Syskron [TECH DAY]: lift-off for a Tech Community

20 June 2018 saw the [TECH DAY] in Munich, which marked the kick-off for a series of events dedicated entirely to the topic of digitalisation. The declared goals: to bring together specialists from the beverage industry and the IT sector and jointly to meet and master the challenges of digitalisation.

Approximately 100 participants discussed topics like digitalisation of the entire value added chain, the current status of artificial intelligence, the security of Cloud solutions, or expectation deficits in the field of Industry 4.0, and what requisite foundations first have to be created for this purpose.

 

 

“Digitalisation” ranks among the major buzzwords of our time, and is an issue common to all industrial sectors. But what does it really mean for us? How is digitalisation transforming the beverage industry in particular? What has to be the thrust of our development work?

These questions supplied the reason for us to launch the [TECH DAY]. After all, why not get together, practise regular mutual feedback, discuss different perspectives and approaches, and thus ultimately learn from each other?

“We are all facing the same challenge: namely how digitalisation can be integrated into everyday production operations with the aid of the Cloud. We should accordingly join forces inside the industry, and put shared standards in place,” explains Severin Diepold, Managing Director of Syskron X GmbH and responsible at Syskron for developing innovative Cloud solutions. In his presentation, he showed how digitalisation is already transforming the industry right now. He went on to explain the approach being pursued by Syskron X with its Share2Act and ReadyKit products, designed to assist beverage producers in networking their entire value added chain and thus creating competitive advantages for themselves.

As the initiator behind this cycle of events, when we were seeking speakers for the [TECH DAY], we endeavoured to cover as broad a spectrum as possible. The aim was to create a platform designed to communicate what different approaches can be pursued, what is already happening in the sector, and how a bridge can also be built to other industries. We were fortunate to bring on board HEINEKEN, BECKHOFF Automation and AWS as partners for the event.

The presentation of David Pavlovic, Heineken’s Global Head of Digital Strategy & Innovation, was all about the people behind the machines, for he was very clear about one thing: instead of regarding the evolving intelligence of production systems as a danger or competitor, the staff should realise that this technological shift also signifies promising opportunities for them.

In his presentation, Christian Hesse, Senior Manager Data Protection at AWS, focussed on the issue of security – at precisely the juncture when data protection is the centre of a new wave of attention thanks to the EU’s Basic Data Protection Regulation. AWS offers its clients a wide-ranging portfolio of services, as well as answers to all questions involving security, and illustrated these to the Tech Day’s participants by adducing a few best-practice examples.

Dr. Josef Papenfort, Product Manager at Beckhoff Automation, in his presentation described Beckhoff’s solutions in the field of Industry 4.0. The company seamlessly integrates automation technology into IT and digitalisation concepts by deploying a PC-based approach to automation, plus products that in terms of connectivity make increasing use of open communication protocols.

In addition, there were contributions from the TIKI Institute, which incorporates artificial intelligence in production systems, and the start-up Tecorio.com, which has developed a platform for service technology in the beverage industry.

 

With the kick-off event, we have taken the first step towards putting in place a Tech Community. We are looking forward to the task of establishing and expanding this network together with our partners in the years ahead, since after all: after the [TECH DAY] is before the [TECH DAY].