Practice what you preach
Digitalization and digital transformation are currently shaping industrial companies´ value chains and making them shorter and more vertically integrated. New technologies, blurring industry boundaries, changing business models, new type of agile competitors disrupting the markets and changing customer expectations are now all happening at the same time.
In the industrial field, this digital revolution provides an opportunity to transform machines from operational artefacts into intelligent and connected systems that flexibly adapt to changing operating environments and end-user needs. The ongoing transition towards smart and intelligent products and services is expected to deeply influence the positioning of industrial companies with respect to value chain stakeholders as well as to challenge current processes, functional structures and strategic management. Data will play an important role too, bringing the data from different participants together and combining it in smart ways, will bring new business opportunities and turn into new products and services.
I joined DIMECC on March 19, after spending the last 12 years at a major global consulting company. I have worked on recommendations for clients, how to tackle the digital transformation challenges. In all cases, “build innovation ecosystems” has been among the key recommendations. At DIMECC, my new role is to lead the recently established Intelligent Industry ecosystem, and now it is time to “practice what you preach”.
In the ecosystem approach, companies need to embrace a new organizational and cultural approach to innovate with smart, intelligent and connected platforms, products and related services. In Finland, we have such an operating environment, which fosters co-operation and co-creation of different players, including private companies of different size as well as public sector bodies and research organizations. Courage to challenge existing structures and operating models, co-creation in an open innovation type of format and getting the innovation processes to respond to changing needs are the key prerequisites for making the change happen.
In the Intelligent Industry ecosystem, the aim is to create a national and international network of large companies, researchers, SMEs and startups with a common vision and efficient ways of co-operation within the area. Subsequently, our target is to be an internationally recognized benchmark for a successful digital revolution. Our vision is ambitious: In 2028, Finland is the operations center of smart connected industrial systems and related business ecosystems around the world.
The journey has begun. We have currently ten leading companies in the ecosystem, but welcome new participants.
More information: https://www.famn.fi/
Antti Karjaluoto
Disruptive Renewal Officer
