WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.120 --> 00:00:02.720
(gentle music)

2
00:00:08.560 --> 00:00:11.440
- I'm here at Siemens
headquarters in Munich, Germany,

3
00:00:11.440 --> 00:00:14.920
to meet Rainer Brehm, COO
of its automation business

4
00:00:14.920 --> 00:00:17.160
and CTO of Digital Industries.

5
00:00:17.160 --> 00:00:19.840
We're going to talk about
the profound transformation

6
00:00:19.840 --> 00:00:22.200
that is taking place at Siemens today.

7
00:00:22.200 --> 00:00:24.360
With the ambition to become
a "one tech" company,

8
00:00:24.360 --> 00:00:26.360
Siemens has made a powerful statement

9
00:00:26.360 --> 00:00:29.040
to shape the future of
industrial automation.

10
00:00:30.080 --> 00:00:31.400
- Hey Max, welcome to Siemens.

11
00:00:31.400 --> 00:00:32.240
- Good to meet you, Rainer.

12
00:00:32.240 --> 00:00:34.240
- Good to meet you. Let's go inside.

13
00:00:34.240 --> 00:00:37.160
(upbeat music)

14
00:00:37.160 --> 00:00:39.720
- Industrial automation
is entering a new phase.

15
00:00:39.720 --> 00:00:42.840
AI is no longer just optimizing processes,

16
00:00:42.840 --> 00:00:44.360
it's starting to reshape

17
00:00:44.360 --> 00:00:46.480
how factories are engineered and operated.

18
00:00:46.480 --> 00:00:49.200
So for you, what is truly different

19
00:00:49.200 --> 00:00:51.440
that makes this moment special?

20
00:00:51.440 --> 00:00:53.280
- Well, AI is nothing new, as you said,

21
00:00:53.280 --> 00:00:55.120
but I think we are really now in the front

22
00:00:55.120 --> 00:00:58.440
of a next kind of super cycle
around autonomous systems,

23
00:00:58.440 --> 00:00:59.560
for example.

24
00:00:59.560 --> 00:01:02.520
Generative AI, agentic AI is there.

25
00:01:02.520 --> 00:01:04.600
On the other side, it moves
from the digital world

26
00:01:04.600 --> 00:01:07.760
into the real world, which
is exciting for factories.

27
00:01:09.760 --> 00:01:13.560
- Now, that combination of
physical and digital worlds,

28
00:01:13.560 --> 00:01:16.840
you also sometimes coin
that “automate automation.”

29
00:01:16.840 --> 00:01:18.120
What does it actually mean for you,

30
00:01:18.120 --> 00:01:19.800
and also for your customers?

31
00:01:19.800 --> 00:01:24.640
- Well, in the past, you manually
programmed your automation.

32
00:01:24.640 --> 00:01:26.920
Can you now automate
the programming,

33
00:01:26.920 --> 00:01:30.160
or can you automate the
entire workflow for automation?

34
00:01:30.160 --> 00:01:32.920
To enable that, you need
technologies like AI,

35
00:01:32.920 --> 00:01:34.200
generative AI agents,

36
00:01:34.200 --> 00:01:36.800
but also topics like software automation,

37
00:01:36.800 --> 00:01:39.960
where you're very flexible of
changing automation systems,

38
00:01:39.960 --> 00:01:42.360
or the aspects around digital twins.

39
00:01:42.360 --> 00:01:44.760
But you also need the connected,

40
00:01:44.760 --> 00:01:46.680
physical automation hardware.

41
00:01:48.120 --> 00:01:50.360
- But then what are the biggest barriers

42
00:01:50.360 --> 00:01:54.240
to getting real operational
impact from AI now?

43
00:01:54.240 --> 00:01:56.080
- Well, in a factory, things need to run.

44
00:01:56.080 --> 00:02:00.560
That's the highest and most
important topic. So, reliability.

45
00:02:00.560 --> 00:02:02.880
Secondly, you don't do it just for fun.

46
00:02:02.880 --> 00:02:04.360
You need to be a return of investment.

47
00:02:04.360 --> 00:02:06.320
You could automate today already more,

48
00:02:06.320 --> 00:02:08.880
but if there's no return of
investment, you don't automate.

49
00:02:08.880 --> 00:02:12.200
So how we really get
those technologies down,

50
00:02:12.200 --> 00:02:16.080
that you get the return, you
can scale it to a good cost.

51
00:02:16.080 --> 00:02:19.560
Third point is, it needs
to be maintainable.

52
00:02:19.560 --> 00:02:22.120
It needs to be easy of
use, and not by experts,

53
00:02:22.120 --> 00:02:24.840
but by the people running the factory.

54
00:02:24.840 --> 00:02:26.880
- But now, for your customers,

55
00:02:26.880 --> 00:02:28.800
where should they actually get started?

56
00:02:28.800 --> 00:02:30.280
- Well start where the
biggest pain point is,

57
00:02:30.280 --> 00:02:33.440
where you have the biggest return
of investment, and start there.

58
00:02:33.440 --> 00:02:36.040
Number two, get your data straight,

59
00:02:36.040 --> 00:02:39.080
because that is anyway something
you need for the future:

60
00:02:39.080 --> 00:02:40.920
how you get your data ready for AI.

61
00:02:42.000 --> 00:02:43.560
- There's more and more co-innovation

62
00:02:43.560 --> 00:02:46.800
between industrial players,
software, and AI leaders.

63
00:02:46.800 --> 00:02:50.200
What role does Siemens want
to play in this ecosystem?

64
00:02:50.200 --> 00:02:53.360
- It's supporting an
ecosystem with components,

65
00:02:53.360 --> 00:02:56.680
being a builder, but also
maybe by orchestrator.

66
00:02:56.680 --> 00:03:00.960
And I think they need to play
a role as leader in industry,

67
00:03:00.960 --> 00:03:03.280
on the software side,
as on automation side,

68
00:03:03.280 --> 00:03:05.080
to also shape the market.

69
00:03:05.080 --> 00:03:07.600
And there, working with partners
like BCG is very important

70
00:03:07.600 --> 00:03:10.440
to also scale it into operations.

71
00:03:11.440 --> 00:03:13.920
- With all the hype on
everything around AI,

72
00:03:13.920 --> 00:03:16.240
but also the uncertainty among customers,

73
00:03:16.240 --> 00:03:19.720
what for you defines
industrial leadership then?

74
00:03:19.720 --> 00:03:22.680
- Bring it down to what really matters.

75
00:03:22.680 --> 00:03:23.880
So, where to start?

76
00:03:23.880 --> 00:03:27.240
What are really the topics
you need to invest in?

77
00:03:27.240 --> 00:03:29.880
Guiding the market, maybe via association,

78
00:03:29.880 --> 00:03:31.040
what are the major topics?

79
00:03:31.040 --> 00:03:33.000
Because at the end you
need to play all together.

80
00:03:33.000 --> 00:03:35.280
Not only Siemens; it's an ecosystem.

81
00:03:35.280 --> 00:03:36.120
And number two,

82
00:03:36.120 --> 00:03:38.640
Siemens is transforming
to a one tech company.

83
00:03:38.640 --> 00:03:41.280
That means also leadership
internally, but also,

84
00:03:41.280 --> 00:03:45.120
how we are empowering our
people to use new technology,

85
00:03:45.120 --> 00:03:48.200
how we can take away the fear
that something goes wrong.

86
00:03:50.040 --> 00:03:52.320
- Great points. Thanks for
your perspective, Rainer.

87
00:03:52.320 --> 00:03:54.240
And I'm wishing you best of success

88
00:03:54.240 --> 00:03:57.040
in shaping the future of
industrial automation.

89
00:03:57.040 --> 00:03:58.280
- Thank you, Max.

90
00:03:58.280 --> 00:04:00.040
(bright music)