Industry digitization is accelerating: “The technology is ready, but its implementation is worse”
Although digitization and the use of artificial intelligence are increasingly entering the industry, companies still face implementation barriers – from competences and costs to procedures and decision-making responsibility.
In the debate “How does modern industry use digital technologies to increase operational efficiency and safety and more rationally manage energy, water and raw materials”, entrepreneurs emphasized that the key question is no longer “if”, but “how quickly” companies will be able to adapt new technologies.
The debate concerned the real level of industry digitalization in Poland and Europe – what actually blocks the implementation of new technologies and how companies deal with the transformation in practice. The conversation compared research results showing a slower than expected pace of digitization with the experiences of enterprises that are already implementing solutions based on AI, digital twins or automation of production and energy processes.
The results of the above-mentioned analyzes show a clear gap between companies’ ambitions and the real pace of digitalization. In studies covering manufacturing companies from several European countries, over 60 percent respondents believe that their digital transformation is progressing too slowly. In turn, indices measuring the level of industry digitization indicate that although the change is progressing, Europe is still lagging behind global leaders. The indicated barriers are primarily competence gaps, budget constraints, insufficient organizational preparation and bureaucracy.
The debate participants looked at this data through the prism of their own experiences, showing both market limitations and examples of implementations in various industry segments.
Dariusz Jasak, president of SEEN Technologie, emphasized that readiness for digitization must be analyzed on both sides – technology suppliers and recipients.
– This is the only way that allows you to stand out from the competition and show technological potential, which today is often a license for experience and market advantage – he said.
He also pointed out that digital solutions are increasingly becoming a condition for maintaining the security and continuity of industrial processes.
Bartłomiej Zysiński, president of Solartech, pointed out that digitization is an inevitable process and the question should no longer be about readiness, but about the pace of adaptation.
– This is another civilization revolution that is already happening – the question is not whether we are ready, but whether we will become fully dependent on it. – he said.
He emphasized that the energy and digital transformations are increasingly intertwining, and intelligent energy management is becoming a key element of the stability of systems and the competitiveness of companies.
The perspective of a large industrial organization was presented by Marek Felbur, advisor to the management board for financial operations and banking negotiations at the Polmlek Group, pointing to the scale of the technological changes carried out.
– We did not look for savings in existing solutions, we just made a leap and today we have fully automated and digital installations throughout the group – he emphasized.
He added that the impetus for the investment was both cost pressure and problems with employee availability.
In turn, Wojciech Tubek, co-founder and president of Surveily AI, pointed out that the main barrier to the implementation of artificial intelligence in industry is not the technology itself, but the decision-making processes in organizations.
– The average implementation time in a large company is from one to three years – not because of the technology, but because of the procedures and lack of readiness to take responsibility for the risk – he said.
He also said that the effects of implementations can be very specific – from improving work safety to real cases of saving lives thanks to threat detection systems.
Debate participants unanimously pointed out that digitalization is becoming a condition for maintaining competitiveness, but its pace still depends on the ability of companies to make investment decisions, data quality and organizational readiness. As the conversation showed, the mere availability of technology is not enough – it is crucial to embed it in processes and real business needs.
