Disruption or digital transformation? The point of view of Olivier Sorin, CEO of Fondasol Group:

The real question we need to ask ourselves is whether the digital transformation can be avoided. If we want to try and portend what the future might hold, it is always worth looking back at previous developments. And if we look back at the changes that have occurred in engineering in the last 15 years, who can objectively claim that the digital transformation has not already impacted the ecosystem?

BIM, the digital storage of metadata, their aggregation on dedicated platforms, the emergence of software suites on the cloud, digital acquisition of field data using tablets that allows you to process in situ tests remotely in real time. All of this proves that this transformation is already well underway.

Talking about the inevitable nature of the digital transformation of engineering amounts to a tautology! Yes, the digital transformation is as inevitable as a wave rolling over a beach. It is out of the question to try and put it off or swim against the current, but we do need to  think carefully about how to go with the flow without being thrown onto the rocks.

It's better to surf on the wave than to be carried away by it.

As I said before, the transformation started decades ago. Today though, I think we undoubtedly have to talk about a disruption. Knowledge and the power of computerised calculation has become accessible to everyone; combined with the emergence of the native digital generation, it is accelerating the disruption.  The barriers to entry into our ecosystem are collapsing.

It is obvious that in ten years' time our professional world will no longer look remotely like what we are trying to preserve and reflect today. But that doesn't mean we have to tip into collapsology!

What are the expected benefits for customers?

Like any revolution, the one that will emerge after the digital disruption is our field seriously risks looking ridiculous, then dangerous, before turning into something self-evident by the end of its cycle of adoption.

Disruptions have always been vectors of wealth distribution in the sense of "what is rare". In our contemporary society, the only type of wealth that these new paradigms will strive to optimise will be, to my mind, that of time.

The benefits will be in greater agility in our processes, which in fine will lead, for our customers, to time saved and greater competitiveness.

The relevance of our deliverables will also be increased by the digital capitalisation of experience, which metaphorically is only the lesson learned from time elapsed.

And for our staff?

For our staff, the benefits will be exactly the same. When I started my career as an engineer, I did endless calculations by hand that no engineer today would ever dream of doing other than with digital tools.

This is unambiguously obvious to everyone! The digital disruption will mean our staff will no longer have to do the repetitive tasks that digital technology will be able to do for them, so they can concentrate on a different form of added value, more advanced and more rewarding.

Once again, , the digital disruption will change the way we occupy our employees' time  and allow us to re-orient some of them towards more creativity, appropriation and disobedience with established process for even more innovation.