Accelerate your Digital Transformation
Digital Transformation is a topic that has permeated every sector of every industry. It’s a comprehensive change, involving many different components of a business’s IT infrastructure. From digitizing records to cloud migrations. There are also many things that can go wrong, if not implemented the right way. There are also many technology partners in the industry that help businesses through the process. I had the pleasure of having a discussion with a leader in the industry, Peter Korte, Chief Technology Officer and Chief Strategy Officer at Siemens, about the new Siemens Xcelerator that was launched to help businesses accelerate their digital transformation. Below, is a transcript of our conversation.
Avrohom:
So, we’re here live at Xcelerator where, Peter, you just announced something really exciting about this new exciting thing that Siemens has launched called Xcelerator. Can you share with us a little bit about what’s behind all this?
Peter:
Yeah, sure. So, Siemens Xcelerator is all about making digital transformation for our customers insanely easy. To make it fast, easy, and at scale. And the B2B environment, that’s really tricky. Because you have to ensure that data silos are being broken down and that data is flowing seamlessly. So, the heart of Siemens Xcelerator is being open, so that it brings different solutions from different vendors together, and then make it interoperable so that these things do work together. These are the two magics that we do with Siemens Xcelerator for our customers.
Avrohom:
I love what you said about breaking down the data silos because, in the legacy world, that’s what we have. We have people that only focus on their verticals, their products, and nothing else, and we need to interoperate with one another. This brings up the next point. So, I come from the Telecom world, and we had this term called vendor lock-out, where you buy all your hardware and equipment from this one vendor, and they kind of hold you. You have to buy their network, you have to buy their equipment, and you can’t buy anything else. So, how does Siemens address this vendor lock-out?
Peter:
Yes, it’s a big topic also for us, and for our customers. So, if we talked today with CIOs, they would say, “I don’t want to be locked in on your very specific solution.” And right they are! And we don’t want to either. So, all the CIOs are going to tell you, “I don’t want to buy yet another platform.” So, it’s always a question of the value that you bring. And they are very capable of opening up and also sharing data with us, providing that the solution you provide is really adding return on their part. And so for example in buildings, if you can demonstrate that the solution that you’re implementing is: (a) is flexible enough that it does work in their environment, and that (b) that they really get potential savings, for example, out of energy efficiency, then they are perfectly fine and they’re happy to do that. But it’s always the value that you have to bring to the customers. That’s the way we think about it.
Avrohom:
So now, talking about another value, everyone is talking about sustainability as being the next big thing. Be it climate change, or just government initiatives, and things like that. Does Siemens have any criteria for selecting their partners or suppliers when it comes to clean energy and sustainability?
Peter:
Yes, so at Siemens, we’ve given ourselves a target that we want to be carbon neutral in our own operations by 2030, and then also with all of our supplier base by 2050. So, therefore, we are heavily engaged with our partners and suppliers, as you said, in order to drive that down. So today, when you interact as a supplier with us, we have very stringent requirements. And it also comes down to sharing. For example, if you want to know the product carbon footprint of our solutions that we brought to our customers, we need to know from OUR suppliers in order to make that work. So, that’s just an example. So, yes, there are many criteria in order to get there.
Avrohom:
Great, and I imagine every piece affects every other piece. And if we can tweak our part of it, that’s going to affect everything down the line.
Peter:
Exactly! As a matter of fact, what’s really interesting is, it really depends on the energy mix. So obviously, today, the biggest topic, in any kind of manufacturing, or any kind of buildings or business environment; the energy that’s being consumed, the electricity, is a key polluting factor. And it depends on, of course, the energy mix, as you’re getting it. So, are you getting 50% renewable, thirty percent renewable, eighty percent renewable? And so, buying that very specific, let’s say “green energy”, is the key contributing factor.
Avrohom:
Peter, what’s next for Siemens?
Peter:
So, next, of course, is exactly what we showed you with Siemens Xcelerator. It IS a vision. I mean, it is clearly making digital transformation insanely easy. It’s not easy, at all. I was going to tell you, as a background. So, making this work already is the number one focus that we have. But, to your point, I wholeheartedly believe that there is no decarbonization without digitalization. Because, exactly what we just spoke about. If you want to know your carbon footprint, you need to know the entire chain. And you can only do this by the means of digitalization. So, these two mega-trends, of climate change and digitalization, they really meet here. And that’s the big thing, not just for us at Siemens, but for us, as a global society, because we really have to take care of this planet.
Avrohom:
Peter, do we have any place where people can go to learn more about Xcelerator?
Peter:
Yes, absolutely. As we launch Siemens Xcelerator, you can just Google Siemens Xcelerator. You will find it. And then you’re going to end up also on the marketplace. You will find all the resources, everything, in order to educate and learn more about it.
Avrohom:
Peter, do you have any parting words of wisdom that you’d like to share with the audience?
Peter:
Yes, of course. I wholeheartedly believe that we already have the technology in place to master all the challenges that we face today. The key thing is, opening it up and making it work. So, whatever you do, start your action now, explore what you can use already today. Don’t wait. Just get going.
About the Author
Avrohom Gottheil is the founder of #AskTheCEO Media, where he helps global brands get heard over the noise on social media, by presenting their corporate message using language people understand.
Avrohom presents his clients as Thought Leaders, which challenges his audience to reimagine their own mission and vision, delivering actionable insights, and leaving them passionate, motivated, and with the necessary tools to take immediate action.
Avrohom comes from a 20+ year career in IT and Telecom, where he helped businesses around the world install and maintain their communication systems and contact centers. He is a Top-ranked global expert in IoT, AI, Cloud, and Cybersecurity, followed worldwide on Twitter, and a frequent speaker on leveraging technology to accelerate revenue growth.
Listen to him share the latest technology trends, tools, and best practices for IoT, AI, Cloud, Cybersecurity, and emerging technologies on the #AskTheCEO podcast — voted as the #1 Channel Friendly Podcast in 2019 by Forrester, and #2 Podcast from Thinkers360 Thought Leaders in 2020.
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