Review of the research project
Since its launch in January 2022, DataLab WestSax has been working to bring the value creation potential of digital solutions and data usage to life together with companies, particularly SMEs and municipalities in western Saxony. The project has promoted innovative approaches in the field of data-based value creation and business intelligence.
Innovative format of cooperation between research and practice
“DataLab WestSax” focused on innovative, pragmatic and cooperative collaboration in order to develop concrete solutions for local SMEs and municipal administrations: As part of real-life experiments, the researchers acted as an “external temporary innovation team”. Together with the real-world experiment partners, specific challenges were identified and solutions, in particular concepts and implementation ideas for data-based value creation and directly applicable digital prototypes such as dashboards, were developed. This collaborative and practical approach led to a rapid growth in project partnerships, from the originally planned five to over 30 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and municipalities. This expansion illustrates the strong confidence in the methods and the ability of the “DataLab WestSax” research project to develop sustainable solutions for data-based value creation. The large number of real-life experiments was rounded off by knowledge transfer activities, the promotion of young scientists and networking at events and dedicated workshops to share success stories “from the region for the region”. In addition to this think tank, there is also a digital representation of DataLab WestSax at datalab-westsax.de. This “digital laboratory” serves as a thematic knowledge repository, idea finder and method navigator.
Thomas Schmidt, Minister of State for Regional Development: “DataLab WestSax has established itself as a beacon for data-based value creation within a very short space of time – in Western Saxony and beyond. Over 30 practice partners have benefited directly from the support of the simul+Reallabor and have been able to build up expertise in the field of data-based value creation. The DataLab WestSax has struck a nerve. After all, the practical use of the data generated offers great potential for value creation in our regions. When inventory data is evaluated to provide customers with personalized offers or when internal company processes are automated on the basis of data, real added value is created – even in small and medium-sized enterprises.”
“With “DataLab WestSax”, we have managed to keep our feet firmly on the ground by developing concrete solutions for today’s challenges faced by regional SMEs and municipalities. At the same time, we also always had our eyes on the horizon to pick up on forward-looking data-based innovations for these SMEs and municipalities,” says Prof. Dr. Heiko Gebauer, overall project manager of DataLab WestSax.
“We followed the principles of ‘Just do it’ and ‘Do good and talk about it’. We worked with real company data and used our concepts and methods to answer real questions together. And it is precisely this immersion in concrete use cases, the subsequent sharing of experiences and networking with each other that is the unique benefit of our project,” emphasizes Prof. Dr. Christoph Laroque, project manager of DataLab WestSax at WHZ. Prof. Dr. Ralph Riedel, Dean of the Faculty of Business Administration, West Saxon University of Applied Sciences Zwickau, adds: “The DataLab WestSax project is an excellent example of the transfer of our research into practice in the field of digitalization, especially industry analytics.”
Prof. Dr. Thorsten Posselt, Director of the Fraunhofer IMW, concluded by emphasizing how “DataLab WestSax” has enabled the transition of previous research work into practice: “For us, the DataLab WestSax transfer project is a great continuation of our research work on data-based value creation. We would like to thank the Free State of Saxony, whose support and funding – especially in these politically, economically and technologically challenging times – has had the foresight to significantly advance important developments in digital value creation and the anchoring of the necessary skills in the region. As one of the pioneers in the Free State of Saxony, we were able to create synergies between business informatics and economics.”
Milestones of the project
All five important milestones were achieved within the framework of “DataLab WestSax”:
Firstly, the response from local companies and municipalities was so great that instead of the five real-world experiments expected at the beginning, more than 30 real-world experiments were successfully carried out with partners from the Free State of Saxony.
Secondly, the real-world experiments and accompanying events, e.g. workshops in the physical DataLab WestSax, have led to the successful implementation of the project. Secondly, the digital skills of Saxon companies and municipalities were significantly strengthened by the real-life experiments and accompanying events, e.g. workshops in the physical DataLab on site at the WHZ or the knowledge repository in the digital laboratory.
Thirdly, all important economic sectors in the Free State of Saxony, e.g. automotive, trade, tourism and the education sector, benefited from the joint activities to strengthen digital skills.
Fourthly, the jointly achieved findings and strengthened digital skills contribute to securing existing jobs in the participating companies and municipalities. It also actively promoted young talent, e.g. by supervising master’s theses and successfully placing specialized professionals.
Fifthly, important milestones were achieved in external communication: DataLab WestSax has established a comprehensive presence, e.g. by participating in relevant events, podcasts or its own social media presence, in the region and with important stakeholders as a contact point for joint data-based value creation.
A detailed presentation of the successes achieved and examples from the real-life experiments can be found on our press section page:
https://www.imw.fraunhofer.de/de/presse/pressemitteilungen/DataLab-WestSax-Abschluss.html
Overall assessment and outlook
“DataLab WestSax” has proven that data-based value creation and the use of business intelligence are key drivers of economic development in Saxony. The close cooperation with local companies and municipalities has promoted sustainable innovations and strengthened regional competitiveness.
Prof. Dr. Heiko Gebauer, Fraunhofer IMW, and Prof. Dr. Christoph Laroque, WZH, gave an inspiring outlook on future developments in this area in their keynote speech “Smart Data – Smart Business: Future perspectives of data-based value creation”.
The final event of the “DataLab WestSax” project inspired the participants with groundbreaking discussions and innovative presentations on data-based value creation and provided a productive platform for exchanging ideas and planning future collaborations. The project conclusion left an impressive impression on the participants by vividly presenting the milestones and results of the project.
The research results of “DataLab WestSax” laid the foundation for further data-based innovations in Saxony and motivated the research partners to continue the initiatives they had started and to launch new projects for data-based value creation.
Future prospects and final projects
The DataLab WestSax as an important model project of the simul+InnovationHub will run until December 31, 2024. At the same time, the project partners are already beginning to further consolidate and expand the innovation topics of data-based value creation and business intelligence in new research projects.
DataLab WestSax is also integrated into the European Digital Innovation Hub (EDIH) Saxony, where it continues to play an important role as a “test-before-invest” project example. The EDIH Saxony, in which the simul+InnovationHub is one of the consortium partners, offers interested companies and public institutions a central point of contact in Saxony for digital innovations.
The DataLab WestSax team is looking forward to future collaborations in the field of data-based value creation. “We invite all interested partners to continue on the path of data-based innovation together with us,” is the final message from the project team.
Contact
Fraunhofer Center for International Management and Knowledge Economy IMW
Prof. Dr. Heiko Gebauer, Fraunhofer IMW
Email: heiko.gebauer-drechsel@imw.fraunhofer.de
Prof. Dr. Christoph Laroque, Professorship Business Analytics
Faculty of Economics, West Saxon University of Applied Sciences Zwickau | Research Group Industry Analytics University of Applied Sciences
Email: christoph.laroque@fh-zwickau.de
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Further links
👉 www.imw.fraunhofer.de
Photo: pixabay
