AVEVA World Shines A Light On Partnerships To Accelerate Industrial Transformation And Sustainability

AVEVA World Shines A Light On Partnerships To Accelerate Industrial Transformation And Sustainability

AVEVA held its annual customer engagement event on 14-17 October in Paris, France. Inspired by its vision to ‘generate impact’, the firm showcased customer case studies and held a partnership exhibition, to highlight the range of solutions and offerings it brings to the entire industrial sector. 

Over the course of a jam-packed four-day event, conversations centred around:  

• CONNECT – an open industrial intelligence platform for innovation and collaboration. 
  Launched earlier this year, CONNECT unifies data not just from AVEVA solutions, but from third-party applications too, to deliver insights that enhance decision-making and foster collaboration. With the upcoming 2024 Verdantix global corporate operational excellence survey revealing that a quarter of firms still rely on manual data collection and storage methods, the need for effective data management solutions is clear. CONNECT is a unique data platform that gives users the flexibility to incorporate as much or as little of AVEVA, as well as other third-party solutions, as needed. Through a strategic partnership with enterprise AI platform provider Databricks, AVEVA ensures that CONNECT provides secure and unified access to high quality IT and operational technology (OT) data, automating data integration and accelerating AI-driven insights generation. By adopting a unique branding identity, distinct from the traditional AVEVA colours, and building a wide partnership network – including complementary solutions such as RIB and WorkPacks, as well as alliances with competing providers such as Seeq and TrendMiner – CONNECT is designed to be an open, interoperable, secure and adaptable ecosystem for bi-directional data-sharing.
  
  
• Digital solutions and AI – to unlock decarbonization.
  Sustainability was a key topic at this year’s event – which comes as no surprise, given that heavy industries account for 30% of GHG emissions. Studies predict that reaching net zero by 2050 will require an estimated $100 trillion in capital investment. Eighty-eight per cent of respondents to our 2024 survey stated plans to either continue investing at the same level, or to increase investment in decarbonizing their plant operations over the next 12 months. AVEVA’s suite of industrial technologies – including its PI solution, its APM software and its Operations Control and Unified Engineering solutions – has capabilities to optimize energy use, reduce waste and enhance operational efficiency. Bruno Batisse, CTO of Michelin, shared how his firm used AVEVA and Databricks to implement a centralized monitoring and energy tracking system across 65 factories, achieving a 10% reduction in water and energy consumption. 
  
  
• Cross-industry collaboration – to drive sustainability improvements.
  Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) solutions provider Calibr8 partnered with the ABS-CBN Foundation in the Philippines, leveraging the CONNECT platform to collect data on marine ecosystems and species such as reefs, mangroves and seagrass. Using the platform for data visualizations, the partnership aims to democratize access to marine health data and, ultimately, drive policy change. 
  
  
• AVEVA's AI copilot – to accelerate decision-making.
  AVEVA’s Industrial AI Assistant copilot draws on the power of CONNECT, along with Microsoft Cloud for Manufacturing and Microsoft Fabric, to offer a conversational experience that empowers plant floor and supply chain employees with actionable insights. Rob McGreevy, Chief Product Officer at AVEVA, explained how the solution can query specific data points – such as bearing temperatures – and extract information from documents, as well as 1D, 2D and 3D engineering data. It can also diagnose issues, suggest corrective actions and, most impressively, optimize operations through its conversational interface. Rob demonstrated how the solution could speed up the design phase by optimizing pipe routing options, factoring in safety requirements and proximity to other assets. In our 2024 survey, 47% of respondents stated that they have already implemented or are implementing GenAI for specific use cases, while a further 28% are actively exploring the use of GenAI in their operations. AVEVA’s copilot is thus well-positioned to support the firm in enhancing efficiency and productivity for its customers.
  
  

With the industrial software market flooded with options, firms often struggle to navigate the complex landscape of diverse solutions, highlighting the need for effective integration to meet their operational requirements. Through the CONNECT platform, AVEVA is pioneering an open ecosystem approach, delivering digital solutions that seamlessly integrate with any technology – not just its own. Unlike other industrial software providers, which limit their platforms to proprietary solutions, AVEVA prioritizes flexibility and communication, allowing firms to select the best tools for their engineering, operations and sustainability challenges. The CONNECT platform is poised to play an important role in accelerating industrial innovation, while enabling firms to tackle the industrial data management challenge.