ABB Innovation BootcampÂ
Startups, SMEs, professionals and experts from service design and digital strategy worked together with ABB to propose new solutions for Industry 4.0.
BERGAMO, ITALY, MAY 2019 – As a pioneering technology leader committed to driving the future of industry, ABB hosted an Innovation Bootcamp, which brought together multidisciplinary experts and their technologies in the development of innovative solutions for Industry 4.0.
The approach was to co-design the next generation solutions for ABB Abilityâ„¢ Electrical Distribution Control System (EDCS), the innovative cloud-based platform to monitor, optimize and manage electrical systems.
The project is part of a global initiative involving international startups. Thanks to the program, ABB Abilityâ„¢ EDCS will become an open platform, meaning an environment where participants can work along with ABB to add new features, leveraging and selling them through ABB Ability Marketplaceâ„¢.
In Italy the ABB Innovation bootcamp started at the end of 2018 and saw the active participation of startups, SMEs and teams from ABB. 160 companies joined the initiative and four were selected to develop proposals which were presented during the Innovation Bootcamp.
Alleantia, Arbitryum, Enerbrain and The Energy Audit were the innovative startups and SMEs that stood out for their business model and best proposals, and were therefore selected to work alongside company experts, professionals and managers on the ABB Abilityâ„¢ EDCS.
“The Innovation Bootcamp was a pioneering co-design operation in the field of digital transformation, which is an area of interest for ABB. By bringing together parties of excellence in this multidisciplinary project, ABB has been able to nurture unique synergistic relationships that will bring more human-centered solutions to market,” declared Gabriele Morosini, Lead Business Manager ABB Electrification Italy.
ABB’s Innovation Bootcamp was developed along with Twig (Project advisor), the strategic consultancy that supports the digital transformation of ABB Electrification; Digital magics, the most important, “Made in Italy”, digital startup incubator, Politecnico di Milano, with the “Scuola del Designâ€, which ranks first place in Italy and sixth place in the world according to the ‘QS World University Rankings by Subject’ and Master for Digital Strategy managed by POLI.design.
“We opened our doors to externals, leveraging the cooperation with ABB to develop new skills and features. After this exciting journey, we are ready to work with the chosen startups and to put into practice the proposals evaluated during the Innovation Bootcamp.†concluded Giampiero Frisio, head of ABB’s Smart Power business line.
EXTERNAL QUOTES FOR USE IF REQUESTED BY MEDIA
Marco Ronchi, CEO of Twig, highlighted the digital journey: “With the Innovation Bootcamp, we continue our journey with ABB towards the optimization of processes and the creation of new business strategies for the industrial sector, with people at its center. Bringing together Service Design and Digital Strategy with a data-based approach has enabled new internal competencies for the company and a greater knowledge of the real market opportunities for young designers at Politecnico di Milano.”
“Meetings like the ABB Innovation Bootcamp provide a concrete example of the value of open collaboration to both startups and SMEs, as well as established companies such as ABB. The digital neo-corporates, which we selected, have shown their value in enriching the innovation process for ABB,” declared Layla Pavone, Chief Innovation Marketing and Communication Officer of Digital Magics.
“The level of innovation is enhanced through collaborations with institutions of excellence, such as the School of Design at Politecnico di Milano. The results of the Innovation Bootcamp benefit from inputs made through the mix of research and experimentation with avant-garde techniques in Service Design and Digital Strategy,” said Marisa Galbiati, Full Professor and Vicar Director of the Design Department of Politecnico di Milano.
“When a leader company as ABB meets a startup, a compelling cooperation can come true. We come back home from the Innovation Bootcamp with a starting date, an ABB tutor and a clear roadmap to transform an open Innovation project into a new service. We therefore thank ABB for the great opportunity and the partners (Digital Magics, Twig and Politecnico di Milano) for their pragmatism, which has reduced the standard process for a potential time-to-market by at least 6 months. “, says Giacomo Putignano, CEO & Co-founder of Arbitryum, one of the selected startup working in the Price Comparison Websites Sector (PCWs).
Enerbrain aims to revolutionise the market of non-residential Building Energy Management System (BEMS) thanks to its ground-breaking IoT innovation. “Efficiency, comfort, control, Simplicity: these four key words identify the contact points between Enerbrain and ABB. I believe that the interaction between our technology and EDCS can bring interesting opportunities to develop innovative services for the world of industry but also for other sectors such as retail and hospitality. With notable prospects for projects related to smart cities. “, says Giuseppe Giordano, CEO and co-founder.
“Participating in this initiative has been a wonderful experience. We managed to design a new commercial offer for ABB in terms of depth, accuracy and transparency. Thanks to ABB and partners for their fundamental contribution in structuring this co-creation process, “says Stefano Linari, Founder and CEO of Alleantia, leading company in the integration between IT (Information Technology) and OT (Internet of Things), enabling all Industry 4.0 applications.
“The Innovation Bootcamp was an excellent opportunity to better develop our value proposition and realize it in a clear and implementable proposal, starting from the ideas born last December. Thanks to the support of Twig, Digital Magics and Politecnico di Milano, we have managed to deepen aspects of marketing and communication through specific tools like the user journey. We hope that the experience will lead to a collaboration, we are sure that this enrich the skills of both teams. “, declares Eleonora Carta, CEO of The Energy Audit, the startup reference point for all professionals involved in energy efficiency.
