”The digital business revolution” is how technology industry analyst Gartner describes the time we live in, and it is also the angle of attack in today’s PLM TV News report.
Things are changing quickly and radically, and the exponential nature of the development curve makes even cautious observers speak in terms of ”different is the new normal.”
Are they right?
It’s not always easy to identify a revolution when you’re in the midst of it. Furthermore, the word ”revolution” itself is probably one of the most misused when it comes to describing the effects of ”normal” evolutionary progress.
However, the twist Gartner adds to their interpretation of present IT dynamics is interesting.
They say that new disruptive technologies travel in a number of parallel tracks which will ultimately come together, integrate and by their joint force lead to paradigm-shifting changes.
Cloud computing, the Internet of Things, smart connected products, Product-as-a-Service ideas, Big Data analytics, 3D printing, gamification and other trends will not only affect product realization and industrial IT support, they will also change end customers' consumption patterns and linkages to the product manufacturers.
“The Cloud is a typical reflection of how change works,” said respected PLM analyst, Marc Halpern. First comes the hype, he explained, which peaks and is followed by the slope of disillusionment, before starting the journey upward towards usable applications and industrial integration.
“I made a prediction back in 2012 that the major breakthrough would happen in 2017. So far, I believe I am on track. There is some adoption of cloud PLM, but I think we still have 18 to 24 months before it really accelerates,” Halpern concluded.
PLM and ERP Based on Siloed Configurations
So far, product life cycle solutions have mainly been based on siloed configurations, as have their transactional counterparts on the MES, ERP and CRM side.
The difference today is that connected technological platforms, devices and PLM, ERP, MES and CRM software have evolved to new levels of maturity. For the first time in history, solutions for the entire product life cycle are in sight.
This is more or less a revolution, and things continue moving fast:
“Generation Z, the millennials, and those people born after the year 2000 are so different from their parents’ generation. Their view of life is so different because things have moved at hyper speed,” claimed former BBC broadcast journalist John Briggs in today’s TV-report, and his conclusion is that ”hyper change” is here, and holds a great deal of impact.
Gamification? Microsoft Says Yes, MIT Professor is Skeptical
Perhaps the most typical generational difference in the IT field centers around computer games.
This completely digitized world is as familiar to young people as it is unknown to older generations.
The question increasingly raised in this context is this: How can we best utilize the knowledge and skills that young people have developed in this area?
Is gamification something you can benefit from in the ERP and CRM world at the company level? Or is it simply a fad that will quickly fall out of the toolset when the new age of digital solutions are implemented and made more efficient?
This is the initial question in today's TV report on ERP trends in 2015. The answer varies depending on who you ask.
"Yes, gamification will play an important role. I am thinking of all the new workers coming into the ecosystem and what they learned and grew up with in terms of technology. It is very different from previous generations. Anything we can do to improve business processes, accelerate learning and make people become more efficient in the jobs we’re asking them to do has a great value,” says Stephen Boyle, VP Enterprise Partners at Microsoft.
"No, I’m skeptical. It won’t work,” counters MIT professor Mike Davies, claiming that, ”so many things you do with gamification don’t sustain themselves accross a broad population. What we see is that you’ll get a big surge in people who are interested, it disseminates quite broadly and it’s just a sub-set of people for whom this really becomes an important issue.”
Different views, but clearly what the gaming industry is doing does influence the ERP and CRM developers.
”It’s a source of inspiration, yes, but there are other trends that affect business processes more directly here and now,” says ERP developer IFS’ Labs director Martin Gunnarsson, who studies these and other aspects of what the future can produce in terms of new ”weapons” in the IT arsenal.
The Impact of New Devices
In the wake of all the new devices, Internet, technology platforms, mobility and software solutions, we can see a wide range of impacts, including new business models, explains Gunnarsson.
He adds that, “Smart mobility solutions are about to be established as fixed components of many companies' business models, if they are not already there."
But the development dynamics are fast, and there is always something new.
Software developers have in many cases been quick to develop solutions incorporating mobility into their software, which in turn enabled rapid implementation of these types of tools in business activity arsenals.
A way of the future? Wearables like Google’s glasses with a miniature display…
…or Smart Watches connected to ERP solutions like IFS Applications software.
Looking ahead, there will also be new "devices" in the mobile business structures: a wearable mobile device such as the Apple Watch is one example.
Google Glass, with its miniature display in one corner of the spectacle frame is another, while a variation on the same theme of augmented reality glasses is Sony’s AR product.
Overall, these types of solutions are grouped under the concept of "wearables". But how does it look on the software side, such as ERP systems, and the ability to link to the new portable tools?
How will they change the way we work? How are the business models affected?
How IoT and the Cloud Make Oslo’s Trams Work Better
The PLM TV News team looked into the matter and took up developments on these fronts.
We interviewed corporate customers, analysts and other players in the business arena about the important trends. We investigate not only trends pertaining to mobility, but also how other trends seek to redefine the way we work, how we organize our product development, manufacturing, distribution and sales processes.
Topics that come up are "gamification", mobility, the cloud, the Internet of Things and Product-as-a-Service (how products are “converted” into services).
So, is different is the new normal?
For an example, take a look at the IoT case story of the Norwegian tram company in Oslo (IT manager Christian Thindberg) in this report and find out.
In the program you will meet:
The trams of Oslo operated by KTP is an example of proactive solutions in IoT. Above KTP’s IT manager, Christian Thindberg.
- John Briggs, broadcast journalist
- Stephen Boyle, Vice President Enterprise Partners with Microsoft
- Michael Davies, professor at MIT
- Martin Gunnarsson, Director of IFS Labs
- Ray Wang, Analyst Constallation Research
- Rick Veague, CTO of IFS North America
- Alastair Sorbie, CEO of IFS
- Christian Thindberg, IT manager at KTP AS
- Tim Baines, professor at Aston Business School (UK)
- Antony Bourne, Global Industry Sales Director at IFS