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Small Businesses In SA Critical To The 4th Industrial Revolution

The discussion, hosted collaboratively by Siemens and CNBC Africa, exploredeffects industry 4.0 would have on the country. Delegates from business andgovernment heard that shying away from connectivity and artificial intelligence wasnot the answer. Yes, the robots are rising but they will never replace humans.
Industry 4.0 is drastically changing the work landscape, how we live and how we dothings but with the involvement of academic institutions, government, privateinstitutions and the South African society, we can ensure that this digital revolutionwill only impact the country positively.
"There is no place to hide from connectivity. South Africa cannot step aside and notparticipate. We need to actively participate and shape South African industries to bemore competitive in the global market," said Dall'Omo.
"This revolution is not only for big fishes. We want to help smaller companies getinvolved and apply technologies in their businesses. This will contribute to astronger GDP."
Delegates heard that this revolution was not triggered by profitability. It is not aninvention but a set of paradigms because of a technology revolution. One of themajor impacts industry 4.0 will have on the country remains its effects on thecountry's workforce and industry. But this technological revolution means some jobsof today will not be in existence in the near future and a completely new set of jobswill emerge. This means that there are possibilities to gain new skills so as to fulfilthese exciting new roles.
"People need basic computer skills in this revolution. Africa must not lose out. Bymoving forward, there will be certain jobs that will be lost forever, but new onescreated too."Dr Visser emphasized that South Africa needed to embrace innovationand become "people-centric".
"The 4th industrial revolution is not an American strategy. It's happening because technology is evolving and everybody must be included…One thing robots cannot be is human." said Visser.
He said we were likely to see small businesses become critical in this revolution, particularly in the manufacturing sector.
"Our young people are born into an era of technology. They understand it and know it; they up skill themselves purely by access to information. So access to information will revolutionise education and small businesses must be able to access these technologies."
Delegates heard that people were scared of automation, artificial intelligence and the revolution had the potential to widen the gap between income groups."Automation and artificial intelligence is scary but we are not looking at replacing jobs. We need to augment jobs. This revolution is more about convergence and collaboration," he said.
For this to work, relevant individuals from government, business and societal groups needed to be sitting at the same table at the same time.
Jarana, meanwhile, said skills for this revolution were critical so that no one is left behind. He said poor children needed access to the same digital education as rich children, and that pragmatic action was required from government to move forward.
This revolution, he added, would likely challenge international trade agreements, and an advisory council dealing with different parts of the economy, may be established.
This revolution is underway and South Africa needs to embrace mobile connectivity, artificial intelligence, big data and the Internet of Things (IoT), which will make use of machines that will optimize the processing of goods, making manufacturing more efficient. The production and delivery of quality goods and services will become much faster and cost effective, and therefore requires an enabling environment.

For this press release

Siemens AG (Berlin and Munich) is a global technology powerhouse that has stood for engineering excellence, innovation, quality, reliability and internationality for more than 170 years. The company is active around the globe, focusing on the areas of electrification, automation and digitalization. One of the largest producers of energy-efficient, resource-saving technologies, Siemens is a leading supplier of efficient power generation and power transmission solutions and a pioneer in infrastructure solutions as well as automation, drive and software solutions for industry. With its publicly listed subsidiary Siemens Healthineers AG, the company is also a leading provider of medical imaging equipment – such as computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging systems – and a leader in laboratory diagnostics as well as clinical IT. In fiscal 2018, which ended on September 30, 2018, Siemens generated revenue of €83.0 billion and net income of €6.1 billion. At the end of September 2018, the company had around 379,000 employees worldwide. Further information is available on the Internet at www.siemens.com .
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Contact

Mr. Keshin Govender

Siemens ZA

300 Janadel Avenue, Halfway House
Johannesburg
South Africa

+27 (71) 492-3789