According to ÉTS Professor Hany Moustapha, Director of the Innovation 4.0 Hub, this revolution represents the "Democratization of Technology", where humans, computers, machines and products collaborate digitally and communicate seamlessly through integrated and optimized processes across the total product value stream, both within an enterprise, and upstream (with suppliers) and downstream (with customers).

One of the objectives of Industry 4.0 is the creation of the "Digital Enterprise". When compared to the three previous revolutions, it is characterized by real time connectivity, speed of implementation of the various technologies, a cultural change and development of new competencies.