MATHEW THOMAS
is an IT Professional a business leader a traveller a fitness enthusiast a food connoisseur an animal lover a flora and fauna supporter

We are transforming towards becoming a cloud company

MANAGEMENT INTERVIEW

“We are transforming towards becoming a cloud company”

…says Mathew Thomas, Country Manager and Managing Director of Siemens Digital Industries Software India, in an interview with Neha Basudkar Ghate, discussing their evolution and how they aim on penetrating the digital landscape.

How do you overview the digital transformation in business recently and how well do you think has Siemens been able to embrace this digital journey?

I think businesses, fundamentally, are looking to become more competitive. If I look at competing countries, which we aspire to compete with, then 25%–30% of your GDP should be from manufacturing. If I look at what’s happened over the last two years, we are transforming towards becoming a cloud company. We are probably the earliest ones among the industrial software companies to do that. The reason that we’ve been able to move well is that we are very uniquely positioned because we can combine the real and the digital worlds because of our presencein the IT and OT segments. If we aim towards becoming the third-largest economy by 2030, our manufacturing industry should be competitive. Siemens is the best partner for this, as we combine the real and the digital worlds with a combination of IT/OT integration using the Siemens Xcelerator platform.

With its presence in varied industries like marine, aerospace, defence, automotive,transportation and many more, how does Siemens Digital Industries Software cater to customised market state segments and consumer demands with its portfolio?

We are not a company for one industry, because obviously, we cater to a variety of industries. Traditionally, we may have been in manufacturing purely. If I talk in context, there was an ~37% increase in the capital allocation in the last budget announced by the Indian government. This 130 billion is being allocated to railways, defence, infrastructure, economies, etc. Because we have a specific focus on automotive (industrial machinery, heavy engineering, aero and aerospace, marine, defence and transportation), we have solutions specifically catering to them. It is all based on the Siemens Xcelerator platform. It is not only fora large enterprise but also for small and medium enterprises as well. We have specific industry threads that could cater to various segments. Furthermore, we’re also expanding as we go along.

Can you tell us more about next-generation solutions based on Siemens’ focus on optimising solutions and working towards them?

If you look at the heritage of our company, we were probably focused mainly on the mechanical side of things. However, we realised that if we have to develop the next generation solutions and meet the requirements of our customers, that ‘s when we looked at expanding our footprint. Our transition over the past few yars has been across segments and I think these are very smart and well-thought out acquisitions, which help us address the requirements of the customers. To begin with we acquired mentor graphics – the Siemens EDA solutions, which is really aimed at addressing the whole electrical/electronics segment, Further, we expanded from being purely mechanical to electronic/electrical and software and moved onto Mendix, an open enterprise platform that we used to develop applications. So, from pure design, which is an NX solution simulation, which is a Simcenter portfolio, planning which is Tecnomatix digital logistics. Simply put, we moved from just a mechanical, to electrical, to electronics, to supply chain, to quality and of course, service with IoT. If I look at the evolution we were able to address the whole operation of a custsomer. Now, these solutions are real time, because for example, it’s all put together by our underlying digital thread, which is our Teamcenter – which is our heritage product. and that’s where it all ties together. Because if you make a change in something, how do I track it? How do I manage the chain? And that’s exactly how this all comes together. So that’s the evolution of what we’ve been able to do.

Can you throw some light on the advanced manufacturing visualisation that Siemens would like to comment on and how it affects your business strategy? What is your vision for business operations in the next coming years?

If we look at it the advanced manufacturing that you asked me about visualisation, it enables us to see the future of a factory and the advanced manufacturing systems through the industrial metaverse before the production readiness. We do have products which can actually simulate a plant and see it visually. Now, using the Nvidia solution and digital twin technologies, I can feel my way there, walk through it and see how it is laid out or experienced. According to our global estimates today, the market comprises approximately 10 billion or so globally, expected to go almost probably focused mainly on the mechanical side 10 times in the next five years. Just imagine of things. However, we realised that if we have to transforming from a pure mechanical software develop the next generation solutions and meet company to a whole piece where we are talking the requirements of our customers, that’s when we about partnerships with Microsoft, AWS, IBM and looked at expanding our footprint. Our transition Nvidia is where all this comes together because it’s over the past few years has been across segments, an evolving thing.

How do you see the future of digital transformation and innovation? How would you like to give your perspective on being part of Siemens and your pure outlook?

I’ve been working in the IT industry for the past 32 years; if I look at it, I’ve seen the whole journey from client-server computing to internet computing. I have been very fortunate to have witnessed this transformation. I think, sometimes, it is hard for me to believe the progress made; if I had to travel 30 years back, I still had to wait for that physical ticket jacket before I went to the airport. Today, you don’t even print the boarding card, but rather just have it scanned. Moreover, if you’re on a Digi Yatra, you scan your boarding pass from your phone and can go through it. That’s the transformation that is taking place, and there is no way out for companies they must remain competitive. The

STALWARTS OF THE INDUSTRY & THEIR EXEMPLARY LEADERSHIP

With a vast footprint in the digital industry software space worldwide, how eminent has the Indian market been for business, delivering future technologies?

India has always been an important part of our software business. Over the years, we have achieved considerable success in building a strong community of customers in India, and our business here continues to see healthy growth with both large enterprises and SMBs embracing our Xcelerator portfolio to enable their digital transformation efforts. But that’s not all. India is also a key source of intellectual capital for us, with one of our largest product development centres located here.

Companies today are under increasing pressure to follow sustainable practises that come at a cost and impact profitability, what are your views on the Smart Manufacturing Revolution and how do you think your R&D contributes to this?

Sustainability is the heart of our business and the engine that drives it. This is why we’ve developed a sustainability framework called DEGREE (Decarbonisation, Ethics, Governance, Resource Efficiency, Equity, and Employability), which sets clear and measurable ambitions. We issue an annual sustainability report outlining our progress toward stated goals. The same philosophy extends to the solutions that we provide to our customers that can help them improve their quality of life for their customers while using fewer resources. Smart manufacturing will play a key role in this initiative. By leveraging executable digital twins across their product lifecycle, manufacturers can achieve their sustainability goals without compromising on either quality or profitability, finding the right balance and a wide understanding across the entire value chain from the very beginning, providing an accurate picture of its total environmental impact, including that of suppliers, distributors, and logistics operations.

What are the significant developments the company has made when it comes to digitalisation? Can you share some recent success stories regarding how it has been vital for the industry to adopt it?

Our Xcelerator portfolio ignites digital transformation, empowering companies of all sizes to embrace complexity and leverage it to enhance productivity and gain a competitive advantage. One of our customers in India, a leading automotive OEM, recently published a success story that showed how they were able to increase throughput in their paint shop by 15% by implementing our IoT solution. Another customer, a small tool manufacturer, achieved a 50% reduction in product development time by implementing a product development system, while a line builder was able to reduce commissioning time on average by 70% through a virtual commissioning environment.

What are the three takeaways you would like to share with Indian leaders as they adopt digitalisation and automation to help accelerate the industrial digital transformation?

Firstly, digital transformation is a multi-year journey, not a short-term fix. It needs to be driven from the top of the organisation. Secondly, it is important for leaders to build an overall digital transformation strategy before getting into implementation. We have a framework of digital threads by an industry that can help guide and inform leaders as they build out a digital transformation roadmap in line with their strategic priorities. Thirdly, it is important to work with a trusted technology partner that can provide powerful tools that enable the creation of a comprehensive digital twin, while providing a flexible, adaptable, and open system. Given the growing maturity of cloud-based software deployments and the flexibility that this creates for companies, leaders should seriously consider cloud deployment.

India is evolving as a global manufacturing hub wherein industrial software has played a crucial role. How do you look at it, and how is the company strategizing to embrace complexity and leverage it to enhance productivity and gain a competitive advantage?

The industrial world is in the midst of transformation, and so is India. It is adapting fast to this change. Today‘s products are becoming smarter, and more personalised. New insights, new opportunities, and new levels of automation at every point of the value chain. These aren‘t the promises of tomorrow, they‘re the opportunities of today. Siemens Digital Industries Software brings the latest in the world to India, blurring boundaries between industry domains by integrating the virtual and physical, hardware and software, design, and manufacturing worlds while being personal and highly adaptable, which organisations need. With an open, modern, and flexible ecosystem, organisations can predict and adapt to future needs, giving them the ability to meet rapidly changing consumer preferences and hence gain an advantage in the globally competitive landscape.

What is the piece of advice you would want to give to the new-age industry leaders in India?

Today’s products continue to grow in complexity, requiring the integration of multiple domains, including mechanical, electrical, electronic, and software design. This trend is set to continue as demands for integrated AI and vision systems, machine connectivity, and remote monitoring increase. Considering the simultaneous pressure to shorten delivery times, manufacturers face a huge challenge.

To address this challenge, the most progressive companies are increasing their adoption of digital technology to accelerate innovation and optimise existing products. The recently produced 2022 Digital Twin Study by Lifecycle Insights found that the most progressive companies will continue to invest in technology, increasing the gap with those who lag, leaving them subject to a harder competitive outlook and potential losses in time to market, and ultimately lost business.

Could you share your thoughts on what lies ahead for industrial software and how it will play a critical role in assisting India in establishing a global footprint in the digital ecosystem?

The digital future of the industry is no longer some far-flung promise but is here today. India is uniquely positioned to be a key player in this digital future, given our young and technologically savvy workforce. However, long-term success requires a strong collaboration between key stakeholders like the government, industry, and academia to create a stable policy environment, encourage entrepreneurship and innovation, and provide skill enhancement opportunities to young Indians.

Also, manufacturers that embrace advanced technologies are able to be more agile and resilient and are more successful in managing complexity, changes, and disruption.

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Mathew Thomas speech at the Industry 4.0 Conclave in Chennai on November 8, 2022

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