A survey conducted by the Boston Consulting Group has revealed that Germany has shown more interest than the United States in industrial automation technologies. After receiving the opinions of 300 German and US manufacturing executives, the study showed that German executives were more ready for digital solutions in factories. However, only 17 percent of American and German manufacturers have adopted industrial automation. Business Insider confirms that 40 percent of German companies plan to update their factories with current automation technologies however only 25% of US factories feel the same way.
The competition continues. 8% of U.S. manufacturers have autonomous robots and collaborative robots whereas Germans almost double that demand by having 14% of factories equipped with them. The US will want 20% more of those robots working in their factories in the next two years whereas Germans will want 39% more, of what they already have.
The report also stated that worldwide spending on IoT connected factory automation technology reached $29 billion by the end of 2015 and will top $70 billion in 2020.
Germany's unique position on Industrie 4.0 has related to 47% of the companies surveyed saying that they have developed IoT strategies for the future of their companies. American companies say only 29% of them have strategies prepared.
"German companies' strong ambitions for Industry 4.0 reflect their need to overcome the challenges of significant factor costs that arise from high wages and a less flexible labor market. These factor costs encourage companies to strive for greater productivity and, thus, promote faster adoption of new technologies. The fast pace of adoption in Germany is also fueled by companies' advanced industrial-manufacturing capabilities. Companies can apply these capabilities to accelerate the introduction of new digital technologies, thereby reducing costs, increasing flexibility, and accelerating the speed of manufacturing," the researchers wrote.
What is apparent, is that the Internet of Things and the automated services connected to it are going to lead to big business in the next few years. The International Data Corporation (IDC) recently projected that the global IoT market will be worth $1.7 trillion by 2020. And of course, IoT needs security. Gartner projected that global spending on security for IoT will reach $547 million in yearly spending by 2018.
"The early adopters have set a fast pace for implementation and are building capabilities that will enable them to increase their lead. To maintain their competitiveness, all companies will need to accelerate their efforts along the Industry 4.0 journey," the report concluded.
Source: Yibada
