There’s no question that the industrial sector is experiencing a crisis, as crude prices remain volatile and non-essential production shuts down. Statistically, a small percentage of companies will come out the other side of the pandemic as winners. But the majority will take years to recover financially, and some won’t survive at all.

The question is: Which companies are most likely to emerge stronger from the COVID-19 crisis?

“The companies that have taken a more future-proof strategy for their business portfolios — whether you take a BP, for example, or a Shell — they are actively working towards supporting the energy transition,” said Manish Chawla (pictured), global managing director of energy and natural resources at IBM Corp.

Chawla spoke with Dave Vellante, host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, during the IBM Think Digital Event Experience. They discussed how the energy sector needs to adopt a hybrid approach, merging traditional and digital not only technically, but within all business operations from supply chain to services. (* Disclosure below.)

COVID-19 is leading to digital transformation

The push toward digital operations and sustainability will benefit industry in the long run, according to Chawla. “The future for industrial sector will be what we would call hybrid,” he said.

This means that supply chains will need to be local and global, manufacturing will need to be both traditional, as well as additive, and product and services will need to be a combination of digital and physical, he explained.

“COVID-19 is creating the acceleration of digital transformation because the only valid response in my mind as you look at these different hybrid models is a consideration of technology being a fulcrum of creating a future proof for a platform,” Chawla said.

He lists the key areas of focus for companies looking to successfully weather the COVID crisis as “new ways of working, cyber resilience … automation and intelligent workflows … systems that are available on demand, [and] platforms and applications that can work regardless of the location” — in essence, a hybrid cloud approach assisted by intelligent systems.

Making major operational changes under the pressure of the pandemic will involve short-term loss, but the long-term benefits are worth it, according to Chawla.

“I think that transition to a more future-proof product portfolio and business model will be truly the silver lining,” he said.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the IBM Think Digital Event Experience. (* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for the IBM Think Digital Event Experience. Neither IBM Corp., the sponsor for theCUBE’s event coverage, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE