CIO & LEADER-November 2017 (1)

Monica Menghini, Dassault Systèmes
Interview
“We talk
about
Industry
4.0 and
automation
now,which
was already
invented 30
years ago"
–Monica Menghini, Executive
Vice President & Chief
Strategy Officer,
Dassault Systèmes
to the CFO. This is an approach that
radically changes because transformation
becomes directly proportional to
cost. You cannot develop and execute
transformation thinking and, at the
same time, worry about cost. That is
impossible. Innovation can be frugal
and therefore, it doesn’t cost anything
or it can be an enormous investment
over the counter and you cannot treat
transformation and procurement the
same way. For instance, if the CDO is
a person with real power, he sits with
the executive committee, can speak
his mind, and can really recommend
what needs to be done and then rest of
the executive committee needs to take
a decision after listening to him. He
will be the most powerful guy in the
world because every single board in the
world, and every single executive in a
company , is looking for experienced
professionals in the field of technology
and digitalization.
With the changing
ecosystem that you just
described, where does
Dassault Systèmes see the
opportunity from an Indian
manufacturing perspective?
For small manufacturers, in terms
of providing a solution, we do have
a sales steam that is deeply focused
on adddressing their needs. We treat
these companies in the same way
as we treat like a giant such as Tata
or Mahindra. They are aware of our
diverse portfolio. Then, there are
exploratory or discovery projects. We
have over 43 fabrication labs in India
and we are opening or collaborating
with the governments and several
national researchers. Whether it is
for space or for transportation and
mobility, and sometimes, it is for
new types of industries. Take for
instance,biotech space, we are as much
involved in creating a tissue which
gives that energy to embryos. At this
time, the small manufacturer is at a
critical space because the majority
of the mainstream companies are
either investigating whether they
want to become a giant or they want
to stay where they are. India, at the
moment, is the best place to be and
being in between if you want, they
have the same access as the big clients
in solutions and support or even
partnership. If I count our strategic
partnerships around the world, you
will find that there are many small
manufacturers who are partners as
compared to the big manufacturing
gains of the industry
November 2017 | CIO&LEADER
5