Digital Debate: The Future of Industrial Tech | Recap

Earlier today, I had the pleasure of hosting a virtual panel-style debate with my friends Goran Kukic (Chief Innovation & Technology Officer at Nestle) and Magnus Akesson (Chief Information Officer, Manufacturing at GE Power) – see the recording here.

Over 100 global executives joined the virtual event from companies like AB InBev, Bayer, Bosch, BP, Coca-Cola, Diageo, Enel, Flex, Ford, GE, Georgia-Pacific, Gulfstream, HARMAN, Koch Industries, Magna, Marriot, Mars, Merck, Mondelez, Nestle, Novo Nordisk, Rockwell, Schlumberger, Schneider, Solvay, Sony, Tetra Pak, and many more.

The discussion kicked off with the big picture question: Why has digital tech not been rolled out at scale across the world’s industrial enterprises? For years, investors have poured billions into IoT, Industry 4.0, and related industrial tech vendors – but the adoption by large enterprises has been disappointing.

To understand the evolution of digital tech in industrial operations, we debated the following points:

What is the right business model for digital industrial technology vendors?

In a minefield including operators, OEMs, and tech vendors, who owns the data?

How do cyber security and privacy inhibit progress in the space?

How do enterprises deal with the skills gap and change management?

Finally, Goran and Magnus shared some recent wins deploying digital tech in operations – both were especially timely given the ongoing global health crisis, and the importance of operational continuity for these two businesses. Food and power are two of the most critical elements of the critical infrastructure, and these companies are lucky to have such smart, hard-working people solving problems on the front lines in real-time.

We didn’t have time to cover all the questions submitted during Q&A, so I’d like to include two additional questions here, and I’d be interested to hear any thoughts people would like to share:

Why has nobody built one common operating system (e.g. Android) for industrial technologies? We are stuck with myriad protocols and web platforms, which are prohibitive to scale.

Oftentimes people on the shop floor feel threatened rather than enabled by digital technologies – what are some strategies to help these people feel more comfortable with emerging technologies?

Leveraging our deep network to keep us all connected during these unprecedented times, Landmark will be hosting an ongoing series of digital events featuring renowned thought leaders in industries ranging from cybersecurity and industrial tech to digital marketing and social impact. To learn more about our digital series as either an attendee or partner, please contact me – ibrown@landmarkventures.com.

And in case you missed it, check out the recording!