From smart wristwatches to even smarter washing machines, from jet engines that signal when they need maintenance to jackhammers that detect when their users are tired, physical products in nearly every industry are being digitized with software. As a result, products once unconnected and devoid of software must now be designed to converge the digital with the physical, creating connected smart products and related services.

For a deeper look at this shift, Harvard Business Review Analytic Services surveyed the HBR.org readership on hardware-software convergence in product development. In the resulting report, sponsored by Jama Software, you’ll learn:

• The scope of companies implementing digital technologies in physical products
• Top challenges businesses are facing with digital transformations
• How industry leaders are gaining a competitive advantage