All of Europe is lagging behind other competitors in ICT research and digital innovations: •E  urope invested only 0.21% of GDP in information and communication technology – this figure was 0.57% in Japan, 0.58% in the USA and even 1.47% in South Korea. •E  urope holds only 6% of all patents worldwide in technology relating to the Internet of Things – far behind the USA, South Korea and Japan. • I n the USA, fives times as many telecommunications-related patents are submitted as in the European Union (EU). With regard to manufacturing methods, additive manufacturing (3D printing) is becoming particularly important. Global sales in products and services for additive manufacturing has climbed from US$529 million in 2003 to US$3.07 billion in 2013, and is projected to be at US$21 billion by 2020 (percentage of German companies: 15–20%). In Germany, approximately 1,000 companies are active in this area, and about 90% of those are SMEs. Up until now, additive manufacturing has been used in particular for Rapid Prototyping (24.6%) and for basic technology experiments (28.9%). However, Rapid Manufacturing and Rapid Tooling have increasingly gained in importance (9.6%). Numerous areas of application have opened up for Service Robotics, especially in material logistics, production and handling assistance for handwork jobs, and in small series production. The industry association IFR World Robotics expects global revenues in 2017 of US$300 million for service robotics in logistics (mainly in manufacturing). The opportunities for service robotics in the area of consumer applications are worth keeping an eye on for prospective business ideas. This involves developing a specialised manufacturing and supplier market with a potential of billions. In addition, the health and care sectors are seen as highly relevant future users of service robotics. House connectivity (Smart Home) is undergoing major change through digital platforms. The Smart Home + Building Certification Programme was the first step towards an agreement on a concept for an open integration platform to enable connectivity beyond technology and system limitations. This is essential for succeeding in coordinating the efforts of mainly SME-sized manufacturers and suppliers in Germany and to pave the way to the international mass market. Cloud technologies make it possible to access centrally stored process data from anywhere with the Internet and to process this data using analysis software. All business processes gain in flexibility and speed.