Digital engineering is the process of using data and digital skills to develop and deploy digital products and services.

It’s considered as much an art as a science, and is helping organizations reimagine the future of work.

Several factors have accelerated the demand for digital engineering capabilities, including:

1. Digital transformation: As businesses look to reduce costs, improve efficiency and modernize and digitize their operations, digital engineering services are being adopted to facilitate the design, build and implementation of new digital systems and processes.
2. The cloud: Gartner highlighted industry cloud platforms as an “innovation trigger” in its 2022 Hype Cycle for Cloud Computing. XaaS (Anything-as-a-Service) business models are increasing across all industries globally, which are primarily driven by cloud services and require digital engineering skills.
3. An internet-connected world: The rise of IoT platforms is another factor, which is driving the proliferation of connected devices and creating a huge demand for digital engineers who are skilled in developing and maintaining IoT-based systems and applications.
4. The AI era: The growth of AI and machine learning are becoming important in a wide range of industries. The recent growth of OpenAi and ChatGPT is driving the use of machine learning across many ecosystems.
5. The cybersecurity landscape: As cyber threats continue to evolve and become more sophisticated, there is a growing need for digital security engineers who are skilled in maintaining secure systems and platforms.
6. Complexity: With the growth of technology, digital systems are becoming more complex and interconnected. This complexity is driving the need for digital engineering services that can help businesses transform.
7. COVID-19: With the move to remote and now hybrid work, the need to digitize systems and services expanded rapidly. As a result, today, there is an explosion of data generated from this digitization, which has enabled the growth of digital engineering capabilities.

It’s important for enterprises to embrace digital engineering as it can help them stay competitive in an increasingly digital world.

By adopting digital technologies and using software-based solutions to address complex business problems, companies can improve efficiency, reduce costs, and deliver innovative products and services to their customers. Additionally, by leveraging the data generated by internet-connected devices, enterprises can gain valuable insights that can inform decision-making and drive business growth.

The transformation of industry

The increased demand and evolving capabilities of digital engineering are expected to have a significant impact on the below eight industries.

1. Manufacturing
   Digital engineering is the heartbeat of industry 4.0. Technologies such as 3D printing, robotics and the IoT are revolutionizing the manufacturing industry, making it more efficient, agile and flexible. For example, 3D printing can be used to produce customized parts on demand, reducing the need for large inventories and enabling manufacturers to respond more quickly to changing customer demand.
2. Healthcare
   Digital engineering is being used to develop new medical devices, improve patient care and reduce costs in the healthcare industry. For example, wearable devices can be used to monitor patients' vital signs and alert healthcare professionals to any potential problems and telemedicine can be used to provide remote consultations with patients.
3. Transportation
   Autonomous vehicles and other digital technologies are transforming the transportation industry, making it safer, more efficient, and more environmentally friendly. For example, self-driving vehicles can reduce the number of accidents on the road and improve traffic flow, and ride-sharing platforms can make it easier for people to get around without owning a car.
4. Retail
   Digital engineering is changing the way that retailers interact with customers, enabling them to offer personalized experiences and streamline their operations. For example, retailers can use data analytics to understand customers' preferences and tailor their marketing efforts accordingly and use AI-powered chatbots to provide personalized assistance to customers.
5. Financial Services
   Digital engineering is being used to improve financial services, making them more accessible and secure for consumers. For example, online banking and mobile payment systems have made it easier for people to access financial services from anywhere, and blockchain technology is being used to improve the security and transparency of financial transactions.
6. Education
   Digital engineering is being used to develop new educational technologies that can improve learning outcomes and make education more accessible. For example, online learning platforms and adaptive learning software can provide personalized instruction to students, and virtual reality can be used to create immersive learning experiences.
7. Agriculture
   Digital engineering is being used to improve the efficiency and sustainability of agriculture, using precision farming techniques and IoT-enabled devices. For example, sensors and drones can be used to monitor crop health and optimize irrigation and fertilization, and AI can be used to analyse data and make predictions about crop yields.
8. Energy
   Digital engineering is being used to improve the efficiency and reliability of energy systems, using smart grids and renewable energy technologies. For example, smart grids can optimize the flow of electricity to meet demand, and renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power can reduce reliance on fossil fuels.

The role of HCLTech

HCLTech has a strong track record in the digital engineering space, working with a range of clients across different industries to help them develop and deploy successful digital products and platforms.

The digital engineering portfolio includes Cloud Engineering, Data Engineering & AI, 5G, Digital Commerce, Industry NeXT and emerging domains like Digital Twins, Extended Reality (XR), the Metaverse and sustainability.

Over the years, HCLTech has been recognized as a leader in Digital Engineering services by multiple industry analysts including Everest and Zinnov. 

The aim is to take the past four decades of experience in Engineering and R&D with a deliberate focus on next-generation technologies to accelerate the digital transformation journey for enterprises looking to thrive and be more responsive in the digital world.