In 2005, the world's first smart factory was founded and then built in Kaiserslautern, Germany, as a PPP (public-private partnership). In close cooperation between industry, academia, and politics, a test bed for smart factory technologies under the name smartfactory-KL was set up, which then became a blueprint for similar activities worldwide. The early work ultimately led to the term Industry 4.0 in 2011. This marked the beginning of the triumphant advance of Industry 4.0 in all industrialized countries around the world. Twenty years have passed since then, so it is appropriate to look ahead.

The first decade was coined by smart technologies which enabled machines to be connected to worldwide networks. Especially, the necessary standards were chosen or new defined. The second decade will be coined by the importance of data. With all machines being connected we have access to huge amounts of data worldwide. But to turn these data into value we have to define again standards on the structures and semantics. Today, driven by Germany´s GAIA-X its sub-standards like Catena-X or Manufacturing-X will offer the platform to install worldwide data eco systems. We are moving forward quickly and such eco systems in the field of manufacturing are close to application. But the current geopolitical situation may become a breakshoe for success because more and more countries limit data exchange over borders. So we face many future challenges before we look for “the next big thing”.