“We can’t do magic”
How Forcam digitizes 50 year old machines
06/14/2023, 09:06 am
Forcam has been digitizing the machines of German industry for 20 years. To date, there are more than 100,000 worldwide. Some of them are many years old. The basis is a comprehensive database, says Forcam boss Hoffmann in the ntv podcast “So techt Deutschland”.
We should be bolder, says Forcam boss Oliver Hoffmann. “We’ve always worked very thoroughly,” that’s a certain German mentality. Other countries are braver and “just start”. But from Hoffmann’s point of view, things are now moving in Germany. The Corona crisis was the starting signal, so to speak.
… but Oliver Hoffmann and his team can’t do magic.
(Photo: Forcam)
Forcam was founded by former SAP employees. SAP co-founder Dietmar Hopp is still the majority shareholder today. Hoffmann and his team have been digitizing the machines of German industry for 20 years. To date, there are more than 100,000 worldwide.
The basis is a comprehensive database, because “if I don’t have a clean database, I can’t analyze anything,” explains Hoffmann. He claims to be able to digitize machines that are already 30, 40 or even 50 years old. To a certain extent, because one thing is clear: the older the machine, the less data you get. “We can’t do magic then either,” Hoffmann admits.
In “So techt Deutschland” the ntv moderators Frauke Holzmeier and Andreas Laukat ask founders, investors, politicians and entrepreneurs how things are with Germany as a technology location. All episodes can be found in the ntv app, at RTL+ music, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and in the RSS feed. Also at Amazon Music and Google Podcasts you will find it.