BSA | The Software Alliance recently launched the Digital Transformation Network (DTN), a cross-sector initiative focused on how software- and data-driven technologies are transforming the way all industry sectors are conducting business. With corporate spending on digital transformation in the US expected to reach $1.8 trillion in 2022, business leaders implementing these changes need to consider technology policy issues such as data privacy, cybersecurity, and a digital workforce when developing their business strategies.
DTN recently convened a virtual event featuring congressional leaders and digital transformation experts to discuss the findings from DTN’s latest report: “Manufacturing: Digital Tools Transform How Things Get Made.” By bringing together a distinguished panel of thought leaders and experts across government and the private sector, some key themes emerged.
Manufacturing Is a Software Sector
Victoria Espinel, President and CEO of BSA | The Software Alliance, opened the event reflecting on the founding principles of the Digital Transformation Network: “Tech policy issues, whether it’s cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, privacy, or workforce development, are having an impact in industries across almost every sector in the economy. At BSA and the Digital Transformation Network, we believe it is very clear that software is creating new jobs in manufacturing and help boosting efficiency and safety as the manufacturing industry continues to embrace digital transformation.”
When asked what opportunities digital transformation has offered the manufacturing industry in her district, Congresswoman Robin Kelly (D-IL) emphasized the capabilities modernization has offered small businesses, such as access to real-time data analytics and the availability of tools for manufacturers to effectively defend against cyberattacks. In her experience, “Manufacturing is actually a tech industry now. When I speak to manufacturers in my district, they’re looking for talent that understands tech and can jump into advanced manufacturing roles.”
Congressman Bob Latta (R-OH) discussed the importance of privacy, cybersecurity, digital trade, and data as well as the implications of digital transformation on the more than 80,000 manufacturing sector employees that he represents in Ohio. “As this sector is digitized, [digital transformation] is changing how products are designed, fabricated, used, operated, and even how consumers buy or interact with products. These new digital tools are making businesses more efficient and leading to a more robust modern economy. Smart manufacturing relies on advanced connectivity. This includes the Internet of Things (IoT), high-tech sensors, cloud computing, robotics, and machine learning.”
Software Innovations in Manufacturing: Generative Design, 5G, AI, and Digital Twins
As the event moderator, Dr. Betsy Cooper, Director of The Aspen Institute’s Tech Policy Hub, set the scene by outlining the possibilities of digital transformation in manufacturing, while acknowledging the work ahead for government and industry. “This is a really unique time in the manufacturing industry where we have some real highs, in terms of digital transformation, and some real challenges to address, not least the supply chain issues that many of us are seeing in our day-to-day lives.”
Sean Manzanares, Senior Manager, Industry Strategy – Design & Manufacturing at Autodesk, highlighted how software technologies like generative design can be used to overcome innovation challenges, the retiring of skilled workers, and help manufacturers achieve their desired goals and outcomes of a business strategy. “The journey to digital transformation starts with the digitization of analog data,” said Manzanares. “Part two of that journey is the digitalization of business models, processes, and workflows […] At Autodesk we promote the digitization of the design in manufacturing process that creates opportunities to improve the global competitiveness of the U.S. manufacturing industry.”
As Verizon’s Vice President of Technology Policy, Sanjay Udani described the benefits of implementing 5G on the factory floor. He explained that from the consumer perspective, 5G is often reduced to the faster smartphone data speeds, but 5G is dramatically transforming the network’s backend capabilities behind the scenes. 5G’s inherent flexibility to scale wireless services up and down will enable manufacturers to enact customized strategies at unmatched speeds and adapt to changes in the market immediately, such as a supply chain disruption.
Beth Rudden, Distinguished Engineer in Cognitive Science & Trusted AI at IBM, explained how artificial intelligence can be implemented in the manufacturing context to augment and complement the work of human engineers in the field. “We are entering one of the greatest ages where humans and machines, together, are able to do some magnificent things, especially in manufacturing,” said Rudden. By pairing AI-enabled technologies like computer vision and natural language processing with the expertise and knowledge of established engineers, manufacturers can gain insights and achieve efficiencies that would have never been possible otherwise.
Finally, Del Costy, Senior Vice President and Managing Director for the Americas of Siemens Digital Industries Software, recounted how software solutions such as digital twins helped businesses continue their operations in the midst of the pandemic, especially in manufacturing where the potential to work remotely was much more limited. Digital twin representations of factories and products can help business leaders plan for necessary modifications and predictive maintenance without disrupting the production cycle.
Workforce: People are Central to Digital Transformation
When asked what the government can do to support digital transformation in manufacturing, all panelists agreed that it is imperative to increase investment in a new, digital manufacturing workforce. Rudden suggested that governments should model digital transformation in their own agencies, encouraging the private sector to follow suit: “Human beings, they do what you do and not what they say. So, when you have the model of our own government using AI and augmenting themselves with AI, and being open about that, I think that that’s a huge step.”
Costy concurred, adding that “It’s one thing for an academic institution to embrace technology. It’s another thing for an academic institution to get graduates out there that have practical experience, and that is something that I think has an opportunity to improve and government, academia, and industry can work together collectively to do some great things in that space.”
Dr. Cooper pointed out that even though a number of industry-to-government rotational training programs exist today, including TechCongress and the Tech Talent Project, there remain many obstacles to fully realizing this effort, such as security clearance delays that impact planning on the employer’s part.
Overcoming Challenges
Concerning government regulation, Udani cautioned that there are potential risks to government agencies intervening too soon. “What I would ask from the government perspective is to leave the flexibility to industry to try different things […] We don’t really know what the outcome is going to be, so to pick one particular path, from a regulatory perspective, it does preclude a lot of good things from happening.”
Udani also emphasized the need to invest in K-12 and technical education to prepare the next generation for job for the digital workforce, while Manzanares notes many educational institutions do not have sufficient access to hardware or the software tools to learn the skills required of them in today’s manufacturing environment.
Costy described how difficult it can be manufacturers to generate the inertia for dramatic change in established processes and the need for buy-in from leadership
The conversation closed on an optimistic note as panelists shared their thoughts on which digital advancements are leading to the most immediate changes in manufacturing, including the use of AR/VR technology, insights from connected data analytics, and simplifying software applications for users on the shop floor.
To learn more and for the full virtual event recording, please visit https://youtu.be/mzW1TwrDiGg
