For many Deutsche Telekom employees, the Hannover Messe 2017 international trade fair (HM 2017) has long begun. Since the Holy Week, the Innovations Center has been en route to Hanover and all its activities can be tracked – thanks to Roambee, a smart logistics solution with global acquisition of real-time data, everything can be tracked and monitored. In Hanover, Deutsche Telekom uses the "bee" to demonstrate what the trade fair has chosen as the slogan on the occasion of its 70th jubilee: Get new technology first.
All key technologies and core areas of industry at one location is what the trade fair promises this year: from research and development, industrial automation and IT, supply, production technologies and services to energy and mobility technologies, a wide range of areas are covered in the wake of rapidly advancing digitization and networking.
"We are currently creating a world in which everything is connected. This is comparable with a robot that is as big as the earth", says U.S. IT security expert Bruce Schreier.
Welcome to the machine! A clip on YouTube is yet another way of presenting what exhibitors and visitors can expect at this year's trade fair in Hanover.
Digitization and networking are drastically transforming all economic models, production processes and indeed the entire working world. This is an opinion shared by all professionals. A radical change is underway. And this becomes clear in Hanover too.
The trade fair and industry representatives focus specifically on the positive aspects of this transformation. According to the trade fair management, "Some may feel that production plants that exchange information with different units and independently request the assistance of a technician when required sounds too good. Well, Industry 4.0 makes this vision a reality. State-of-the-art communication technologies connect automated production systems to create a self-learning system, a so-called smart factory. This modern industrial revolution is based on the Internet of Things (IoT) that enables the continuous exchange of data between all participating parties." Our industry landscape should evolve to become more intelligent, efficient and sustainable – that is our specific goal.
And, as is customary, Deutsche Telekom too is present at the trade fair in Hanover. On an area of 800 square meters, Deutsche Telekom will present its tools for the new digitized and connected industrial age.
It's quite clear: digitization is the tool of the future. Many industries in Germany, however, are still hesitant about moving ahead in this direction. The level of digitization is only around 50 percent among utilities, mechanical engineering, or vehicle construction companies, and around 60 percent in the finance sector. At 75 percent, this potential has not yet been tapped to its fullest even in the ICT industry.
This is why Deutsche Telekom positions itself at the trade fair as a strong partner for both major players and SMEs.
Advanced connectivity, security, industrial cloud, predictive maintenance, supply chain, and smart factory are just some of the areas of expertise that Deutsche Telekom will be focusing on.
Our goal is clear: Deutsche Telekom intends to play an instrumental role in shaping the digitized society of tomorrow.
By 2020, around 30 billion things will be connected to each other, machines will exchange information, devices will communicate information about their activities and operations and how other "things" should respond accordingly. In real time, all data acquired will be stored, evaluated and made usable. Cloud solutions are in demand.
In the next 10 years, the majority of industrial value chains will be digitized and connected. To achieve this, high-speed, intelligent networks, supercomputing systems and secure IT infrastructures are required.
By implementing IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6), companies such as Deutsche Telekom have created the conditions that allow us to give virtually any object in the world an Internet address. By implementing 5G, the future network of networks, we are ensuring that all these objects can be interconnected through the Internet.
Digitization, Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things would simply not exist without high-tech networks, the cloud, and cyber security.
Incidentally: 70 years ago, when the first industrial trade fair was held under a different name, people spoke of a "Fischbrötchenmesse," referring to the typical North German snack, a bun filled with different kinds of fish, offered there (German only). Of course, visitors will certainly get fish buns on the trade fair grounds this year too. Apart from that, however, nothing else on the Platform for Digitization will be as it once was at Hannover Messe Industrie.