"A service-based business model such as "Asset as a Service" is the competitive advantage I am building for my company's tomorrow. Anyone who doesn't focus on speed, innovation and digital business models will be at an insurmountable disadvantage in the future."
Michael Thron
The fact is, the time is ripe. Our world has been talking about servitization and asset-as-a-service models for a long time - but only for the cloud. The approaches are already being put into practice here and new usage patterns are being developed. Today, hardly anyone buys their own hardware, operates it or maps all the complexity in their company. Instead, these services, such as storage and computing power, are almost exclusively rented. Why do without significantly higher availability, service and, above all, performance, which have a considerable impact, especially during production peaks? In short: we all know these models. Now they just need to be adapted.
Transferring the benefits of cloud computing power to any kind of production output is therefore no longer a major step, but merely the essential next step.
This makes it possible for companies to sell all services that are purchased or obtained digitally in any form using precisely this principle.
However, what is now changing and above all improving is the significantly higher availability (100%). In future, a machine will no longer have to be assessed according to its usability, as any machine with any functionality can be included for specific or deviating production processes. In future, manufacturers will only have to say what they need to control and carry out this manufacturing process. Instead of talking about a machine guarantee, the future will be based on a performance or usage guarantee. To achieve this, machines that were previously procured in lengthy purchasing processes simply need to be virtualized to such an extent that they stand like a cloud computer.
"AaaS is unstoppable, just like the cloud is unstoppable! And we've learned from it that if you don't change, you'll be left behind."
Mathias Kaldenhoff
So why will there be no way around it? The complexity of production processes and their depth is constantly increasing. Theoretically, buying a new machine would therefore also increase the complexity compared to the old production technology and therefore also the price. This increases the barriers to entry.
However, if unit costs can be billed based on actual usage, new business models can be introduced much more quickly, easily and with less risk. For this reason, the adaptation of these approaches to any type of "physics" is also necessary, as it creates the key advantage of 100% performance for producers.
