As part of Expo & Conference 2021, the IndustryFusion Foundation has unveiled Release 1.0 of IndustryFusion: A unique open source, multi-vendor networking solution for Smart Factories and Smart Products that creates an interoperable link between machine, factory and cloud platforms.
© IndustryFusion Foundation
“Ease of implementation is central to the solution and empowers companies of all sizes to intelligently digitize manufacturing & products and take advantage of a broad Industrie 4.0 ecosystem,” explained Dr.-Ing. Konstantin Kernschmidt, Technical Lead at IndustryFusion Foundation. Kernschmidt moderated the two-day event, which took place on October 27 and 28 at the Forum Volksbank in Gießen.
Together with his colleague Matthäus Mikulina, responsible for Business Development & UX Lead at the IndustryFusion Foundation, he presented the numerous possibilities that the open source solution already offers with Release 1.0.
During the two days of the event, more than 20 speakers also provided a deep insight into the use and business cases based on IndustryFusion. Topics such as “Financing 4.0: Will purchasing and leasing soon be obsolete models?”, “Pay per use – payment is flexible, depending on capacity utilisation!” or “Digitalisation – what are the practical benefits?
“As a basis for new business models, e.g. in the area of shared production, the creation and further development of the open-source IIoT networking solution Industry-Fusion serves, which can be used vendor-independently for the networking of smart factories and smart products. This digital infrastructure ensures a continuous data flow from the plant to the cloud and thus also provides the basis for the development of innovative B2B platforms,” said Igor Mikulina, President of the Board of Trustees of the IndustryFusion Foundation, during his presentation at the event.
Solution that will also allow SMEs to benefit from digitization
Guido Emmelius, director of Volksbank Mittelhessen as well as managing director of the foundation member Mittelstand.ai underlined the great importance of the event: “This closeness creates trust, if we continue to come together and keep at it, we will also make rapid progress in the future.” Emmelius and his team are working on new innovative models for investment financing and are relying on IndustryFusion, among others, in the area of data processing.
“IndustryFusion has recognized that it doesn’t need an island solution, but that it’s about a global solution with quite a few game partners,” said Rainer Sträter, Head of Global Platform Hosting at IONOS SE, which is a strategic partner of the IndustryFusion Foundation. At the end of the day, this is the only way to properly address the business models that we are pursuing together.
Christian Donitzky, Account Executive Industry4.0 & Utilities at Intel Deutschland GmbH – also a strategic partner of the IndustryFusion Foundation – also sees a huge opportunity in IndustryFusion: “It’s extremely exciting for us to really get something going in the next few years together with IndustryFusion.”
© IndustryFusion Foundation
Potential to change the world in a positive and sustainable way
“With your non-profit foundation and your association, the Industry Business Network 4.0, you are all working on a solution that will precisely also allow small and medium-sized enterprises to benefit from increasing digitalisation in the future. With IndustryFusion, you have launched – across competitive boundaries – an open source networking solution from SMEs for SMEs: an outstanding project that exemplifies how cooperation and open networks lead to new, revolutionary approaches that have the potential to bring about lasting positive change to the world as we know it today,” said patron Franz Josef Pschierer, former Bavarian State Minister, as part of his welcoming address.
Marián Jakubócy, Ambassador of the Slovak Republic in Germany, was also convinced of the importance of the project. “Digital solutions help to create jobs, promote education and increase competitiveness and innovation, and can thus improve the living conditions of our citizens. I firmly believe that this event will contribute to deepening cooperation in the field of digitalisation of small and medium-sized enterprises within Europe. The world is not waiting for us, the world will not wait for Europe. We believe in Slovakia, be it in politics, business or research: only together we are strong, we believe in common European projects. And that is also the idea of this conference,” said the ambassador in his welcome address.
The event was supported by Volksbank Mittelhessen, Mittelstand.ai, Kjellberg Finsterwalde, Teka and the Industry Business Network 4.0.
The IndustryFusion Foundation
The IndustryFusion Foundation pursues the goal of securing Europe’s digital sovereignty and competitiveness in the digital age through intelligent networking of the manufacturing industry. The basis for this is the creation and further development of the open-source IIoT networking solution IndustryFusion, which can be used vendor-independently for the networking of smart factories and smart products. This digital infrastructure ensures a continuous flow of data from the plant to the cloud and at the same time provides the basis for the development of innovative digital business models and B2B platforms.
