Influencing Industry 4.0

Back in March Onalytica released their list of the top 50 influencers in Industry 4.0, for anyone who follows this market there will be many familiar names on the list. However, it got me thinking about the role of the influencer in this field, and how important it is or has become.

Something I have often wondered is why, when the industrial field as a whole is leading the way with innovative solutions, do we hear so little from the leading companies? And why are they not in the public conscience?

For example, mention Apple and we are all likely to immediately have an opinion or recognition of what they are or do. Cisco - the name of a vendor which has become synonymous with a product or line of products, Microsoft to operating systems or Mcafee to security. The likelihood is that at least one if not all of these will hold a position in the public conscience - even to those who have absolutely no other connection to the tech world.

Yet if you were to mention Rockwell, Honeywell, Siemens each multi billion turnover companies I suspect that they will not be recongised. The introduction by Onalytica to their top 50 provides an interesting insight in to why this might be the case - taking industry 4.0 as the example..

"Industry 4.0 is the moniker given to the Fourth Industrial Revolution. And as its name implies, it is a revolution or fundamental shift in the way the entire industry operates, and the way people work – resulting in a complete change in society"

Just consider that for a moment, something that can result in a complete change in society. Yet...

"...we can’t even all agree on what technologies are included as part of Industry 4.0. This means it is up to every company to come up with their own definition and strategy to figure out how to take advantage of all the new transformative technologies collectively to thrive in this transformative time we are living in right now"

This could account for why, even with so much innovation and so many exciting advances the numbers of people taking up a career in STEM are still so low. If the industry cannot get the message right, how can it possibly attract new talent?

But that is an aside. What this indecisiveness appears to have done is to have opened up the opportunity for influencers to build an impactful and distinguished career as thought leaders. The individual has the power to lead the company brand on a global scale, possibly this is enhanced by the main vehicle of communication - social media platforms (LinkedIn and Twitter being the leading platforms) which lend themselves to individual promotion and person to person interaction. The old saying goes that people buy from people, and I suppose this could lead a whole industrial revolution?

In the coming days I will speak with an influencer from this list and will hear first hand the role that the influencer can play in advancing a companies exposure in this field. Both from the point of view of building visibility and impact of their own work and innovation, and to building the relationships that are necessary to deliver their solutions.

Take a look below at the interview I recorded with Jeff Winter, he was number one on the list.