INSIGHT ISSUE 02 | 2020

15 INSIGHT | Focus On V oice-activated digital assistants like Siri and Alexa are making it easier to do all sorts of tasks at home without lifting a finger. Why not use them in the office? At Prysmian, 20 managers taking part in a test project are doing just that. Instead of asking Siri or Alexa, they ask Crystal. They can use Prysmian Data Talk, or Pry Talk, vocally to access real time business data regarding sales, clients, plants, products to help themmake quick decisions on sales strategy for clients. This pilot project is scheduled to wrap in mid-October and may be rolled out next year in several regions working with platform provider iGenius. It is one that is conceived and managed by Carlotta Dainese and her team at the Prysmian’s Digital Innovation Lab, set up in 2017 within the Digital Innovation Department to find ways that digital technology can add to Prysmian’s core business. The Lab is part of the Innovation Steering Committee that was set up this year. The goal is to keep Prysmian in a leadership position in a future where digital technology will be part of every business, even a hardware business like Prysmian’s. Becoming a solution provider means adding a layer of software to its current product offering. And that means using digital applications, she says. “Our goal is to become recognized in the world as a digital leader,” she says. “We can do this in many ways: Improving the quality of our products, or the performance of our plants, with digital solutions. Or by getting closer to our clients by knocking down barriers with digital technology.” Robotic process automation, augmented reality and image recognition are among the tools being tested by Digital Innovation Lab to help improve productivity by harnessing data in offices and on the factory floor. The Lab works transversally across all departments of the group to develop medium- and long-term revenue generating projects that are scalable across the company. It also works with Corporate Hangar, an external accelerator partly owned by Prysmian that supports the group’s innovation. THE GOAL FOR THE FUTURE THE LAB'S MISSION “PG Connect is changing the way people interact, and brings the company closer to its customers while aiming at creating a new digital world that is more sustainable, reliable and efficient ”