines can do it. And even if we can’t

dream it up, sometimes machines can dream it up for us and make it happen.

At the Hannover Messe in 2011, the German government launched a campaign to drive

disruptive innovations within the country’s substantial manufacturing industry. Later named

“Industry 4.0” or “the fourth industrial revolution”, the campaign and the concept spread well

beyond German manufacturing to affect many other industries across the globe.

Although only vaguely defined, Industry 4.0 is about big industrial changes enabled by big

technological developments. The first industrial revolution was arguably driven by the

introduction of the steam engine towards the end of the 18th century, which enabled

industrial mechanization. The second industrial revolution was driven by the introduction of

electrical power towards the end of the 19th century, which enabled assembly lines and

industrial mass production. The third industrial revolution was driven by the introduction of

electronics and computers during the second half of the 20th century, which enabled

industrial automation. And now, the introduction of cloud technologies, the internet of

things, and related network-enabled technologies drive the fourth industrial revolution,

which connects everything in a gigantic global network of IT systems, household devices,

manufacturing machines, power generation systems, etc. Everything is connected, devices as

well as data. And when we include artificial intelligence, robotic process automation, and

other analysis-focused technologies, the opportunities are endless.

A major component of Industry 4.0, which has almost become synonymous with the concept

itself, is Digitalization. Equally vaguely defined, Digitalization is currently hyped to such a

degree that everyone claims to be doing it, while few can explain what “it” is, and no one can

credibly describe how “it” should be done”

Key points include:

• The allure of new technologies

• The SPOT model

• Pulling people together

Access the white paper, A Strategic Approach to Digitalization, on Spot-Solutions.dk.