Digital Transformation
Digital workspaces, enhanced collaboration, cloud computing, and other similar developments come to mind when we consider the digital transformation we’ve been going through over the past few decades and its impact on the business landscape. All of these developments are mostly relevant to the workplace. This picture leaves out the possibility that the effects the exponential growth of the digital world had on sectors like the oil and gas and manufacturing industries were even more significant. So much so that the long-standing cycle of legacy industrial facilities may ultimately be broken in a few decades from now. Keep reading to find out more about how digital transformation is changing the face of big industrial sectors.
The increased automation resulting from the Internet of Things
Since the corporate sector realized the limitless potential of IoT (Internet of Things), this evolution has become unavoidable. Simply said, preventing the machines from gathering the necessary data, transmitting it among themselves, and self-regulating their production processes raises operational costs and decreases production efficiency. As IoT technology advances and expands, the operational divide will widen even more. Therefore, it’s safe to assume that modern equipment made with smart capacity will progressively replace traditional industrial tools.
Photo by Negative Space
E-commerce now includes a big industry area
Although this tendency may appear small at first, if you give it enough time, it can be powerful enough to move mountains. The ability to move quickly was one of the key advantages small industries had over their larger, more cumbersome counterparts. For instance, how quickly they can buy the company’s assets. At present, the difference between the two industries is being decreased by the current expansion of e-commerce into a large industry sector. For example, today, big oil and gas companies can purchase new oilfield equipment such as a quality gas lift on a large scale just as easily as small businesses can resupply printer cartridges.
The continuing growth of machine learning
One of the most promising trends in artificial intelligence has always been deep machine learning. But, this opens the question of what benefits this technology offers in terms of industrial production. IoT-powered facilities’ management will unavoidably be taken over by AI. The speed and efficiency needed to process the extensive amounts of data that must be done in such an environment are just beyond the capabilities of humans. In the upcoming years, this difference in efficiency will likely be further enlarged. The tasks that will be in the range of human engagement in industrial production include things like data analysis, critical and creative thinking, development of products, merchandising and sales, development of IoT using software, and robotics and automation programming.
Photo by Yan Krukov
A smooth line of communication results in high-quality customer service
One of the most important elements of numerous large industries is on-site production. However, in order to remain competitive, all businesses that promote products need to provide smooth customer service. Fortunately, new advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning have greatly simplified this task and increased its effectiveness. Industrial conglomerates will be able to provide tailored customer experiences, automate the majority of tiresome CS procedures, and shift the emphasis of the customer experience to emerging domains like virtual reality. Another digital transformation that’s changing the face of big industrial sectors and contributing to high-quality customer service is the inclusion of digital marketing to reach and further engage customers.
Rise of innovative employee technology
While we’ve presented a quite pessimistic view of how human labor will interact with industry in the future, as we can notice, the involvement of humans will always be crucial in fields like data analysis and decision-making. The growth of specialized digital tools with the single aim of increasing the efficiency of these limited human resources is made possible by the targeted participation of employees. When talking about this sort of technology, it refers to the platforms’ primary goals of enabling streamlined communications, data processing, optimizing workflows, and equipment management on-site.
Cultural transformation
Another major way in which digital transformation is changing the look of big industrial sectors is by leading to a cultural transformation as organizations adapt their cultures to reinforce digital transformation. The ideal culture for a business is the one that supports and advances the organization’s mission and strategy and helps it efficiently address problems from the outside world. As long as they comply with this standard, there aren’t right or wrong responses in terms of culture. To produce reliable, predictable performance, many traditional industrial company cultures place a strong emphasis on results and processes. However, often the talent connected with digital innovation is more accustomed to cultures that are centered on flexible, agile learning with a feeling of purpose, speed, and collaborative decision-making that can be seen with companies like Apple and Tesla.
Hopefully, this article has given you a better understanding of the structural changes the industrial sectors are going through at this stage of digital transformation. After this change is complete, our perspective on the industrial sector may be entirely different from what it is today. Although the role of humans in the production process will inevitably decline, by adopting new technologies, new job opportunities will open up for a skilled workforce.
Written by Brigitte Evans
