Page 70 - MetalForming July 2017

Are Digital
Technologies
for Everyone?
Additive manufacturing, smart robots, machine learning, predictive analytics and other coming technologies promise to change the manufacturing landscape, sooner than later. Here’s some preliminary survey data to gauge how well manufacturers understand these technologies, and their plans to implement them.
BY CINDY JUTRAS
How Familiar are You with These Technologies as They Relate (or Not) to Your Business?
Not familiar
Somewhat familiar
Well understood but N/A
Well understood, Perceive value
Deployed or deploying
Additive Manufacturing (3D Printing)
15%
22%
24%
24%
14%
Smart Robots
31%
22%
18%
20%
9%
Digital Twins
51%
11%
16%
15%
6%
Drones
15%
25%
34%
19%
7%
Beacons
42%
14%
18%
20%
6%
Augmented Reality
26%
23%
24%
20%
8%
Artificial Intelligence where algorithms (not humans) make decisions
15%
22%
24%
30%
10%
Machine Learning
18%
21%
22%
29%
10%
Predictive analytics
14%
15%
15%
36%
20%
Internet of Things
14%
16%
18%
32%
19%
Natural Language (voice-based) user interface
25%
19%
21%
24%
12%
Virtual personal assistants for employees
27%
20%
19%
22%
12%
Virtual customer assistants (chatbots)
27%
17%
21%
23%
11%
Blockchain (distributed ledgers)
47%
16%
11%
19%
8%
Industry pundits have been hyping dig- ital transformation and digital tech- nologies for several years. This hype tends to make ample reference to con- sumer technologies such as connected homes, self-driving cars and wearable fit- ness devices. More challenging is connect- ing this transformation to the workplace and the enterprise in a way that brings real value. The pundits assume that these tech- nologies are well understood and perceived as valuable. But are they?
I don’t make any such assumptions.
And, my annual enterprise-solution study
conducted last year on digital preparedness
confirms that many decisionmakers in
manufacturing are fooling themselves with
a false sense of security. While 88 percent
of those that took my 2016 survey agree
that embracing digital technologies is nec-
essary for survival, the majority still rely,
at least in part, on spreadsheets for something as common as recording business transactions. That contradiction led me to investigate, most recently, just how well understood
Cindy Jutras, an expert in analyzing the impact of enterprise applications on business performance, is president of Mint Jutras, LLC, Windham, NH: 603/434-9688; www.mintjutras.com.
various technologies are, and whether value is perceived as real.
Additive, Smart Robots, IoT and More
While still collecting data from our 2017 Enterprise Solu- tion study, we can make some early observations (see the table above). Participants represent a range of industries
S36 MetalForming/July 2017
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