Over the past few years digital twins have been a very popular subject within academic writing – indeed in 2022 there were over 3.5 thousand journal papers published using this term. Although the concept and definition of digital twin are still evolving, they are increasingly being deployed in industry. With this in mind, academia is starting to turn its attention to the next level of digital twin design – one which recognises how the human works with the technology.

Digital technologies offer opportunities for companies to transform their business models and improve their business processes in ways that put their customers at the centre of their operations. However, many companies struggle to realise the full value from the adoption of digital technologies because they fail to fully consider essential elements of the change process.  This article describes the four essential pillars of digital transformation which every business organisation must consider if it desires to achieve clarity and the success of its digital transformation initiatives.

In the current context of climate change and social tensions is Industry 4.0, with its focus on profit and growth, fit for purpose?  An alternative vision proposed by the EU looks to set Industry 4.0 in a broader context where technology is to be capitalised on and human-centricity, sustainability and resilience become the driving force. They call this Industry 5.0.