Editorial Dear readers, Dear members of the prostep ivip Association, The prostep ivip Association has launched itself into the year 2021 with great élan. The board and the admini- strative office are committed to aligning our products and services more closely with new requirements arising from the digital transformation in industry. In light of the current upheavals brought about by digita- lization, sustainability requirements and new customer needs, we want to ensure that we remain in step with the times for you, our members. We are therefore currently developing clear recommendations, for example regarding integration of the topic software and ensuring that people from a world that has traditio- nally been primarily mechanical in nature have the necessary skills to act as protagonists of change. But first let’s talk about the technical program. Despite the adverse conditions resulting from the coronavirus pandemic, all the projects in the technical program have worked hard to disseminate, improve and stan- dardize recommendations for greater interoperability. Cross-disciplinary collaboration remains a key factor for success when developing innovative product systems and services. That is why 96 members from the worlds of industry, IT and research are actively working to ensure that the fruitful collaboration of recent years continues. Our 30 projects address topics such as systems engineering, the application of artificial intelligence in product development, the mapping of ontologies with the aim of improving the realization of end-to-end digitalization, and the transition from document-based collaboration to model-based processes using cloud- based approaches. The project groups document their findings in a number of different types of publications, including recommendations, white papers and updates to existing recommendations, all of which are available in the media library on the association's website. As members, you have full access to more than160 publi- cations on a wide variety of topics. Make sure you take a look at our media library regularly and discover our latest publications. The association has also stepped up its collaboration with national and international partners. For example, we are working with the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) to formulate recommenda- tions for a standardization strategy in distributed value chains from a technical and process-related perspective. We have also extended the cooperation agreement with our partners AFNeT (France) and PDES Inc. (USA) involving what are referred to as MBx interoperability forums. The aim is to carry out cross-association projects on the basis of a common roadmap and with the active participation of international consortium partners from Europe and America. Last but not least, we have anchored our collaboration with the Japanese Editorial METI and JAMBE (Japan Automotive Model Based Engineering Center) in a new Memorandum of Under- standing. The objective of this collaboration is to pro- mote and expand the use of virtual simulations rather than physical prototypes. Our Japanese partners, for example, have been using and expanding prostep ivip's SmartSE recommendations for two years now and are putting their industrial implementation on an inter- national footing with new use cases. Those who want to tackle digitalization of the product development process benefit greatly from knowledge sharing across industries, professional development and extensive networking with experts and like-minded people. With this logic in mind, prostep ivip’s virtual 2021 symposium rested on three pillars: INSPIRE – with inspiring keynotes and invaluable motivating presenta- tions, ENGAGE – with networking and a focus on the exchange of information and ideas within the prostep ivip community, and LEARN – with numerous presenta- tions and a clear focus on knowledge transfer. A virtual platform was created specifically for the symposium to provide access to the different content even after the event was over. This year, after two years of being forced to abstain from networking, we are once again pleased to present a LIVE event with inspiring keynotes, high-caliber presentations, exciting workshops and a fully booked exhibition. It will be held on 8 and 9 June 2022 at the ICS in Stuttgart. You are cordially invited to come and obtain information, inspire and be inspired, enter into a dialog with others, and establish new contacts. As a trust-based network, we can achieve more together in the prostep ivip Association than each of us can on our own. Joint action is more important than ever, and this annual report is a testament to the valuable work performed by our members. Let us shape the future of the digital transformation of industry together. Best regards, Alain Pfouga Annual report 2021 prostep ivip 5