Industrial Intelligence Report Highlights a Strategic Paradox
The inaugural Industrial Intelligence Report, launched by industrial software provider AVEVA with IMD Business School, reveals a sharp disconnect between digital ecosystem strategy and practice. Based on more than 275 interviews with senior leaders across 12 industry sectors, the study finds that 74% of respondents view digital ecosystems as a top strategic priority. Yet only 27% say they share data substantially or extensively with ecosystem partners. This gap underscores how difficult it is to convert strategic intent into operational reality. The report, presented at AVEVA World in Milan, argues that organizations must learn to harness what it calls “industrial intelligence” to close this gap. Rather than a single technology, industrial intelligence is framed as a capability that blends operations, information systems and AI into a connected, decision-ready environment spanning entire industrial networks.
What Industrial Intelligence Really Means for Connected Industries
Industrial intelligence, as defined in the report, is the organizational capability to integrate operational technology, information technology and artificial intelligence so that decisions can be made in a connected, data-driven way across whole ecosystems. This goes beyond digitizing individual plants or assets. It implies that ports, energy hubs, manufacturing networks and logistics chains are orchestrated through shared data and common platforms. Case examples from sites such as the Port of Rotterdam and Kwinana illustrate how industrial intelligence can unlock value when data flows across company boundaries. In these scenarios, partners jointly optimize operations, improve safety and increase resilience. However, the report makes clear that such successes remain the exception. Most organizations still treat data as an internal asset, limiting their ability to participate fully in ecosystem integration and to realize the promised benefits of industrial intelligence at scale.
Why Industrial Data Sharing Stalls Despite Strategic Commitments
The research highlights integration complexity, legacy systems and weak governance as central reasons why industrial data sharing lags. Many organizations operate decades-old infrastructure that was never designed for open, secure connectivity, creating structural digital transformation challenges. Integrating operational technology with modern IT and AI platforms often requires significant re-architecture, meticulous cybersecurity and new data standards. Governance issues compound the problem. Companies struggle to define data ownership, access rights and accountability within multi-party ecosystems, eroding trust and slowing collaboration. Concerns around security, regulatory compliance and competitive sensitivity also dampen willingness to share data. The result is an execution gap: leaders champion digital ecosystem strategy in principle, but hesitate when it comes to exposing critical operational data, even where doing so could unlock shared efficiencies and innovation.
From Operational Value to Strategic Advantage in Ecosystem Integration
According to AVEVA CEO Caspar Herzberg and IMD Professor Michael Wade, many industrial ecosystems are already delivering operational value, yet have not fully translated that into strategic advantage. Herzberg emphasizes the need for frameworks, competencies and leadership practices that help organizations transcend silos and adopt ecosystem-driven operating models. Wade argues that, at this stage, governance, integration and learning matter more than sophisticated algorithms. To move forward, companies must improve industrial data sharing, clarify roles among ecosystem participants and invest in platforms that support real-time, intelligence-driven collaboration. Industrial sectors have long collaborated out of necessity, but data, AI and connected platforms are now transforming those relationships. Organizations that can align strategy, governance and technology will be best placed to close the execution gap and turn digital ecosystem ambitions into sustained competitive differentiation.