Fully integrated corporate systems for production management that can promptly react to changing manufacturing conditions and supply chain demands for the best satisfaction of customer needs. Smart factories are aimed at customized manufacturing, while still keeping a focus on maximizing their production efficiency. High levels of digitalization and automation help enterprises achieve these goals. Why businesses need it • Speed up time-to-market (T2M) by 20–50%. • 95+% timely order delivery. • Fast product customization. • Higher equipment effectiveness (OEE). • Reduce order processing time.

A world created by technical means that we can perceive through our senses: vision, hearing, touch, and so on. Virtual Reality imitates both the real world’s stimuli and reactions to them. To create a convincing blend of perceptions, it is necessary to ensure a real-time computer integration of the properties and reactions of virtual reality. In particular, Virtual Reality makes it possible for high-tech industries to train employees to interact with repair objects in a safe environment. Why businesses need it • Better training for new employees. • Reduce staff training costs, product development costs. • Monitor the current state of the business from anywhere in the world. • Visual simulation of process change effects.

A technology to imitate human behavior to fulfill specific tasks and learn independently. Rather than just a work mode or feature, it is a major process involving the ability to think and analyze the data. AI is not intended to replace a human. Its primary goal is to expand the boundaries of human skills and capabilities. All this makes AI a valuable business asset. Why businesses need it • Higher quality and speed of decision-making thanks to Big Data processing. • No sick leaves or days off – combined with flawless, error-free work.

Artificial intelligence predicts equipment failures and breakdowns and plans activities for repair and maintenance. Overall, this concept serves to increase equipment reliability. Why businesses need it • Lower asset maintenance costs by 10–40%. • Reduce equipment downtime by 30–50%. • Switch from resource-consuming preventive maintenance to reliability-oriented technology.

Unites and integrates enterprise equipment, devices and business processes. The Internet of Things collects and analyzes all enterprise information to enable managerial decision-making based on reliable data. Why businesses need it • Decision-making based on accurate real-time information obtained directly from equipment, sensors. • Fast connectivity of equipment and sensors to the unified management system.

A major subdomain of Artificial Intelligence dealing with the methods of building learning algorithms. It has a huge stack of methods for developing algorithms that can offer less obvious solutions to the set tasks by identifying patterns in miscellaneous source data. Why businesses need it • Higher quality and speed of decision-making. • Helps to identify patterns in the big data that may escape the human eye. • Forecast future events to make managerial decisions.

A technology to automatically capture and process images of static and dynamic objects by computer means. It provides quality control and accounting in any production process that requires visual monitoring. Why businesses need it • Reduce quality control costs by 10–40%. • Substitute part of the workforce in production and quality control. • Better quality and higher speed of processing information. • Reduce production accounting costs. • More reliable and accurate information for decision-making.

A technology uniting two worlds: the real, physical one around us and the virtual one. Augmented Reality is an essential business tool relying on Industry 4.0 technologies. For instance, it can display the meter values and appropriate guidelines during maintenance procedures. Apple’s CEO Tim Cook has repeatedly referred to Augmented Reality as the most promising tech of today. He believes that this idea is as significant as the creation of the smartphone. Why businesses need it • Reduced costs of accessing and processing information in real time. • Information becomes easier to understand. • Better training for new employees.

A digital counterpart of your enterprise containing both its visual representation and the information flows of all business processes that are vital for today’s companies. Any meaningful action in the real world can be instantly reflected in the digital model and vice versa. The level of detail is unlimited, though it does depend on the business requirements and size of investment into developing the model and keeping it up to date. Why businesses need it • Manage a business in real time from anywhere in the world. • Digital twins help to simulate various scenarios for investing in equipment modernization, changing management strategies, business process reengineering.