Digitisation
Picture: iStockDigitisation has penetrated all areas of our lives, integrating people, machinery and processes into networks and creating huge opportunities for the German economy.
Digitisation has triggered profound structural change in all areas of the economy and of our society. It is important that we exploit the opportunities provided by this digital transformation, which includes the automation and “autonomization” of processes in the value chain to create what is increasingly being called Industry 4.0. By enabling machines to organize, repair and optimize themselves, “autonomization”, in particular, is opening up previously undreamt-of possibilities.
The prerequisites for this digital transformation are universal high speed networks and an unbureaucratic and capital-rich environment for innovation. The workforce also faces challenges: Companies must identify the new skills their employees will need and train them accordingly. Moreover, companies, and especially small and medium-sized enterprises, must press ahead with their own digitisation, for example by further developing existing business models and creating new ones, perhaps in cooperation with start-ups.
The prerequisites for this digital transformation are universal high speed networks and an unbureaucratic and capital-rich environment for innovation. The workforce also faces challenges: Companies must identify the new skills their employees will need and train them accordingly. Moreover, companies, and especially small and medium-sized enterprises, must press ahead with their own digitisation, for example by further developing existing business models and creating new ones, perhaps in cooperation with start-ups.
