A newly released Industrial Intelligence Report by AVEVA in collaboration with IMD has exposed a significant disconnect between ambition and execution in digital ecosystems. Based on insights from over 275 leaders across 12 industries worldwide, the report reveals a striking paradox: while 74 per cent of executives identify digital ecosystems as a top strategic priority, only 27 per cent are substantially sharing data with their partners.
This disconnect underscores the challenges organizations face in moving from vision to reality. Integration complexity, legacy systems, and weak governance continue to hinder progress. At its core, the report introduces the concept of industrial intelligence, defined as the organizational capability to integrate operational technology (OT), information technology (IT), and artificial intelligence (AI) into connected, data-driven decision-making across entire ecosystems.
Case Studies Highlight Promise and Pitfalls
By examining case studies from global leaders such as the Port of Rotterdam and Kwinana in Australia, the findings highlight both the promise and pitfalls of ecosystem-driven transformation. The message is clear: companies that can overcome barriers to data sharing, governance, and coordination will unlock tangible value and gain a strategic advantage in today's volatile operating environment.
The report notes that increasingly, organizations are seeking to construct digital ecosystems to confront higher-order business challenges, whether innovating faster, navigating supply volatility, or decarbonizing complex global operations. Yet, as the research makes clear, the gap between digital ecosystem ambition and execution remains wide. Understanding why that gap persists and how organizations are beginning to close it has become a strategic imperative for success.
Tangible Value from Working Ecosystems
Where ecosystems are working, companies are realizing tangible value through harnessing their industrial intelligence. However, the barriers to success remain challenging, spanning corporate strategy, governance, and technology.
Caspar Herzberg, CEO of AVEVA, explained: "With this collaboration with IMD, our ambition is not merely to understand the motivations behind the move to digital ecosystems, but to define the frameworks, competencies, and leadership practices that will concretely enable companies to transcend silos and build more adaptive, ecosystem-driven operating models."
Michael Wade, Director of IMD Global Centre for Digital and AI Transformation and Professor of Strategy and Digital at IMD, said: "Governance, integration, and learning matter more right now than algorithms. Ecosystems are already delivering operational value. The next phase is about converting that foundation into a strategic advantage through better data sharing, coordination, clearer roles, and more deliberate leadership. Industrial sectors have decades of experience collaborating out of operational necessity. What is changing is that data, AI, and connected platforms are turning those collaborations into real-time, intelligence-driven systems."
