Global energy and industrial companies are accelerating efforts to build connected digital ecosystems as they seek greater resilience, efficiency and security in an increasingly volatile operating environment. Yet despite rising boardroom enthusiasm for ecosystem-driven operations, many organisations are struggling to turn strategy into execution, leaving vast amounts of industrial intelligence underutilised.
A new report jointly released by AVEVA and IMD shows that while digital ecosystems are now widely viewed as essential to future industrial growth, most companies remain far from achieving the level of coordination and data integration required to unlock their full value.
The Industrial Intelligence Report titled “Digital Ecosystems and the Future of Connected Industries”, found that 74 percent of industry leaders now regard digital ecosystems as a top strategic priority. However, only 27 percent said their organisations currently share data substantially or extensively with ecosystem partners.
The findings point to a widening gap between corporate ambition and operational reality at a time when industries are under mounting pressure to respond to supply chain instability, energy transition demands, cybersecurity risks and decarbonisation targets.
Rather than operating as isolated enterprises, many industrial firms are increasingly attempting to function through interconnected networks of suppliers, logistics providers, technology firms and customers. The goal is to create more responsive, data-driven operations capable of adapting quickly to disruption.
According to the report, the transition toward connected ecosystems is being slowed by outdated infrastructure, fragmented governance frameworks and the complexity of integrating legacy systems with modern digital technologies.
The research frames “industrial intelligence” as the ability of organisations to combine operational technology, information technology and artificial intelligence to support real-time, data-led decision-making across industrial networks. In this model, value no longer comes primarily from software adoption alone, but from how effectively organisations can coordinate information, processes and decisions across multiple participants.
“Increasingly, 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,” the report stated.
“Yet, 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.”
The report found that artificial intelligence is already playing a visible role in ecosystem collaboration. About 92 percent of surveyed organisations said they use AI with ecosystem partners in some capacity. However, only 24 percent reported having advanced AI-enabled coordination systems fully in place.
This suggests that while AI adoption is spreading rapidly across industrial sectors, most organisations are still using the technology in fragmented or limited ways rather than integrating it deeply into ecosystem-wide operations.
Industrial firms themselves featured prominently in the findings. Around 76 percent were identified as active participants in digital ecosystems, though comparatively few were acting as ecosystem orchestrators, the position often associated with greater strategic control and higher value capture.
The findings reflect a broader shift underway across industrial sectors where collaboration is increasingly viewed not simply as an efficiency measure, but as a survival strategy in an era defined by operational disruption and rapidly evolving market conditions.
Caspar Herzberg, chief executive officer of AVEVA, said the challenge facing companies now extends beyond understanding the importance of digital ecosystems to actually developing the structures needed to make them function effectively.
“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,” Herzberg said.
The report places significant emphasis on governance and leadership as key determinants of ecosystem success. According to the findings, many companies now acknowledge the strategic necessity of collaboration, but remain hesitant or technically unprepared to exchange sensitive operational data across organisational boundaries.
That hesitation reflects growing concerns around interoperability, trust, cybersecurity, ownership of information and the absence of shared standards across industries.
As a result, many firms are finding themselves caught between the need for greater openness and the instinct to retain tight control over operational data.
Michael Wade, director of the IMD Global Centre for Digital and AI Transformation and professor of strategy and digital at IMD, argued that governance and organisational learning currently matter more than the sophistication of AI algorithms themselves.
“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,” Wade said.
“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 report also contributes to a growing debate across industrial sectors over how companies modernise large-scale operations without replacing entire legacy infrastructures at once.
For many operators, particularly in energy, manufacturing, logistics and utilities, the more practical path appears to involve gradually connecting older operational systems with newer digital tools while negotiating data-sharing arrangements with ecosystem partners.
That helps explain why integration complexity and legacy infrastructure ranked among the most significant barriers identified in the study.
The findings suggest that while companies increasingly recognise the strategic importance of ecosystems, building truly connected operations requires more than technology investments alone. It also demands common governance models, aligned incentives, coordinated leadership structures and a willingness to share information across traditional corporate boundaries.
Importantly, the report indicates that simply participating in digital ecosystems may not be enough to secure long-term competitive advantage. Companies that shape ecosystem standards, coordinate data flows and influence governance structures may ultimately capture more value than those operating as passive participants.
