Organisations are seeking to construct digital ecosystems to confront higher-order business challenges, whether that is innovating faster, navigating supply volatility, or decarbonising complex global operations, says a new report launched by Aveva, a global leader in industrial software, and IMD, a leading global business school. 

However, as the research makes clear, the gap between digital ecosystem ambition and execution remains wide. Understanding why that gap persists, and how organisations are beginning to close it, has become a strategic imperative for success in today’s volatile operating environment, says the inaugural Industrial Intelligence Report on Digital Ecosystems and the Future of Connected Industries at AVEVA World 2026 in Milan. 

Where ecosystems are working, companies are realising tangible value through harnessing their industrial intelligence. Yet the barriers to success remain challenging, spanning the areas of corporate strategy, governance, and technology, it said.

In a fireside chat in the mainstage, AVEVA CEO Caspar Herzberg spoke with IMD Professor Mike Wade about the findings from over 275 interviews with leaders across 12 different sectors worldwide. 

Encompassing both quantitative analysis and detailed interviews with experts from the Port of Rotterdam, Kwinana in Australia and many others, the report distils how organisations can harness their industrial intelligence to build, orchestrate and scale business ecosystems.

The report reveals that while 74% of leaders consider digital ecosystems a top strategic priority, only 27% report sharing data substantially or extensively with ecosystem partners. Several illustrative case studies also emphasise the gap between ambition and execution: integration complexity, legacy systems and weak governance. 

What is industrial intelligence? 

The report defines industrial intelligence as organisational capability that integrates operational technology (OT), information technology (IT), and artificial intelligence (AI) to enable connected, data-driven decision-making across entire industrial ecosystems. 

The power of industrial intelligence in action

Herzberg 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.”

“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.” said Michael Wade, Director of IMD Global Center for Digital and AI Transformation and Professor of Strategy and Digital, IMD. - TradeArabia News Service