3 questions to the new board member Dominik Rüchardt

Dominik Rüchardt, Head of Customer Strategy Office at PTC, has been appointed to the board of the IDTA. In a short interview, he shares his experience in the Digital Twin field and his aspirations for the new role.

What is your professional background and how does your work align with the Digital Twin?

I am a trained mathematician and have been involved in the digital transformation of industry for 32 years – always on the provider side, first at a start-up, then at IBM and for the last 16 years at PTC. My focus has always been on mediating and shaping change between manufacturers and customers. The Digital Twin has always been at the centre of this, in the past as a ‘digital mock-up’, today as a versatile digital representation of a complex reality.

What Asset Administration Shell/IDTA activities have you been involved in so far?

I became aware of the IDTA through my role as chairman of the Industry 4.0 Market and Strategy working group at Bitkom, and I immediately recognised how crucial the Asset Administration Shell is. From this perspective and as a representative of a large software manufacturer, I committed myself to ensuring that the Asset Administration Shell is understood and connected as a standard, especially at digital companies.

Why is the IDTA initiative important?

The digital transformation is a very difficult and complex endeavour because so much is changing at the same time. A robust and reliable framework is extremely helpful. The Asset Administration Shell can provide this on the information model side. However, it must be understood and constantly coordinated and developed, hence the importance of representatives from many different directions coming together here.