additional content your platform . Much of the technology in the Industrial Internet is not just cross-functional , but cross-industry . When whole supply chains and customer ecosystems are automated , integrated , and transformed , innovation follows a similar pattern . Siemens , for example , is making a billion-dollar investment in what Lak Ananth , the head of the company ’ s Next47 startup unit , hopes will be “ a new era of collaboration between hungry early-stage startups .” ( The name Next47 echoes the landmark year of 1847 when the company was founded .) Areas of collaborative venture capital investment include artificial intelligence , autonomous machines , decentralized electrification ( smart grids ), connected mobility , and blockchain applications .
6 . Learn more from your data . The exponential increase in real-time data — gathered from customers , equipment , and work processes — is giving companies new insights . Gathering and analyzing data are important , but they are only the beginning . It is critical to use the analytic results to recognize important patterns , and to gain insights that help you make the right choices and keep improving on the fly .
For example , getting accurate information about progress and cost on construction sites has always been a challenge . Now , a construction company or investor can use drones to gather photographic images , overlay them with the original site plans , verify contractor reports , and spot discrepancies as small as a centimeter wide . In the agrochemical sector , farming companies also use drones , along with data from weather reports and sensors mounted on their machinery , to fine-tune their planting , fertilizing , and harvesting practices .
Industrial companies of all sorts now use data gathered from factory floor sensors to inform maintenance and operational decisions . GE ’ s chief digital officer , Bill Ruh , estimated that just one performance increase resulting from these efforts , in locomotives , saves one railroad US $ 200 million per year .
In the military aerospace sector , manufacturers are able to use the data set that is fed back from an aircraft to create immersive and experiential simulation software and training programs that can transform the training economics for fighter and other flight crews . Wear and tear on the airframe can be minimized and the aircraft reserved for the missions that matter , substantially reducing the overall cost to customers of military training and preparedness .
And of course , in all industries , companies are now able to develop highly customizable , on-demand manufacturing , with customers having real-time access to design , supply , and demand systems . Direct feedback and interfaces between manufacturing systems and customers ’ own ordering and demand planning systems are shortening lead times and improving capacity utilization planning . One of the great frontiers in data analytics is materials . A plastics maker that notices a customer using a polymer in one way could propose a different approach , based on analysis of what other companies have done with that same polymer .
To make the most of your data , integrate your analytics teams . Schedule regular sessions in which people talk about what they are finding , and how it could affect the business . Ensure that data from all your operations and customer insights is considered . Draw in relevant information from other companies and from the government . By doing so , you balance your proprietary interest in your own data against the fact that open data sharing allows for much more insight . Platforms make sophisticated data sharing of this sort far easier than it used to be . Finally , in addition to any business changes you make , revamp your analytics approach so that your data gathering and synthesis will be still more effective next quarter .
7 . Adopt innovative financing models . New large-scale technologies inevitably put pressure on the old ways of raising money for them . As the Industrial Internet expands , the ability to finance major capital projects will remain one of the hallmark capabilities of an industrial company . But the particulars will shift .
Infrastructure projects will closely follow the example of the software industry , where cloud computing has sparked a quiet but pervasive change . Software users no longer buy packages ; instead , they subscribe to software-as-a-service , paying rent to the provider in exchange for access and continual upgrades . This approach affects the type of financing that tech companies need , and the ways they manage return on investment . Larger industrial firms will similarly move from financing the ownership of factories and machinery to financing a pay-as-you-go system , with smaller but more frequent rent charges for more flexible installations . There will be less interest in replacing old equipment , and more interest in continuing to upgrade it , using 3D printing and other forms of digital fabrication to manufacture and customize new components . Industrial companies will take a cue from Silicon Valley and finance more
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