7 Industry 4.0 Myths Debunked

For those who have not yet assimilated the term "Industry 4.0", it's the short form of "the fourth industrial revolution". This in itself may still be baffling, but it refers to the technological movement of our industries from the first mechanisation to today's smart factories. Said to have originated in Germany, Industry 4.0 was a strategy designed to incorporate new digital technologies into the industrial arena.

Over a decade later, it's evident that the world has been slow to adopt this strategy wholesale. A 2018 study by Deloitte found that approximately 80% of respondents were still not ready or prepared to address the new challenges - and the following years brought COVID-19. Apart from this disruption, there are several reasons why the transformation of the industrial landscape has been sluggish, and many of these have developed into myths about Industry 4.0. These myths can be summarised under the following headings:

1. Industry 4.0 is for large companies
2. Digitalisation is prohibitively expensive
3. Implementing Industry 4.0 tech requires a complete overhaul of systems
4. Cutting-edge hardware is required
5. Profits will decline with the adoption of Industry 4.0
6. Industry 4.0 will cause mass unemployment
7. Smart factories are insecure

Let's look at these one by one.