Mobile, social, analytics, cloud, the Internet of Things, nanotechnology, 3D printing and more – manufacturers are facing a barrage of information about how new disruptive technologies will change the face of their industry. But for manufacturers to embrace these technologies, they must have a clear understanding of the technology value-add within the context of today’s business environment – what I like to call ‘purposeful innovation’.
Big data and the IoT as technology concepts are exciting, but what do they mean to manufacturers from a practical application perspective? As digitization becomes defacto on the manufacturing floor, there is great potential to improve responsiveness and agility, and adapt more quickly to customers’ changing needs.
