Industrial software giant AVEVA and top business school IMD released their first-ever Industrial Intelligence Report, focusing on digital ecosystems and connected industries at AVEVA World 2026 in Milan.

The Industrial Intelligence Report, based on insights from over 275 leaders across 12 sectors, highlights that while 74% of industrial leaders prioritize digital ecosystems, only 27% share data extensively. AVEVA CEO Caspar Herzberg and IMD Professor Mike Wade discuss how organizations can overcome execution gaps to build and scale connected industrial ecosystems

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

Increasingly, organizations are seeking to construct digital ecosystems to confront higher-order business challenges, whether that is 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 in today’s volatile operating environment. Where ecosystems are working, companies are realizing tangible value through harnessing their industrial intelligence. Yet the barriers to success remain challenging, spanning the areas of corporate strategy, governance, and technology.

Caspar Herzberg, CEO, 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.”

“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.