SIEMENS

In emerging economies such as those of India and China, product requirements are different from those in highly-industrialized nations. What is needed are so-called S.M.A.R.T innovations (see article "Tapping New Sources of Hope"). The price of such robust, easy-to-use, and easy-to-maintain products must be oriented according to local consumers' purchasing power. The objective is the development of high-tech, low-cost products that may cost as little as one-tenth of what they cost in North America.
Although McKinsey estimates that the per capita income of Indian consumers will triple by 2025, it is currently still at only US $793 per year. Some 28 % of the population of India still lives below the poverty line of $1 per person per day, and more than 50 % of the population lives on less than $2 per day.
India is, however, on the way to becoming the world's fifth-largest consumer market. According to analyses by McKinsey Global Institutes, more than 291 million Indians will liberate themselves from poverty in the next 20 years. During the same period, the middle class will grow more than tenfold, from 50 to 583 million people. And by 2025 more than 23 million Indians will belong to the nation's wealthy upper class.
According to the trade journal Electronics For You, the Indian market for automation technology — which was valued at nearly $2 billion in 2007 — is expected to grow by approximately 7 % per year through 2012. However, the high capital costs for such technology are forcing small and medium-sized businesses to choose low-cost automation solutions that can be amortized within one year. In most cases, existing manufacturing facilities are retrofitted.
Maintenance costs can also be reduced through the use of condition monitoring systems, which enable experts at remote locations to identify impending damage by analyzing machine data.
Market research company Frost & Sullivan estimates that the global market volume for such condition monitoring systems will grow by approximately 60 % to $2.3 billion by 2014.
Intelligent cameras with digital signal processors and sensors (see article "Affordable Vision") are one cost-effective solution for automatic product inspection. Their components cost up to 80 % less than previous systems. According to the Automated Imaging Association, a U.S. trade association, the world market volume for image processing systems and their components totaled roughly €7.4 billion in 2005 and is expected to grow to €16 billion by 2015.
Demand for healthcare and medical systems is also increasing sharply in fast-growing and populous countries such as China and India. According to the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the market volume for medical technology systems in India totaled approximately $2.4 billion in 2007, and this amount is expected to double to nearly $5 billion by 2012.
In addition to hospital equipment, there is a particularly high demand in rural areas for medical technology products that allow rapid diagnosis, independent data collection, and communication with the closest hospital.
Devices will soon be available in which complex and costly ultrasound technology is replaced with tiny microphones (see article "Tapping New Sources of Hope"), which make the devices significantly smaller, more compact, and more robust. While imports are still generally used to meet the demand for complex products such as ultrasound machines or even LED and xenon lamps for operating rooms, local products are also making inroads here.