"Data management is not magic. It's hard work, but it's worth it."

Is data the new gold? What are the big questions facing the industry? ControlTech Engineering AG is expanding its portfolio to include an important area and CEO Dominic Brunner explains the background.

ControlTech Engineering, with over 30 years of experience in automation and industrial IT, is expanding its portfolio to include a key area: data management. Our experts not only collect and analyze data efficiently—they can also turn it into added value. In conversation with Dominic Brunner, it quickly becomes clear why “Big Data» At the top of his list of topics is:

Why is ControlTech Engineering (CTE) now focusing even more strongly on data management?

Dominic Brunner: We’ve been collecting, organizing, and archiving data from a wide variety of sources for years. As our experience has grown, we’ve become increasingly specialized, so that we’re now officially positioning ourselves in the field of data management. I don’t think we need to discuss the importance of big data in an industrial setting anymore, do we?

What are your personal experiences with big data?

Dominic Brunner: In my day-to-day work, I come across statements like “data is the new gold” or examples such as the BEA study, which describes the growing value of data using the U.S. economy as a case study. It estimates that annual current investments in proprietary data sets rose from $84 billion in 2002 to $186 billion in 2021. The WEF also officially recognized in 2020 that data is a new factor of production, but at the same time identified a risk, as many companies believe they lack the maturity or practical knowledge to use data effectively. We probably need to talk much more about big data to make it clear: data management isn’t rocket science. It takes work and investment. But it’s not rocket science either. All companies can benefit from an efficient approach and use their data profitably.

What does that mean in plain language?

Dominic Brunner: Even before I joined CTE, I saw how vast amounts of data were being collected—data that cost many millions to “produce.” However, there was no data management strategy in place; one only emerged when attempts were made to put the data to use. The data then sits around for a long time without context, in various unusable formats. Its potential lies untapped. Or the expectations for the collected data are so high that the disappointment is immense when it becomes clear that a data analyst cannot work miracles without contextual information. Without clear rules, no magical algorithm will emerge from an unstructured data pool.

But isn't that what it's all about? Data management should help to generate added value from the data.

Dominic Brunner: Of course . We create the perfect conditions. We set small, achievable, and clear goals that can be met using the available data. We do this by drawing on the expertise of various stakeholders, such as plant operators and process experts. For our part, we ensure a customized, dedicated data structure and consistently provide context for the data. We also collaborate with external partners to achieve this.

Ultimately, it’s about the collaboration between different disciplines and the expertise of all the specialists involved. That’s exactly where we come in. It takes both us and the client’s experts to successfully carry out a data project.

Very exciting. So that's the reason why CTE is now communicating Data Management as an independent area. What is the connection to automation and industrial IT?

Dominic Brunner: Our expertise, gained from 30 years of experience in automation and industrial IT, gives us capabilities in the areas of data hubs, Data Historian, Data Visualization , and data analysis. But don’t worry—our goal isn’t to become data analysts. We want to build broader knowledge of AI both internally and through collaboration with partners. We want to understand what specialists in this field need and where the technology truly stands. The goal is to demystify the technology and foster understanding within the team. Together with the client’s product, process, and business experts, our data experts can help provide the necessary context. We’re convinced that this approach will enable us to make our clients’ projects, systems, and workflows more efficient.

Can this statement be specified a little more precisely?

Dominic Brunner: We’re now developing specific solutions that help get even more out of existing data. Our Data Science Framework (DSF), for example, outlines our process model for efficiently and effectively optimizing a system or facility based on data. The DSF product in particular requires the full range of CTE’s capabilities, because Industrial IT ensures data accessibility and availability, while automation unlocks previously untapped potential within the facility.

So CTE's starting position with the experts for automation and industrial IT is perfect?

Dominic Brunner: In fact, the connection between all areas is obvious. The data must be automated from the plant (automation) via the IT infrastructure (industrial IT) to the data hub, which must of course be appropriately secure (cyber security). With our DSF product, we find optimization potential, which in turn can be implemented with automation and industrial IT.

Is there an industry that is more data-savvy?

Dominic Brunner: Larger customers in the early stages of the product life cycle—such as research and development—are investing heavily in digitalization. This is where we see our potential, drawing on our expertise in production automation. We can help improve data consistency and usability across the various phases of the product life cycle. We demonstrated this at ILMAC, which is why we are also a member of the FHNW’s Miniplant association.

For smaller clients and production operations, we recognize that data management is currently used primarily for validation and reporting. There is still great potential here, as the WEF has already recognized. As a CTE, we would like to focus primarily on raising awareness and communicating our expertise more effectively.

Where is the greatest potential?

Dominic Brunner: To me, terms like “Big Data” and “Smart Industry” still have a hint of hype or buzzwords about them, especially when you look beyond the big platform companies like Google, Amazon, or Tesla. And even with these companies, which have enormous resources behind them, you can see just how long and rocky the road is. Tesla, for example, has been promising the “Coast-to-Coast Drive” for more than 10 years now… But in other areas, such as incremental development, I see real added value—both in day-to-day work and in business processes. Here at CTE, we also want to be at the cutting edge of technology in five to ten years. We want to make life easier not only for our customers but also for our employees.