Industrial Transformation Leaders’ Series: 2026 Predictions

Executive Summary

As fractured supply chains, unstable energy markets, expanding use of AI and robotics, shrinking labour pools and unpredictable policy shifts become the norm, traditional operating models will lag behind industrial leaders’ needs and expectations. Organizations will prioritize responsive systems and resilience-first models in order to achieve one of the year’s key goals: building industrial agility.

Our predictions for 2026 guide is designed to help asset maintenance, reliability and operations leaders navigate these expectations, offering a glimpse of what to expect in the year ahead.


 

About the Authors

Malavika Tohani

Malavika Tohani

Research Director

Malavika is a Research Director at Verdantix, guiding research that explores how digital technologies and services are reshaping industrial operations to become safer, more ef...

View Profile
Kiran Darmasseelane

Kiran Darmasseelane

Senior Manager

Kiran is a Senior Manager at Verdantix, delivering data-driven insights on emerging technologies and global market trends for asset-intensive sectors such as energy, manufactu...

Oliver Bridges

Oliver Bridges

Analyst

Olly is an Analyst at Verdantix in the Industrial Transformation team. Having previously worked as a nuclear engineer at Frazer-Nash Consultancy, he brings experience in deliv...

View Profile

Other related content

Webinar
Industrial Transformation Leaders
Asset Performance Management Software
Asset Maintenance Software
How To Build A Business Case For Indust...

Industrial organizations are under increasing pressure to improve asset performance, workforce productivity and operational resilience. To address these challenges, many organizati...

Upcoming / 30 September, 2026

Webinar
Industrial Transformation Leaders
Industrial Analytics & Data Management
Digital Transformation Leaders
AI Platforms & Applications
Asset Maintenance Software
Asset Performance Management Software
Governance Without Guardrails: The Data...

Your organisation is investing in industrial AI. But without clear data ownership, quality standards aligned to operational risk, and governance built to scale, those investments a...

Upcoming / 23 September, 2026

Webinar
Industrial Transformation Leaders
Manufacturing Operations Management
Process Safety Management Software
Industrial Design Engineering Software
Industrial Analytics & Data Management
Quality Management Software
Field Services Management
Digital Transformation Leaders
Asset Performance Management Software
Asset Maintenance Software
AI Platforms & Applications
How To Build A Resilient Industrial Tec...

Most industrial firms can point to the platforms they've deployed: a historian, an EAM, a handful of analytics tools added at different times to solve different problems. Far fewer...

Upcoming / 01 September, 2026

Blog
Industrial Transformation Leaders
OT Cybersecurity: The Operational Conse...

OT cybersecurity safeguards the control systems, connected assets and operational networks that keep physical operations running safely and reliably. When those protections fail, t...

27 August, 2026

Webinar
Manufacturing Operations Management
Industrial Transformation Leaders
Industrial Analytics & Data Management
Digital Transformation Leaders
AI Platforms & Applications
Asset Maintenance Software
Asset Performance Management Software
How To Move Industrial AI From Pilot To...

According to Verdantix research, 51% of manufacturing leaders cite improving asset uptime as a high priority for the next twelve months, with a further 35% placing production and y...

20 August, 2026

Webinar
Industrial Transformation Leaders
Asset Performance Management Software
Asset Maintenance Software
Process Safety Management Software
Manufacturing Operations Management
Industrial Analytics & Data Management
Industrial Design Engineering Software
Quality Management Software
How To Build Industrial Agility Into Yo...

Industrial agility is emerging as a critical priority for industrial organizations as they navigate increasing levels of operational disruption. As a result, technology buyers are ...

19 August, 2026