Ongoing

DIGITALIS | supporting digital transformation at manufacturing companies

Financed by

DIGITALIS supports the digital and green transformation of SMEs (and larger companies) in the Flemish manufacturing industry. A group of experts with experience in business, academia and industry will guide your production into the 21st century. DIGITALIS is a European Digital Innovation Hub (EDIH) funded by the European Commission.

Purpose and approach

European digital innovation hub DIGITALIS aims to assist in the digital and green transition of Flemish SMEs in the manufacturing industry. In this endeavour, DIGITALIS focuses on introducing digital technologies to traditional manufacturing SMEs, on the one hand, and technology providing SMEs, on the other. DIGITALIS also joins both groups of SMEs to create a marketplace for digital solution, which will offer manufacturing companies the chance to learn from their peers.

DIGITALIS Project for digital transformation for manufacturers schema | Sirris

The service offering

DIGITALIS acts as a one-stop shop for manufacturing companies looking to digitise their products and processes. The services rely on four pillars:

Testing: small and medium-sized manufacturing companies will have access to DIGITALIS infrastructures in order to test new digital shop floor technologies before implementation.
Training digital skills: DIGITALIS will train and retrain employees in manufacturing companies. To fully exploit the benefits of digitalisation, various training courses are offered for different levels in the organisation (shop floor staff, management, engineering, support).
Financing: DIGITALIS helps SMEs determine the required financial resources for the digital transition and find the most appropriate funding to accelerate its implementation.
Ecosystem and networking: DIGITALIS supports peer-to-peer learning at both regional and European level and connects technology providers with SME end-users.

DIGITALIS does not pursue a ‘technology push’ approach. The challenges and needs of our target group is what we start from. A questionnaire helps DIGITALIS to assess your digital maturity as a starting point for the development of a joint maturity improvement plan focused on identified gaps and challenges, connecting providers and teams. When introducing digital technologies, DIGITALIS keeps in mind certain business cases, the required financial support and the organisational and cultural aspects of digitalisation, knowledge and skills and the right business model.

Target group

The focus is on SME manufacturing companies and technology providers. DIGITALIS also supports larger enterprises, especially if they can be linked to an SME. Certain concepts, methodologies and tools may also be relevant for public services, which are also welcome to take advantage of the offer.