At the FIWARE Tech Summit in Malaga, Spain last November, we had the pleasure to talk to Fernando Valdés, who is the Deputy Director of Industry Digitization and Collaborative Environments at the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Economy and Competitiveness. In turn, Mr. Valdés is also responsible for the coordination of the national strategy of the Industria Conectada 4.0 (Connected Industry 4.0) initiative, which co-hosted its first Summit with IDSA at the FIWARE Tech Summit. He spoke to us about digitization and how the FIWARE Foundation has become a strategic partner for several Public Administrations that are moving forward, empowering people, companies, and institutions towards a Digital Economy.
Mr. Valdés stated that the main focus is on “how industry has to perform in [the] digital transformation”, adding that what they “want is [for] our companies […] from the industrial sector to digitize and to perform this digital transformation in order to gain competitiveness”. To achieve this, Industry needs a boost. Their strategy is therefore based on two main concepts. Mr. Valdés stated they want “to support the industrial firms along this digital transformation”. Secondly, “full support will be given to all digital dimensions”.
With regards to their collaboration with FIWARE, he stated that “standardization is a key pillar of [the] digital transformation process. If we want our Spanish companies to move towards this digital future we need to give them proper standards […] regarding Industry 4.0”. Mr. Valdés went on to say that he believes that FIWARE, and all the work it is doing to develop tools and standards, is going to benefit that process.
Another issue he touched upon is the importance of creating collaborative environments. He suggested that “digitization is a process that can only be achieved through cooperation”. It is therefore important that IT and industrial companies, technological centers, and public and private organizations, such as the FIWARE Foundation, work together in order to develop digital enablers and to enable interoperability. The network of FIWARE iHubs can hereby also offer its support in terms of enhancing digital innovation hubs. Mr. Valdés stated that by supporting the creation of innovation hubs, the Spanish Ministry hopes to increase not only the knowledge of SMEs but also their capabilities and access to technology.
To watch all the video-pills from the FIWARE Tech Summit, please visit the FIWARE Youtube Page.