JOIN USDaimler Chief Information Officer Jan Brecht — who is on a visit to India as part of a maiden international trip, post his appointment — on Wednesday said that the future of the automobile industry will not just lie in products, but largely in developing and providing efficient mobility services.
Addressing reporters at the Mercedes-Benz Research and Development India (MBRDI) centre here, Brecht said, “For the last 200 years, industrialisation has been directed towards energy, which was fueled by oil. In the 21st century, it’s all about transforming data, which is the new ‘oil’. The industry is moving from product to customer service, and also to mobility service. Digital is at the heart of this shift.”
With the significant importance of IT in product development, infotainment and connectivity applications, the new Daimler IT Strategy outlines getting more closer to customers and code, while being more data/metric driven to be universally connected.
‘IT is everywhere’ has been a philosophy within the company for quite some time, acknowledging that, without the support of state-of-the-art IT solutions, important activities such as product development, order processing, production, simulation, testing, aftersales-service, billing and payment cannot be done successfully.
Brecht said that he also wants to boost the role of IT in areas that include production, development, marketing and sales, while Daimler IT will continue to look for specialised talent for its India centre.
Stating that MBRDI is an important contributor within the global R&D and IT network at Mercedes-Benz, MBRDI Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Manu Saale emphasised, “With MBRDI’s strategic placement in Bengaluru, we have a lot to leverage to provide the required competitive edge to our parent company. Here, we have the opportunity to expand the digital envelope of Daimler.”