Pursuing a Digitalization Agenda Successfully
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.
