Industry 4.0 is a term coined by the German government back in 2006 to denote the present industrial age being in its fourth version. Business leaders of today must be well versed with certain aspects of the same. It is basically a period where manufacturing processes are all getting digitized. Technological innovations have skyrocketed in importance. Some of those critical ones are Internet of Things (IoT), Augmented Reality (AR), cloud computing, cyber security, Big Data, simulation and robots. New business opportunities are thus rising with some organizations such as Siemens, Bosch, Daimler, Deutsche Telekom and BASF being perfectly well placed to leverage the present business environment. The value chain is now more efficient due to the interweaving with technology. Businesses are now increasingly reliant on data based models. Training now needs to be based on imparting specific skills. A major challenge of all these changes is whether systems will remain reliable. Long term commitment will need to be displayed. Cyber security is a huge threat due to the vast business intelligence now being extracted. All these developments require the up-skilling of labour.Source:http://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2016/11/01/three-things-that-business-leaders-should-know-about-industry-4-0/#14aa332d5eec