Industrial Evolution

In this episode we're speaking with Adam Crigger, Founder & President of Preferred Strategies, a California-based provider of business intelligence solutions. As an intelligence provider, Adam's team has mastered the art of weaving together meaningful views of data from the myriad of data sources that successful companies tend to accumulate over time. While many of their customers rely on platforms from JD Edwards and Microsoft, data can come from anywhere, and that's increasingly the case as industrial organizations become ever more connected. But the real story here is not the data, or even the complex integrations... the real story is what's being done with data once it's compiled into meaningful reports and analytics. So Adam is with us to share some hard-won wisdom about getting the most out of your investments in data integration, whether you're a small manufacturer or an industry-giant.

In this episode we're speaking with Rick Hall, CEO of Aginity, a California-based cloud provider of analytics software whose mission is to reinvent the process of accessing and analyzing data that traditionally has been stuck in massive, centralized silos. Aginity's success is proof positive that a major shift is happening at this very moment. Where data is moving from central warehouses out to the edge of organizations where decisions must be made quickly without waiting for engineers and I.T. teams to deliver perfectly crafted data models. And the businesses that embrace this trend will be the winners, which we're seeing as they empower their analysts with the tools and independence to supplement centralized models - having the freedom to access and ingest their own variations of data and common business models. So Rick is here to share with us more about the emergence of what he calls collaborative analytics, and what you can do to make sure you're staying competitive.

In this episode we're speaking with Sunny Han, Founder and CEO of Fulcrum, a Minneapolis-based cloud provider of ERP software billed as the manufacturing operating system of the future. We've covered ERP in other episodes, but this is the first time we've seen an ERP tool that represents a truly new generation of software, built from scratch within the last decade versus being a continuous upgrade from software that originated in the 1980's and 90's. That's an important distinction because, as Sunny will explain, the new age of digital twins is all about philosophical, behavioral, and other changes not directly related to technology, which can be difficult to get from legacy products that are constrained by decisions made long ago. In fact, Fulcrum was only founded in 2015, a full decade after the first generation of SaaS and cloud really took off. So they've been able to take what works for the cloud, envision the future of purely cloud-based organizations, and start from scratch building a product with that future in mind.

In this episode we're speaking with Sven Scheuble and Ignacio Perez Hallerbach. Sven is Vice President and Partner at Siemens Advanta Consulting out of Munich. Ignacio is Vice President and Global Head of Partners & Platform at NavVis out of London. Together, Sven and Ignacio are here to discuss how venture partnerships between large corporates and early stage startups can catalyze innovation for both. Bridging the gap between the physical and digital world, NavVis enables companies to capture and share the built environment as photorealistic digital twins. Their SLAM-based mobile mapping systems generate high-quality data with survey-grade accuracy at speed and scale. So Siemens and NavVis are working together to leverage the benefits that each can bring to the market, and therefore deliver more value to customers than otherwise possible. This model of venture partnering is available to pretty much anyone, so I've asked Sven and Ignacio to help us understand how the model works and what it can do for you and your customers.

In this episode we're speaking with John McEleney, Corporate VP of Strategy at PTC. This conversation is coming right on the heels of our interview with Steve Dertien, CTO at PTC, who talked about the evolving role of SaaS and cloud in engineering organizations. PTC, in its quest to enable a SaaS and cloud based future for their customers, recently acquired Onshape, the cloud-based 3D CAD tool. And John, with us today, is the co-founder of Onshape. But it gets better, because even if you haven't heard of Onshape, you've almost certainly heard of SolidWorks, for which John was the longstanding CEO all the way through SolidWorks' acquisition by Dassault and beyond until he and the founders of SolidWorks moved on to found OnShape. So John is here to share a wealth of experience around innovation at engineering-focused companies, including lessons learned and techniques that you can apply to any size organization. This is about as close as we can get to a blueprint for success because John's insights form the DNA for innovation in any organization - that is to align every single person in your business behind a common goal that demands new approaches and a deep understanding of your customers' problems.

In this episode we're speaking with Steve Dertien, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at PTC. PTC is a software and services company that employs more than 6000 people worldwide - serving industrial customers in the areas of Internet of Things, augmented reality, engineering, and collaboration - in addition to consulting, implementation, and training. Steve is one of those people who absolutely loves his job because he gets to spend most of his time exploring the future of technology and making sure that PTC is enabling that future for their customers. And a big part of that future is SaaS software and cloud services, which is especially true in manufacturing - an industry that is essentially the last holdout on fully embracing the benefits of accelerating technology. So Steve is here to share more on the evolving role of SaaS and cloud in the industrial setting.

In this episode we're speaking with Ron Rock, Co-Founder and CEO of Microshare, an IoT software company that was perfectly positioned at just the right time to help the industrial world respond to COVID. And not just respond, but also to proactively define new standards of health and safety in workplaces that require physical presence. In short, there's simply no way to hide from a global pandemic, nor will there be for future pandemics, because industries like manufacturing, distribution, energy, and many others don't have the luxury of remote work. But in Ron's words, what organizations can do is create a social contract with employees, partners, and customers that they will be operating in a safe environment no matter the threat. And that social contract should be supported by tools that enhance work, not create more cost and barriers to getting work done. But that's just the tip of the iceberg, because Ron sees us entering a new era where asset tracking and contact tracing will be a part of every single thing around us - truly an Internet of Things, which may be more accurate to call an Internet of People and Things. And of course this is a future that should be extremely careful to regard the privacy of the individuals who are are supposed to benefit from these tools.

Today we're speaking with Sunil Senan, SVP of Data & Analytics for Infosys, a multinational technology company that provides business consulting, information technology and outsourcing services. Sunil is here to share with us what he calls "the art of the possible" - addressing probably the single biggest challenge to digital transformation... With so much technology changing at such a rapid pace, it can be almost impossible to know where or how to start taking advantage of all the possibilities, especially when we're talking about using data and analytics to make better, faster decisions. But fortunately for us, Sunil sits on the front lines of industrial digital transformation, where he not only guides Infosys clients through their own journeys, but he also has a high level view of trends in the market that can inform all of our priorities for the future.

Today we're speaking with two individuals from Quuppa, a technology company that specializes in indoor, real-time location tracking with centimeter-level accuracy and extremely low latency (~150ms). Quuppa is one of those companies that sits quietly behind the scenes, multiplying their impact through downstream partners, integrators, and solution providers - known as "both the youngest and the oldest indoor location company" because of their unique history. So although you may have never heard of them in an industrial setting, or anywhere for that matter, you may already rely on their technology for material flow, work in progress, safety, and countless other applications. Quuppa's technology is a game changer for its ability to combine the benefits of accuracy and speed while taking advantage of the inexpensive, scalable nature of low-power bluetooth. To better understand how indoor tracking is driving the industrial world forward, we're here today with one of Quuppa's co-founders, Fabio Belloni (Chief Customer Officer), and Quuppa's Vice President of The Americas, Tom Ruth.

Today we're speaking with Tony Bevilacqua - Founder & CEO of Cognitive 3D out of Vancouver, Canada. Cognitive 3D is an AR & VR software company that aims to change the way human behavior is measured and analyzed in the enterprise. And they're accomplishing that mission by way of a software platform that enables real-world insights to be pulled from virtual environments. And more specifically, from training and research simulations, which are relevant across all kinds of businesses and job functions. This is going to be a fascinating conversation, because as cool as it is to have the latest headset or whatever toy it may be, in a business setting it's kind of pointless if you can't get meaningful information out of a system. Deriving real-world meaning from the virtual world is a cornerstone of Industry 4.0, which puts Cognitive 3D at the heart of this revolution, enabling new ways of looking at our physical world and its digital twin. Tony is joining us today to reveal the future of measuring human performance in AR and VR.