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Siemens is Building its Future on Data—and its Own Land
Exactly 175 years after Werner von Siemens first started production on the pointer telegraph that would launch a global enterprise, Siemens officials and descendants of the company founder celebrated the anniversary in a gala event on the Siemens’ property in north Berlin on Oct. 12—which is the date in 1847 when Siemens first launched manufacturing of the pointer telegraph.
That was the company’s first innovation, but it would expand into trans-Atlantic and Indo-European cable systems that connected the world through faster communication. Its focus on electrical engineering and high-voltage power shaped the early part of the 20th Century, and the introduction of the SIMATIC controller in 1959 helped launch the industrial automation age and the Third Industrial Revolution.
The Siemens of today is focused not just on its occasionally conflicted legacy, but on its future as a leader through Industry 4.0, which it helped start, and into a digitally connected future.
“Siemens has survived some dark hours of history in the past,” said Siemens AG CEO Roland Busch in his opening remarks at the gala attended by German chancellor Olaf Scholz, other German dignitaries and global trade press. “And each time, after just a few years, we emerged from the crisis stronger than before—thanks to the passion and commitment of our colleagues.
"But the challenges have become more complex and global in scale: We now number nearly eight billion people on this planet, and everyone wants clean water, food, a warm home, education, travel and a healthy life."
“The answer?” he continued. “Technology and innovation? Yes, that’s part of the answer. After all, Siemens is a technology company, and we’re proud of our inventions and our products. But technology is created by people and for people. It’s only valuable if it truly serves people.”
The event also celebrated the looming metaverse—a term in rising use that defies a simple definition. Busch mentioned the recent introduction of the Siemens Xcelerator platform as an entry into the industrial metaverse.
However it is finally defined, Busch sees the metaverse as a more inclusive place. “The digital world will be a more open world,” Busch said. “Our cooperation with partners within this ecosystem—fast and highly pragmatic collaboration—wouldn’t have been possible in this form just a few years ago. Siemens will continue to work on solving the major issues facing humanity.”