Manufacturing Experience is a physical place but it is above all a crossroads of ideas, education, projects, technologies and passions. It was created as part of Ambizione Italia, an initiative of Microsoft Italy to support school and business training in IT. Manufacturing Experience is thus a “pathway,” hosted within the Microsoft Technology Center, where Microsoft Partners, companies and professionals who work but, more importantly, live Industry 4.0 and the innovations born from the application of Artificial Intelligence can meet.
“When we consider that Italy is the second largest manufacturing in Europe and that AI is capable of accelerating growth with a 1 percent annual increase in GDP, the strategic value of investing in this perspective is clear, and the importance of making ecosystem to accompany companies on this innovation path is equally clear.” Speaking is Andrea Cardillo, director of the Microsoft Technology Center .
Manufacturing: our sector of excellence in the world
Manufacturing is a sector that employs about 4 million people in Italy, the seventh largest in the world and second largest in Europe (data Italian Industry Report 2019 by Confindustria). It becomes important for training and consulting companies to know how to accompany businesses in the knowledge and use of technologies.
The one proposed by Microsoft is an immersive, interactive and customizable experience that allows IT professionals and top managers to approach concrete applications of innovation with demos.
The closer the link between research, industry and education, the more new skills and professionalism will be created. According to when Microsoft states, “By 2020, Italy will need more than 100,000 new positions with a technical profile while half of the existing workforce will need to develop or improve their digital skills.”
Just as in the game of bricks, Microsoft platforms form the foundation on which partners build their vertical solutions.
Planning with the various stages of development of the solutions offered by Microsoft and Industry Partners.
A solid foundation is needed to build the future
The Manufacturing Experience will be one of the pillars of Microsoft’s Digital Transformation project, which requires, not only new business models, but also new educational scenarios. Only in this way will it be possible to include IoT, Analytics, Machine Learning and Cognitive Services in companies.
Inside the Microsoft Technology Center you can discover how Microsoft platforms form the foundation, or rather, the backbone, of those vertical solutions developed by the many partners. During the meetings a more “theoretical” first part is followed by a more direct relationship with robots, mixed reality and AI. It is also possible to take training to learn how to maintain a machine while wearing HoloLens. The possibilities for integration seem truly endless.
The number of Partners actively contributing to the pathway is growing rapidly. Applications and tools that can be interacted with in the Manufacturing Experience currently include ABB, Accenture, Cluster Reply, Comau, Filippetti Group, KUKA, NEC DISPLAY SOLUTIONS, OverIT, Rancilio, ROLD, Teorema, and ToolsGroup.
