Renowned German professor Wolfgang Wahlster originally coined the term Industry 4.0 while presenting a set of technology implementation recommendations to the German federal government. Needless to say, the world has traveled millions of miles from that moment. Today, when data is perceived as the new oil, the inevitability of Industry 4.0 solutions is not even an argument. It plays an increasingly important role in helping enterprises achieve safe smart and sustainable operations and beyond. Although, the

large scale, tangible output level implementation is well up for discussion. While the majority of the leaders in the industrial arena are convinced about the role the automated solutions are going to play it doesn't paint as rosier a picture when it comes to pragmatic implementation.

According to the latest international ABB survey that includes the opinions of 765 decision makers, while 96 percent believe digitalization is ‘essential to sustainability', only 35 percent have implemented Industrial IoT solutions at scale. That's a huge difference. However, the study also reveals that around 72 percent of companies are increasing investment in Industrial IoT specifically to address sustainability aims. It's a great omen in a journey towards a comprehensive Industry 4.0 landscape.

Remember, every organization needs to navigate through this implementation sequence independently, listening to their discrete pain points and challenges. Peter Terwiesch, President of ABB's Process Automation business area, says, "Unlocking insights hidden in operational data holds the key to enabling literally billions of better decisions throughout industry and acting upon them, with significant gains in productivity, reduced energy consumption and lower environmental impact". To leverage this huge potential, enterprises need to have the right technology partner who can delve deep into the pain areas and surface with sophisticated Industry 4.0 solutions. In this issue we unfurl the stories of some of the proven industry 4.0 partners.
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