11 Technologies Complement Industrial Manufacturing’s Digital Transformation Initiatives

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Hannover Messe 2019 reflects the rapidly changing industrial manufacturing landscape in which companies are relying on technology to increase productivity and profits, announced ABI Research, a market-foresight advisory firm providing strategic guidance on the most compelling transformative technologies.

“The interesting takeaway from Hannover Messe 2019 is that companies are not hunkering down but are aggressively pursuing technology as an avenue to increase productivity and drive profit margins,” said Stuart Carlaw, Chief Research Officer at ABI Research.

ABI Research had 10 analysts from its Industrial Solution group on-site at the conference in Hannover, Germany, between April 1-5, 2019, and their observations have been compiled into 11 brief reads: “The Industrial Revolution: The Top Trends and Takeaways from Hannover Messe 2019.”

“Hannover Messe 2019 can be viewed as the inflection point in industrial digital transformation. There is a perfect storm of need, appetite, capability, fear, and greed that will drive this market aggressively,” added Carlaw. “One note of caution is that the rate of technological progress is fast outpacing the ability of most companies to understand, deploy, and maximize new technology solutions in terms of operational benefits. This modern skills gap will only get wider.”

Some other observations and trends highlighted in the whitepaper include:

• The appetite to connect hardware is growing. The majority of the marketplace is focused on connecting assets and trying to get data off them at present. The tech provider world needs to assume less and listen more.
• In 2018 wireless was somewhat of a “dirty word.” At Hannover Messe 2019, it was abundantly clear new forms of wireless connectivity, including LTE and 5G, were taking the lion’s share of commercial interest.
• The need for digital transformation is not just in the realm of the large organization. There was a growing focus on the sub-1,500 employee company and enabling those firms to benefit from connectivity and increased data analysis.
• Technologies capturing attention included 5G, AI, IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things), AR (Augmented Reality), Digital Twins, Data Analytics, Autonomous Materials Handling, Cobots, Exoskeletons, Generative Design, Addi­tive Manufacturing, and Blockchain.
• A passionate debate at the show was the continued conundrum of edge or cloud for data management and execution of decision functions and data storage.
• There are some very powerful commercially driven partner ecosystems emerging that look set to shape the market of the future.

In the whitepaper, “The Industrial Revolution: The Top Trends and Takeaways from Hannover Messe 2019: 11 Brief Reads for Visionaries,” the following industrial manufacturing transformative technologies are highlighted:

• 5G in Industrial Applications
• Additive Manufacturing in Industrial Applications
• Artificial Intelligence in Industrial Applications
• Augmented Reality Industrial Applications
• Industrial, Collaborative and Commercial Robotics
• Industrial IoT
• Intelligent Supply Chain
• Location Technologies
• LPWA, NB-IoT, SigFox, and LoRa in Industrial Applications
• Smart Manufacturing Platforms
• Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Wireless Connectivity 

About ABI Research

ABI Research provides strategic guidance for visionaries needing market foresight on the most compelling transformative technologies, which reshape workforces, identify holes in a market, create new business models and drive new revenue streams. ABI’s own research visionaries take stances early on those technologies, publishing groundbreaking studies often years ahead of other technology advisory firms. ABI analysts deliver their conclusions and recommendations in easily and quickly absorbed formats to ensure proper context. Our analysts strategically guide visionaries to take action now and inspire their business to realize a bigger picture.