Dell Technologies: the importance of digital transformation
Dell technologies and Pirelli agree that the acceleration of digital transformation is necessary in order to prepare for future disruption.
During the Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit, Dell technologies along with Pirelli agreed that the acceleration of digital transformation is necessary to prepare for potential future disruptions. “While companies that embarked on digital transformation programmes years ago are now reaping the rewards and successfully navigating the disruption caused by the pandemic, those that didn’t will fall further behind unless they invest in technology,” commented Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit (GMIS).
Those on the panel agreed that although COVID-19 has been harsh, there will be valuable lessons learnt from the crisis, which will encourage investment in advanced technologies — particularly artificial intelligence (AI) — to future proof their organisation. The panel also agreed that stronger collaboration between governments and multinationals will be essential in order to prevent the digital divide widening and potentially leaving behind developing countries.
With the disruption caused by the pandemic increasing the importance of AI technology Dr. John O’Shea, Proactive Business Intelligence and Transformation, Dell Technologies, highlighted its ability to optimise business processes. “You have to gather more insights using AI, machine learning, and deep learning, so you can better prepare yourself for the future,” he commented.
Agreeing with O’Shea Pier Paolo Tamma, Senior Vice President & Chief Digital Officer of Pirelli, noted that the company’s digital transformation programme has provided the data and insights it requires to adapt the capacity of its manufacturing plants as well as adjust its supply chains to future demand trends. “We are working with artificial intelligence in order to optimise production, planning, and ultimately the efficiency and effectiveness of our sales force in order to address where demand will be generated,” he said.
While Dell Technologies and Pirelli are major organisations Dr O’Shea and Tamma believe that small and medium enterprises (SMEs) can also learn from the pandemic to adapt, and should look to invest in AI capabilities that have been proven to be successful in delivering insights.
“Thanks to our industrial IoT solution we are progressively connecting all the machinery that we have in the plants and applying real time data analysis with machine learning technology. The impact on the quality and the effectiveness of the production is very high. So there is a good business case to invest in this area.”
Alongside AI, Dr. O’Shea detailed the important role connectivity has played during the pandemic to allow businesses to maintain their operations, and that continuation to roll out 5G would be crucial for businesses with digital transformation programmes.
“Having the balance level infrastructure of the networks is very important so 5G is going to be crucial moving forward. But you have approximately 46% of the global population that has no internet connection,” commented Dr. O’Shea.
“I think the pandemic has opened our eyes more and given us more empathy in relation to how we come together as humanity. I would say we need more collaboration in relation to governments coming together and discussing economics.”
The panel also discussed the potential opportunities digital technology can provide in order to mitigate the risks of a second wave or another crisis. “What we’ve learned this year from applying digital technology in the industrial and manufacturing process is that we can leverage the power of data more and more to make better decisions. Having the possibility to understand what is happening in each part of your company in real time and take the right decisions, this is a very big game changer and I think this is the way to enhance your business and adapt to what is happening in the market,” added Tamma.
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