BERLIN--European politicians need to work quickly to establish a
uniform, Europe-wide digital marketplace, so as not to fall behind
other regions like the U.S., the chief executive of German
engineering group Robert Bosch GmbH said Tuesday.
"In the U.S., if a start-up starts in Silicon Valley, they can
easily scale up their solution to the U.S.," Chief Executive
Volkmar Denner said during a conference in Berlin on digital
industry and the Internet of Things. "Today in Europe, we do not
have a uniform digital market," he said.
Mr. Denner said it was essential that German industrial groups,
like Bosch, learn from U.S. Internet companies like Netflix Inc.
(NFLX). Those companies "start simple and scale up," he said.
The conference is centered around a German public-private
initiative known as "Industrie 4.0," which seeks to bring the
Internet of Things to German manufacturing and create smart
factories, which would connect machines and product components over
the Internet, allowing for full customization on the shop
floor.
The nascent Industrie 4.0 platform is meant to help German
industrial manufacturers--the backbone of the country's export
economy--keep their competitive edge against the resurgence of U.S.
industry.
Germany's foray into the industrial Internet comes as some
politicians in Berlin have voiced concern about U.S. domination.
Google currently handles 95% of all German internet searches,
according to statistics portal Statista. The U.S. has responded by
criticizing German and European efforts to rein in Google and other
players as being protectionist.
But Mr. Denner used the conference to highlight Bosch's
willingness to work with U.S. companies. He touted Bosch's
collaboration with the Industrial Internet Consortium, a non-profit
platform launched in March by U.S. industrial and tech giants,
including General Electric Co. (GE) and Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO).
The ICC works to establish global standards and best practices for
industrial applications of the Internet.
As part of the consortium's first public test-bed, Bosch worked
with Cisco and Indian information-technology company Tech Mahindra
(532755.BY) on positioning technology that allows for the digital
tracking of a cordless nut runner on the shop floor of a factory,
an example of the industrial Internet's potential to improve
manufacturing efficiency.
Even though Industrie 4.0 was designed to strengthen Germany's
industrial competitive position, Mr. Denner said the initiative was
compatible with that of the U.S.-based ICC, but that the latter was
"more pragmatic."
He said he didn't expect political resistance to German
companies collaborating with the ICC initiative. "My impression is
that [German Chancellor Angela Merkel] has charged industry […] to
be active and successful and they leave it up to us how we do it,"
Mr. Denner said.
ICC Executive Director Richard Mark Soley, who was also present
at the Berlin event, said: "Rather than talk about competition
between Germany and the U.S. and Japan, it's better to talk about
competition between Siemens, GE and Hitachi."
Regarding Google, Mr. Denner said the U.S. technology giant
could be a both partner and a competitor in efforts to digitize
German industry.
In relation to smart-car technology, Mr. Denner said Google was
an important customer for Bosch. "In smart homes, I see more of a
competitive situation," he added. Google last year acquired for
$3.2 billion Internet of Things company Nest Labs Inc., which makes
thermostats that can be remotely controlled by smartphones and
other connected devices.
Mr. Denner's comments come a day after Bosch, which makes
industrial, mobility, home and software solutions, announced plans
to acquire ProSyst Software GmbH, which produces middleware and
gateway software for smart devices.
Write to Christopher Alessi at christopher.alessi@wsj.com
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