The 1st Industrial Revolution started in the 1760s and it took us 60-70 years to progress to mass production and the assembly lines of the 1890s; better known as the 2nd Industrial Revolution. Fast forward 100 years and we have seen the development of another two revolutions, the development of digital, electronics and machine intelligence.
Each revolution has been built on expertise and knowledge developed previously, which could explain the increased speed in which these revolutions have developed overtime. Indeed, whilst the time between each revolution has become shorter, the length of each revolution has also shortened.
Since the early 2000’s, it could be argued that Industry 4.0 has been all about technology, machine intelligence, automation and smart technologies – all in an attempt to increase productivity and efficiency. 
We are living this today – along with a world pandemic (COVID-19)
This pandemic has been a rollercoaster for us all and acted as a real test for business and technology; but it’s also made it clear how important human connection is, how we need to physically interact to feel connected with one another and how we absolutely must retain this.
If we combine this thought, with the timing and dehumanising approach of the 4th Industrial revolution, I propose that we are now actually embarking on the 5th Industrial Revolution.
Industry 5.0 will work in parallel with Industry 4.0, a marriage of the ethics and impact of technologies previously developed whilst harnessing the forgotten value of humans that technology simply cannot replicate.
As we move through this global pandemic and the drastic impact it is having across so many industries; where does your business sit on the scale of surviving, thriving or dying?
Have you been able to pivot your business to service the needs of your customers during this time? How are you preparing for the recovery? Have you considered what the future of business will look like – remote learning, online seminars and virtual summits.
What does this all mean for your business, how can you position yourself to leverage the power of technology, machine learning and automation with the new force, human to human interaction?
Whilst others are managing the day to day survival of a global pandemic, there is great opportunity to gain the competitive advantage and prepare your business for bounce back.
As consideration is given to human interaction, in order to thrive during these testing times, you must ask yourself; how well do I know my customer? Do I understand their needs during this time? Understanding your customers’ journey is vital. What does a day in their life currently look like? Is your product or service helping or hindering them?
The perfect storm that is the 5th Industrial Revolution will enable us to nurture and value add to our customers, segmenting and tailoring solutions based on their personalised behaviours providing the ultimate customer experience well beyond their initial engagement with your business. We
can now utilise the strengths of digital alongside the human touch that is so important during these very disconnected times.
Who knows where this 5th Revolution will take us but it’s clear that human touch and connectivity is as important as the advancement of technology. We just need to know how to harness them correctly in unison.
Take what machines do well and combine this with what humans do well – This is industry 5.0!
Are you prepared as we move into this next revolution? Stay ahead of the game and lead your industry forward.
– Ray Poole