1.
WE ARE GOING THROUGH A SIGNIFICANT PERIOD OF ACCELERATING DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION, FORCING COMPANIES AND ORGANIZATIONS TO BE EVER MORE READY TO SPEED UP TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE: JUST HOW IMPORTANT IS RESEARCH THESE DAYS, WHEN EXPLORING NEW TECHNOLOGICAL FRONTIERS IS NO LONGER AN OPTION BUT A NECESSARY AND UNAVOIDABLE WAY FORWARD?
Implementing Digital Transformation processes means, among other things, clearly understanding how Research can provide technological tools and solutions that allow us to rethink organizational and production models in a new light, where the flexibility of business processes is paramount to making the most of the opportunities arising and to staying competitive in constantly evolving scenarios.
The primary value of Research, in this context, consists in providing tools and solutions that make it possible to anticipate and better manage changes in processes, thanks to the possibility of experiencing their effects and, consequently, reducing the risks.
To get the full benefit of this, organizations must be capable of examining how new technology trends intersect, as well as new ways to manage technology and technological functions. This capability becomes ever more important when looking at how companies prepare to tackle emerging technologies that are already on the horizon, though still far from the market, such as exponential intelligence and quantum.
Research projects and initiatives thus become genuine "digital change laboratories" that, it is to be hoped, will lead to a process of continuous transformation of production processes which, conceptually, I would define as "digital evolution".
Implementing Digital Transformation processes means, among other things, clearly understanding how Research can provide technological tools and solutions that allow us to rethink organizational and production models in a new light, where the flexibility of business processes is paramount to making the most of the opportunities arising and to staying competitive in constantly evolving scenarios.
The primary value of Research, in this context, consists in providing tools and solutions that make it possible to anticipate and better manage changes in processes, thanks to the possibility of experiencing their effects and, consequently, reducing the risks.
To get the full benefit of this, organizations must be capable of examining how new technology trends intersect, as well as new ways to manage technology and technological functions. This capability becomes ever more important when looking at how companies prepare to tackle emerging technologies that are already on the horizon, though still far from the market, such as exponential intelligence and quantum.
Research projects and initiatives thus become genuine "digital change laboratories" that, it is to be hoped, will lead to a process of continuous transformation of production processes which, conceptually, I would define as "digital evolution".
2.
OVER THE LAST YEAR, THE PANDEMIC HAS CONSIDERABLY MODIFIED ALL THE PRIORITIES OF COMPANIES AND ORGANIZATIONS: HOW IMPORTANT HAS RESEARCH BEEN IN THE FIGHT AGAINST COVID?
The Covid-19 epidemic, for many companies, has highlighted the need to improve their ability to react and be flexible in responding to sudden and unforeseen changes resulting from the effects of the current health emergency.
In other words, the pandemic has been a force that has caused many organizations to accelerate their digital transformation, showing how effective digitization is essential to remaining competitive and fostering recovery.
The pandemic experience, in fact, has demonstrated that it is not possible to explicitly model all conditions a priori and "programme" appropriate responses, especially in the case of unforeseen events. Being adequately prepared to react quickly to events means, more and more, being capable of exploiting information from different sources, even outside one's own organization, and from various competitive contexts and multiple industrial sectors.
In this context, although the results obtained in recent years by Research have produced various technologies and skills that offer organizations concrete tools to manage complex data value chains, the recent Covid-19 emergency highlighted the need for further improvements in these capabilities. In particular, concepts such as the interoperability of data and services, common data spaces and increasingly flexible and open digital platforms have become fundamental to ensuring that these processes can be implemented and sustained and today represent the new challenges facing European Research.
The Covid-19 epidemic, for many companies, has highlighted the need to improve their ability to react and be flexible in responding to sudden and unforeseen changes resulting from the effects of the current health emergency.
In other words, the pandemic has been a force that has caused many organizations to accelerate their digital transformation, showing how effective digitization is essential to remaining competitive and fostering recovery.
The pandemic experience, in fact, has demonstrated that it is not possible to explicitly model all conditions a priori and "programme" appropriate responses, especially in the case of unforeseen events. Being adequately prepared to react quickly to events means, more and more, being capable of exploiting information from different sources, even outside one's own organization, and from various competitive contexts and multiple industrial sectors.
In this context, although the results obtained in recent years by Research have produced various technologies and skills that offer organizations concrete tools to manage complex data value chains, the recent Covid-19 emergency highlighted the need for further improvements in these capabilities. In particular, concepts such as the interoperability of data and services, common data spaces and increasingly flexible and open digital platforms have become fundamental to ensuring that these processes can be implemented and sustained and today represent the new challenges facing European Research.
3.
WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN UNDERTAKING RESEARCH AND CREATING NEW SOLUTIONS CAPABLE OF INNOVATING BUSINESS?
Innovating business, at least in relation to the specificities of a company like ours, means being able to come up with digital solutions and technologies in line with market needs and emerging trends. In this context, Research undoubtedly plays a fundamental role because it enables us to anticipate, and even shape, the evolution of demand and, consequently, to direct investment towards the development of technological and application skills and solutions of greater interest and potential market impact.
In addition, research activities often call for the direct involvement of many colleagues from Business Units and the Technical Department, and this makes it possible to accelerate the development and dissemination of the skills produced and so, consequently, to reduce the time required for their benefits to take effect.
Furthermore, quite frequently, Research projects also require the involvement of end users who are entrusted with the task of verifying the reliability, sustainability and usefulness of the solutions developed. Often, the end users involved are also our Customers, so experimentation also becomes an opportunity to define shared innovation paths, providing an opportunity to develop the relationship towards a partnership model that intrinsically produces a structured innovation process applicable to that specific customer and which, as a general rule, can then also be applied to the entire market segment to which it belongs.
Innovating business, at least in relation to the specificities of a company like ours, means being able to come up with digital solutions and technologies in line with market needs and emerging trends. In this context, Research undoubtedly plays a fundamental role because it enables us to anticipate, and even shape, the evolution of demand and, consequently, to direct investment towards the development of technological and application skills and solutions of greater interest and potential market impact.
In addition, research activities often call for the direct involvement of many colleagues from Business Units and the Technical Department, and this makes it possible to accelerate the development and dissemination of the skills produced and so, consequently, to reduce the time required for their benefits to take effect.
Furthermore, quite frequently, Research projects also require the involvement of end users who are entrusted with the task of verifying the reliability, sustainability and usefulness of the solutions developed. Often, the end users involved are also our Customers, so experimentation also becomes an opportunity to define shared innovation paths, providing an opportunity to develop the relationship towards a partnership model that intrinsically produces a structured innovation process applicable to that specific customer and which, as a general rule, can then also be applied to the entire market segment to which it belongs.
4.
FOR ENGINEERING, RESEARCH HAS ALWAYS BEEN A FUNDAMENTAL PILLAR OF ITS VALUE PROPOSITION: WHAT IS OUR APPROACH AND WHAT ARE OUR OBJECTIVES?
Thanks to its team of 450 researchers and data scientists who collaborate with a network of scientific and university partners throughout Europe, Engineering has for years been one of the most active and recognized companies in research, at both national and European level
In particular, over time we have contributed substantially to the creation and development of the main European research initiatives; this has enabled us to increase our skills and to promote and/or participate in the development of digital solutions relating to all the main areas of innovation, both technological and applicative.
Thus, for us, investing in Research has always meant focusing on continuous improvement, providing the entire organization with the tools to support and increase its competitive capacity, in order to respond adequately to the needs of a market in continuous and rapid evolution.
To do this, particular attention must be paid to the technological transfer of the solutions and skills produced. In other words, experimentation, innovation management and the offering are the three main objectives on which our Research and Development is based. This allows us to define a virtuous cycle, able to pick up new methodologies and technologies well in advance, to relate them to our Customers' business processes and thereby add value by following them all the way through their modernization and "digital transformation".
Thanks to its team of 450 researchers and data scientists who collaborate with a network of scientific and university partners throughout Europe, Engineering has for years been one of the most active and recognized companies in research, at both national and European level
In particular, over time we have contributed substantially to the creation and development of the main European research initiatives; this has enabled us to increase our skills and to promote and/or participate in the development of digital solutions relating to all the main areas of innovation, both technological and applicative.
Thus, for us, investing in Research has always meant focusing on continuous improvement, providing the entire organization with the tools to support and increase its competitive capacity, in order to respond adequately to the needs of a market in continuous and rapid evolution.
To do this, particular attention must be paid to the technological transfer of the solutions and skills produced. In other words, experimentation, innovation management and the offering are the three main objectives on which our Research and Development is based. This allows us to define a virtuous cycle, able to pick up new methodologies and technologies well in advance, to relate them to our Customers' business processes and thereby add value by following them all the way through their modernization and "digital transformation".
5.
WE ARE WITNESSING (AND COVID-19 HAS ACCELERATED ITS IMPLEMENTATION) A LIQUEFACTION OF SILOS AND AN OVERCOMING OF THE BARRIERS BETWEEN ONE MARKET AND ANOTHER: HOW CAN RESEARCH HELP COMPANIES AND ORGANIZATIONS CREATE NEW DIGITAL ECOSYSTEMS?
In recent years, we have seen a growing awareness of the need to rethink social and productive processes and functioning models.
The role of Research and Development can be summed up as the possibility/opportunity to monitor the most promising technologies, collaborate with the "best" innovation ecosystems, inclusive and non-competitive, and make available laboratories of ideas capable of generating continuous innovation throughout the company. On the other hand, in order to fully complete corporate innovation processes, it is essential to have the capacity to overcome the limits of organizational models structured in relation to business domains and to introduce transversal innovation processes.
In February 2020, the European Commission published the European Strategy for Data. This Communication defines the strategic guidelines to allow the exchange and sharing of data, between different industrial sectors, in an efficient and safe manner. This is a decisive challenge for European competitiveness, and it involves the concept of data spaces, real interconnected digital ecosystems resulting from a greater availability of data, digital platforms and an enabling cloud infrastructure, capable of enabling an effective response to all the new challenges of the data economy.
As it addresses this challenge, however, Europe is not starting from scratch. Sharing and exchange of data within specific domains and sectors is already happening in the context of various initiatives. Worthy of note amongst these are IDSA, which aims to define a standard for the creation of a secure data space, and GAIA-X which, for its part, seeks to create a European federated data infrastructure onto which to convey services based on these data and independent of physical infrastructure. Both, therefore, contribute to strengthening the ability to access and share data in a secure and reliable way for all companies of all sectors and sizes.
Since their creation, these initiatives have aroused a lot of interest, thanks to their ability to generate new opportunities, as they allow different stakeholders to join forces and, by exploiting existing resources, accelerate the implementation of market solutions.
As part of these initiatives, in which we actively participate also with a view to strengthening national positioning, we have promoted several research projects which, in addition to contributing to the creation of core technological components, will allow the development of new services based on the secure sharing of data in different production ecosystems, thus helping to demonstrate the advantages, in terms of competitiveness and efficiency, deriving from the opportunity to contribute and participate in the development of data spaces.
However, increases in efficiency and productivity also present major challenges - companies must lose no time in finding and retaining skilled talent to meet their emerging needs. Our Research and Development, therefore, represents the best compromise to attract talented people, contribute to the main innovative initiatives, and transfer these solutions to our customers and the market.
In recent years, we have seen a growing awareness of the need to rethink social and productive processes and functioning models.
The role of Research and Development can be summed up as the possibility/opportunity to monitor the most promising technologies, collaborate with the "best" innovation ecosystems, inclusive and non-competitive, and make available laboratories of ideas capable of generating continuous innovation throughout the company. On the other hand, in order to fully complete corporate innovation processes, it is essential to have the capacity to overcome the limits of organizational models structured in relation to business domains and to introduce transversal innovation processes.
In February 2020, the European Commission published the European Strategy for Data. This Communication defines the strategic guidelines to allow the exchange and sharing of data, between different industrial sectors, in an efficient and safe manner. This is a decisive challenge for European competitiveness, and it involves the concept of data spaces, real interconnected digital ecosystems resulting from a greater availability of data, digital platforms and an enabling cloud infrastructure, capable of enabling an effective response to all the new challenges of the data economy.
As it addresses this challenge, however, Europe is not starting from scratch. Sharing and exchange of data within specific domains and sectors is already happening in the context of various initiatives. Worthy of note amongst these are IDSA, which aims to define a standard for the creation of a secure data space, and GAIA-X which, for its part, seeks to create a European federated data infrastructure onto which to convey services based on these data and independent of physical infrastructure. Both, therefore, contribute to strengthening the ability to access and share data in a secure and reliable way for all companies of all sectors and sizes.
Since their creation, these initiatives have aroused a lot of interest, thanks to their ability to generate new opportunities, as they allow different stakeholders to join forces and, by exploiting existing resources, accelerate the implementation of market solutions.
As part of these initiatives, in which we actively participate also with a view to strengthening national positioning, we have promoted several research projects which, in addition to contributing to the creation of core technological components, will allow the development of new services based on the secure sharing of data in different production ecosystems, thus helping to demonstrate the advantages, in terms of competitiveness and efficiency, deriving from the opportunity to contribute and participate in the development of data spaces.
However, increases in efficiency and productivity also present major challenges - companies must lose no time in finding and retaining skilled talent to meet their emerging needs. Our Research and Development, therefore, represents the best compromise to attract talented people, contribute to the main innovative initiatives, and transfer these solutions to our customers and the market.
Dario Avallone
Dario has spent over 33 years working in Engineering’s R&D department, 20 of these as its Director.
His mission has always been to further develop research whilst driving innovation into the Business.
He has held significant international positions in relevant European and National research and innovation Associations and initiatives, actively contributing to the research development of emerging ICT opportunities and trends.
His mission has always been to further develop research whilst driving innovation into the Business.
He has held significant international positions in relevant European and National research and innovation Associations and initiatives, actively contributing to the research development of emerging ICT opportunities and trends.
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marketing@eng.it
Tel. (+39) 06-87591