Navigating the Technology Maze with Data-driven Transformation
Digital has touched every industry in myriad different ways and separated leaders from laggards. The leaders are the early movers and organizations that embraced digital and harnessed more significant business outcomes. Like many other industries, the automotive industry is at the threshold of a significant data-driven digital transformation.
A confluence of technologies is altering the very personality of the industry as they move toward connected vehicles and embrace big data and analytics to foster unique customer experiences.
According to experts, the changes are primarily due to the digital revolution brought about by a perfect storm of technological influences such as big data and analytics, cloud computing, and the socialization of business through mobile devices.
Technology providers like IBM believe that automotive companies are sitting on a treasure trove of data generated by their businesses, products and services, customers, and other external sources.
The potential uses of this data are tremendous – from significantly improving industry and company practices to personalising consumers' in-vehicle experiences to creating new mobility options.
However, that potential often needs to be tapped because the tools to extract the insights residing within the data must be utilised for tangible outcomes. Data is the new fuel powering modern cars, and networks are the pipelines.
Globally connected car sales overtook non-connected cars for the first time in 2022. The market is expected to grow at a CAGR of nearly 17 per cent, with the number of connected vehicles in service projected to reach 367 million globally by 2027. That will add up to atremendous amount of data.
With innovation at scale happening in the automotive industry, it is no wonder major car manufacturers are investing in technologies that can drive efficiencies and greater market share.
With innovation at scale happening in the automotive industry, it is no wonder major car manufacturers are investing in technologies that can drive efficiencies and greater market share. In the latest Masterstrokes edition by BUSINESSWORLD in collaboration with IBM India,
We had the opportunity to interact with Rajesh Uppal, Member, Executive Board (HR, IT, Safety &DE), Maruti Suzuki India.
TECHNOLOGY AT THE FULCRUM
The company has pushed the envelope in automotive manufacturing by being consistently relevant to the constantly evolving customer personas by going beyond the traditional boundaries of car-making.
Setting the tone and context, Rajesh says, "The automotive industry is going through a major transformation right now. The consumer mindset is rapidly changing as new trends like hybrid-to-connected cars are quickly catching up in India."
All these transformations are auguring well for the automotive industry and putting it on a growth trajectory, and these tech disruptions are reshaping the future of mobility.
Reflecting on this, Geeta Gurnani, CTO and Technical Sales Leader, IBM Technology, India & South Asia, IBM says, "When it comes to the automotive industry, there are two big areas of transformation. One is driven by Industry 4.0, which emphasises smart manufacturing. The second area, which is more consumer-centric, is the connected services."
BEING RELEVANT
Today, we are in the midst of a rapid change where every organisation, irrespective of the industry, is becoming a technology organisation. So how is Maruti Suzuki looking at these tech disruptions, and what matters most?
Says Rajesh, "For me, Automation has become a hygiene factor, and we have a highly connected digital ecosystem tuned at manifesting data for more significant business insights. We have created a separate organisation for running digital in the company.
Organisations like Maruti Suzuki are also integrating digital for greater core operational efficiencies.
Says Rajesh, "Our focus on digital is multifold, and foremost is to ensure that you get a single source of truth from data spread across the organisation, cutting multiple locations and also ensure that we can work in real-time on defects and achieve greater personalisation."
As connected cars driven by technology accelerate, it also brings data privacy and security challenges. However, organisations can harness innovation and translate challenges into opportunities by forging strategic technology partnerships to help them act with a digital core well-tuned to the future.
Says Geeta, “The pervasive adoption of Smart Manufacturing and automation by automotive industries also brings challenges in terms of security, not just for the IT organisation, but at the manufacturing plant level- what we call ‘Operational Technologies (OT).’ We need a completely differentiated strategy to address security challenges in OT, and that’s precisely the reason we see OT converging with IT, for a cohesive cyber security ecosystem that helps manage risks from the ground up, not just for IT systems."
BREAKING THE INNOVATION BARRIER
If data is the new oil, innovation is a journey. Says Geeta, “Last year, IBM and Bharti Airtel announced their intent to work together to deploy Airtel's edge computing platform in India, which will include 120 network data centers across 20 cities.” This will make it significantly easier for companies to process workloads where their data resides.
Maruti Suzuki in India intends to use the edge platform to increase accuracy and efficiency for quality inspections on the factory floor. By deploying this platform, the company expects to boost quality control and ensure their data remains protected at the edge.
THE ROAD AHEAD
The automotive industry is at an inflection point. Organisations like IBM believe the industry has operated on one business model- design, produce, sell, and service vehicles. But radical change will alter the very dynamics of this industry moving ahead. A study by IBM on Automotive 2030: Racing toward a digital future revealed important insights into the future direction of the automotive industry.
The study gleaned data from the 'Automotive 2030 Consumer Survey 'with 11,566 consumer respondents, and the ‘Automotive 2030 Executive Survey’ with 1,500 automotive executive respondents was conducted by the IBM Institute for Business Value (IBV).
The study revealed that 50 per cent of surveyed automotive executives say that they need to reinvent their organisations with digital technologies to succeed or even survive. And 42 per cent have a high sense of urgency. Even something as sacred as the vehicle brand could lose importance in the mobility-as-a-service world—unless the digital experience earns consumer loyalty.
Given this backdrop, organisations like Maruti Suzuki are making impressive strides in the automotive space and future proofing by embracing innovation, a perpetual transformation mindset, and its ability to forge strategic collaborations with innovative technology partners.
