The idea of Business Transformation towards digitization and smart systems – BITTMAS is to prepare SMEs’ processes and their managers’ and employees’ competencies to deal with the challenges of the “Internet of things” and the opportunities from technological change. Their realization requires the commitment of each enterprise to identify its individual potential and develop a roadmap for implementation.Transformation of an enterprise is not a one-off activity but a lifelong learning process. SMEs, compared to large enterprises, currently face a lack of expertise and overview with regard to emerging technologies and methods, their respective interaction as well as potentials and risks. SMEs run the risk of either waiting too long with migration towards digitization and smart systems, or pursue no holistic approach for operational improvements or determination of impacts on their business model.BITTMAS will implement an approach oriented to its users (VET trainers, staff and managers of SME), guided by self-information, self-learning via web-based trainings, self-identification of existing potential, self-assessment of the maturity grade of the SME, self-derivation of a road map and required measures as well as self-planning and implementation of the improvements. The BITTMAS release version will improve and extend the range of high quality learning offerings.BITTMAS uses a general development method with rapid prototyping, an iterative and collaborative approach characterized by short “requirement->build->test” cycles for product design, which helps to speed up delivery while staying flexible for changing requirements and maximizing value. The BITTMAS approach consists of requirements definition, analysing of existing findings, answering the question if existing findings solve the problems/challenges, defining the gap, development of solutions, tests, piloting, validation as well as fine tuning and valorisation.The intellectual BITTMAS outputs are: information library for SMEs, Digital Transformation Methodology, training and coaching modules (English), BITTMAS Solution Prototype (multilingual), validated Release Candidate, Exploitation and Valorisation Products. The certification of training modules will be defined based on a regulation for certified seminars developed by HSRT. Target groups - Indirectly all employees of SME will benefit by the expertise and skills of trainer, staff and managers within the pilot companies. Second – through participation at conferences, the auditorium and the participants of the various workshop tracks will be addressed. Third - through the free entry versions of the BITTMAS solution, all European SMEs within the defined sectors can benefit from the project.The consortium supporting the successful development of BITTMAS consists of a broad range of expert partners from five categories: Research and content developers; training organisations for adults; multipliers; Software implementer and support-network. The research, developing and training partners have extensive expertise in the defined - sectors (C) Manufacturing, (H) Transport and Storage, (J) Information and Communication and (M) Professionals Science and Technical Administration. They belong to the national key players in the topics of digitization and smart systems, more commonly "Industrie 4.0”.HSRT, FhA and SabU as the consortium’s university partners, leading institutes in their respective region, will maintain their tradition of outstanding international, practice-oriented education and professional training as well as applied research. IBK is a German software house focussing on international applied research and development of tools for all steps of the Business Excellence process. IIC provides worldwide training courses and consultancy for SMEs on Industrial Engineering systems. GAIA represents all Basque companies in the Electronics and IT sector. The Waterford Chamber is the voice of national businesses, lobbying government and other bodies to improve conditions for growth.The consortium will disseminate the project results across Europe. Beyond presence on international conferences, there will be workshops in all partner countries and for all target groups. HSRT, FhA and SCIPA are eager to disseminate and apply the results of BITTMAS in broad educational activities, from company trainings to learning factories, run together with industrial partners. Sabanci will use their academic and industrial network to disseminate the results and include them in curricula. IBK will use its Europe-wide distribution network for dissemination. IIC will use the results in their international training activities and strives to recruit more partners for the network by using EuroBEN, gfo and EABPM. GAIA will spread the solution to their members and transfer the trainings into the activities of the European Network of Living Labs. WCC will use its network of 9 regional chambers for dissemination.
On March 10th 2016, the Strategic Policy Forum on Digital Entrepreneurship stated very clear - digital transformation is not an option – it is a must! The European SME needs to explore the future potential of ICT, automation, sustainable and clean as well as human-centered work systems and processing technologies. According to Gunther Oettinger, EU Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society (2016) and European business leaders areas like big data, the internet of things, cyber-physical systems and robotics offer great opportunities for industry. At a recent roundtable in Brussels on the Digital Transformation of Industry, ways to energize the digital transformation of Europe’s industrial sector across Europe were discussed, to raise the potential for increasing flexibility, efficiency, productivity, competitiveness – all helping to create jobs and growth transnationally - especially within SMEs. After all, Europe is a continent of SMEs - where nine out of ten companies are SMEs and, two out of three jobs are in SMEs. They have to be part of the digital journey; they are crucial to Europe´s growth and competitiveness. Together, sectors (C) Manufacturing 9,33%; (H) Transport and Storage 5,09%; (J) Information and Communication 4,44% and (M) Professionals Science and Technical Administration 18,13% comprise 37% of the 22,3 million SME. Most of the 8,25 million SME are not aware of the implications of being not prepared for this Business Transformation in order to emphasize on improvements, growth and competitiveness, yet. Increased sense of initiative and entrepreneurship of owners, managers and staff can only be expected if sensitization and tailored measures are applied within these companies. However, to create value through the “Internet of things” and seize the opportunity for technological and process change, the commitment of each enterprise to identify and quantify its individual potential is required. The new approaches of digitalization and smart systems are often barely validated and potential impact is mostly not proven. Transformation towards digitized, smart systems is not a one-off activity but rather an ongoing process and could be describe as a lifelong learning process for an enterprise. In comparison to big companies with the financial strength to either hire consulting companies or to run own departments with a number of experts working on digitization and smart systems, especially SMEs do not have the same financial possibilities andtherefore are facing a lack of expertise, overview, knowledge with regard to technologies, methods, approaches their mutual interaction as well as potential and risks. SMEs run the risk of waiting too long with the migration towards smart systems and their digitization, or pursue no holistic approach for operational improvements or possible impacts on their business model. For exactly this purpose BITTMAS project consortium including experts from Germany (Reutlingen University, project leader; IBK – Management Solutions GmbH, International Industrial Consult AG), Austria (Fraunhofer Austria Research GmbH), Turkey (Sabanci University), Spain (GAIA - Association of Electronic and Information Technologies in the Basque Country), Ireland (Waterford Chamber of Commerce) and Romania (SC IPA SA Craiova) developed the BITTMAS solution. For easing the business transformation and to keep pace with the rapid developments BITTMAS solution supports training and self-driven processes for the required business transformation through employees and managers of SME by providing: - a video library and glossary to inform and sensitize the users with regard to digitalisation and smart systems, - the self-assessment DITRASS (working title within BITTMAS project: DigiPotAS) to determine the potentials for process enhancements and new business solutions based on a tailored maturity model, - online coaching and training modules to learn or to enhance knowledge regarding to 16 digitalisation concepts, - the self-assessment IMTRASS (working title within BITTMAS project: DigiSuRA) to determine further supporting requirements for digital transformation and - references and use cases of BITTMAS solution, - a free entry version of the developed BITTMAS Platform (Release Candidate). The BITTMAS Release Candidate, consisting of the learning platform, coaching and training modules, a self-assessment to analyse digitalisation potentials and a self-assessment to consider further requirements focused on nine criteria based on the EFQM Model, improves and extends the range of high quality learning offerings for adults and strengthen the key competences in VET curricula. Digitalisation and smart systems do not only appear in the industrial and economic environment but also in the daily social life and the respectively required competencies can therefore be referred to as transversal. The funded 3-year project was successfully completed by public launch of the BITTMAS platform in August 2019.