AVEVA & IMD flag digital ecosystem data sharing gap

AVEVA and IMD have launched an Industrial Intelligence Report on digital ecosystems and connected industries, drawing on input from more than 275 senior leaders across 12 sectors.

The findings highlight a gap between boardroom ambition and day-to-day practice. While 74% of leaders identified digital ecosystems as a top strategic priority, only 27% said they share data substantially or extensively with ecosystem partners.

The report explores how companies are using wider networks of suppliers, partners and customers to address pressures including supply volatility and decarbonisation. It also identifies the obstacles slowing progress, with technology integration and legacy infrastructure emerging as the biggest barriers.

Another finding is that artificial intelligence is already widely used with ecosystem partners, though deeper adoption remains limited. According to the research, 92% of organisations use AI with partners in some form, but only 24% have advanced AI-enabled coordination in place.

Industrial companies featured prominently in the results. Some 76% of industrial firms are active participants in ecosystems, yet they are far less likely to take on orchestrator roles, where more value tends to be captured.

Data gap

The study defines industrial intelligence as an organisation's ability to combine operational technology, information technology and artificial intelligence to support connected, data-led decision-making across industrial ecosystems. This framing places data sharing and coordination at the centre of the discussion, rather than software adoption alone.

The research includes several case studies, among them examples from the Port of Rotterdam and Kwinana in Australia. They illustrate how organisations are trying to connect operations across multiple parties while dealing with governance issues, ageing systems and integration challenges.

The emphasis on governance is reinforced by the gap between strategic intent and implementation. The findings suggest many companies now see ecosystem participation as necessary, but have yet to establish the structures needed to exchange data confidently or coordinate decisions across organisational boundaries.

Caspar Herzberg, Chief Executive Officer of AVEVA, said: "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."

Leadership focus

The report places leadership and operating models alongside technical issues as the main determinants of whether ecosystem strategies succeed. That reflects a broader shift in industrial technology projects, where the challenge often lies less in proving the tools exist than in aligning incentives, responsibilities and data standards across organisations.

The survey also indicates that many executives now view digital ecosystems as a response to external disruption rather than as a standalone technology programme. In that context, connected operations are linked to resilience, efficiency and emissions management.

Even so, the findings suggest companies remain at an early stage in turning collaboration into coordinated, real-time systems. The low level of extensive data sharing, despite high strategic priority, points to a market still wrestling with trust, interoperability and control of information.

Michael Wade, Director of the 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 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."

The research adds to a wider industry debate over how companies modernise without replacing entire legacy estates at once. For many large operators, the practical route appears to be connecting older operational systems with newer digital tools while negotiating data access with third parties.

That helps explain why integration complexity and legacy infrastructure ranked so highly among the barriers identified. Companies may be willing to pursue ecosystem models, but doing so requires technical links, common governance and a level of openness many organisations have not yet achieved.

The findings also suggest that firms which simply participate in ecosystems may not secure the same benefits as those that shape how those ecosystems function. In industrial sectors, where collaboration across ports, plants, utilities and logistics networks is often essential, the question of who sets standards and coordinates data flows is becoming increasingly important.