Interview MSM: Lessons learned from an IoT mission in China
Digitizing data for success
Didier Mesnier: As part of Alp ICT's mission, we focus on the major industries in Western Switzerland for which digital technology is an important driver of innovation.
We've decided to focus on a few verticals such as finance, healthcare, smart cities, manufacturing and others. Our role is to promote the know-how of digital technology companies (Fintech, SmartIndustry, SmartCity, eHealth) to these industries.
Of course, IoT technologies are increasingly being deployed in manufacturing, finance, smart cities and healthcare.
It's important for us to have a good understanding of technological and market trends, so that we can better target our promotional actions and qualified contacts.
China has the capacity to initiate this transformation, thanks to the commitment and involvement of its political authorities in the digitalization strategy, in the deployment of IoT infrastructure, and in facilitating regulation for Chinese companies/projects. The WeChat application is one of the most concrete examples. The development of this application was financed by the Chinese government. This "instant messaging" application capitalizes on the community of users by offering interconnection with professional and mass-market applications, such as free bicycles, mobile payment, etc. This opens up an enormous field of opportunities, and offers the advantage of market control. The same applies to the Didi Chuxing platform, for which Chinese regulation favors its development while capitalizing on the established cab network, thus blocking Uber's development in China.
It's worth noting that China is lagging behind in the digitization of industrial processes, with phone manufacturer Foxconn employing over a million people. However, China has the capacity to initiate the digital transformation of these industries as soon as the political authorities decide to do so.
It is interesting to note that some foreign companies are moving production units from China to Europe. Logitech, for example, has moved production units from China to Germany, thanks to the digitization of certain production processes.
Switzerland can preserve its industries and jobs by speeding up the digitization of industrial processes.
