8. Summary

Digitalization is on one hand causing one of the greatest transformations in industry since the third industrial revolution in the 1970s, on the other hand a huge paradigm shift that is already creating and will continue to create turbulences and opportunities. In order to be able to take a chance of this transformation, to take advantage of the changed rules of the game, to adapt processes sensibly and to make current and future business models workable, a meaningful mix of proven and new tools is necessary.

The Business Model Canvas supports organizations in preparing for future challenges by providing a comprehensible starting point for the development, discussion, validation and selection of possible future business models. The digital elements presented - networked people, intelligent objects, services and data in the cloud - take the specifics of business processes and models in the context of Industry 4.0 into account and make the relationships transparent. The Digital Matrix combines the building blocks of a business model with the key elements of digitalization in order to create a working framework and offers a glimpse beyond the horizon by providing both relevant questions and a framework for the “translation” of ideas into business processes and models that will benefit equally customers and suppliers.