For a Better Tomorrow

According to a recent AVEVA survey, 85 percent of industrial businesses plan to increase their investment in digital transformation and sustainability.

AVEVA, a global leader in industrial software, driving digital transformation and sustainability, reveals that 85 percent of businesses plan to increase their investment in digital transformation over the next three years to tackle climate change, embrace automation, and unlock the performance benefits of advanced technologies. The findings were drawn from an AVEVA-commissioned survey focused on the innovation priorities of senior industry leaders and managers.

The survey covered over 850 digital transformation experts across industries such as Manufacturing including large-scale Agribusiness, Food and Beverage, Infrastructure, Energy, Power, and Chemical Processing.

The objective was to understand the different market opportunities, pressures, and innovations driving industries to embrace digital operations, using a combination of artificial intelligence (AI), industrial software, and human insight to deliver unprecedented performance.

“Industrial leaders are leveraging advanced analytics and digital innovation to rethink how they design, engineer, and operate,” says Ravi Gopinath, Chief Strategy Officer & Chief Cloud Officer, AVEVA. “Bringing together rich, timely, and accurate industrial data with the scope and scale of the cloud, smart analytics, and AI are empowering industrial teams to collaborate better, operate with agility, and elevate what they can achieve. This is set to transform how we all live and work.”

Pandemic catalyzing digital acceleration

Nine out of 10 industrial companies see combining advanced technologies such as the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT), AI, and cloud with their teams’ insights as key to driving better performance in a post-pandemic world. AI and automation are now seen as necessary technologies to keep pace with competitors. In China and Germany, more than half (56 percent and 55 percent, respectively) have identified digital transformation as their top priority for the coming year, with investments focusing on workforce solutions, cyber security, connected worker strategies, and the cloud.

Tackling climate change through digital transformation

The pandemic has increased focus on the need for urgent climate action and most industrial enterprises (90 percent) cite this as a core action area. Nine in ten (89 percent) are committed to achieving net-zero carbon emissions across their businesses and to tackling climate change within a five-year time horizon. Indeed, focus on sustainability has become a prerequisite for success in the industry, leaders affirmed.

Sustainability-led demands will consequently drive innovation across the value chain, 85 percent of companies say. These companies are planning to increase visibility and performance assurance for sustainability-related metrics as a result. Germany, Austria, and Switzerland lead the global race for environment-linked business innovation, with 47 percent seeing it as a significant focus, compared to 41 percent globally.

The pandemic has increased focus on the need for urgent climate action and most industrial enterprises (90 percent) cite this as a core action area.

About 80 percent of industrial companies are focused on meeting or exceeding environmental regulations, while 83 percent say they will prioritize the transition to renewable energy sources. Circularity and recycling within the value chain are important to 83 percent of customers, with Latin America leading the way (44 percent of companies).

Source: AVEVA