Hannover. Four megatrends are changing the world: digitalization, individualization, climate protection, and demographic change. Industry is facing a big design task. The current economic and political climates pose additional challenges that make it difficult to maintain reliable partnerships.

HANNOVER MESSE shows global industry the way forward. "The way we live, produce things and work is undergoing extremely rapid change," says Dr. Jochen Köckler, CEO of Deutsche Messe. "The manufacturing industry is in the driver's seat. The challenge is to take the wheel and shape the change. At HANNOVER MESSE 2020, some 5,500 exhibiting companies will show how transformation can be positive, and how change can spark growth and progress."

Data: Source of efficiency and prerequisite for machine learning

In today's world, growth is built on data, and thanks to digitalization, the volume of data generated in industrial production processes is growing exponentially. Our ability to extract meaning from these data and turn them into profit is also growing.

Today's industrial technology solutions are interconnected. Machines and systems communicate and share information with each other autonomously, while software takes care of the documentation, monitoring and simulation. This data revolution is driving efficiency and is the prerequisite for machine learning and artificial intelligence.

Köckler: "At HANNOVER MESSE, we show how machines, production plants and intralogistics processes can be transitioned to the digital world. If you don't make this transition, then sooner or later you will be left behind by your competitors." Against this background, HANNOVER MESSE will feature presentations of software solutions for flexible manufacturing and B2B platforms for industry by big-name companies like Amazon Web Services, Cisco, Google, HUAWEI, IBM, Intel, Kaspersky, Microsoft, SAP, Siemens PLM and Software AG.

5G for industry

This year's HANNOVER MESSE will see the return of the 5G testbed infrastructure that premiered last year. Network equipment providers and users use the testbed to demonstrate the kinds of functionality that the new mobile telephony standard will be able to deliver. Köckler: "The ability to transfer large volumes of data in real time while maintaining high standards of data security is absolutely fundamental to the digital integration of industry. So, in Halls 3 and 21, we are setting up a real, working 5G network." Numerous individual showcases in these halls will be networked via 5G. "Nowhere else in the world will you find such a diverse array of 5G industrial use examples in a real, working 5G network, all under one roof," remarked Köckler.

The convergence of production and logistics

Digitalization is already a major driver of change in all areas of intralogistics. This includes automated warehouses, where processes are controlled by software programs, and where automated guided vehicle systems tour the halls at all hours of the day and night, delivering the right goods and materials in the right quantities to the right place at exactly the right time. Another key aspect is that production and logistics processes are converging and becoming increasingly interconnected, thereby making production more efficient, flexible and cost-effective. This year's HANNOVER MESSE will hold a mirror to these developments by prominently featuring logistics and intralogistics solutions.