Global Corporate Survey 2024: Industrial Operations And Maintenance Services Budgets, Priorities And Tech Preferences
Access this research
Access all Industrial Transformation Leaders content with a strategic subscription or buy this single report
Need help or have a question about this report? Contact us for assistance
Executive Summary
This report provides senior managers in operations, engineering, maintenance, process safety, and data science and IT roles who are responsible for the selection of third-party managed service providers with a benchmark of peers’ budgets, business priorities and technology preferences. The data collected through the Verdantix survey – from 120 respondents across 11 industries in eight economic regions, with 87% representing firms with revenues greater than $1 billion – also support strategic decision-making and business planning by executives at industrial service providers, helping them understand trends in customer requirements. Budgets for the remainder of 2024 and into 2025 continue to look healthy, with 89% of respondents planning increases in spend. Respondents provided insights into predicted spending changes and consultant-led implementation plans for software and technology in 2024 and 2025.Global survey of corporate decision-makers involved in the selection of industrial service providers
Global survey features 120 respondents across three geographies
Industrial firms are relying on third-party consultants to accelerate recently launched internal initiatives
Service providers are mostly supporting EHS and net-zero-related activities, with growing demand for additional services in 2025
Investment in industrial technology implementation and AI will drive consultant demand
IT and OT integration and related services are the leading areas for consultant use
Implementation of innovative and emerging tech will be a top area of spend on service providers
Industrial firms prioritize an independent perspective and technical expertise when selecting a service provider
Figure 2. Survey respondents' business function
Figure 3. Industry breakdown of survey respondents
Figure 4. Geographic location of survey respondents
Figure 5. Current approach to managing department activities
Figure 6. Change in spend on service providers over the next 12 months
Figure 7. Change in spend on service provider activity support over the next 12 months
Figure 8. Stakeholder involvement in vendor selection
Figure 9. Industrial firms' approach to technology initiatives
Figure 10. Technology and software implementations leveraging third-party consultants
Figure 11. Change in spend on consultant-led technology implementation projects over the next 12 months
Figure 12. Issues encountered in recent consultant-led projects
Figure 13. Factors driving industrial firms' use of industrial service providers
Figure 14. Importance of vendor selection criteria
Figure 15. Importance of consultant support during project phases
About the Authors
Josh Graessle
Senior Manager
Josh is a Senior Manager at Verdantix, covering industrial transformation, with a focus on manufacturing operations management, industrial design and engineering, and asset ma...
View Profile
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 ProfileOther related content
Energy volatility is no longer a future risk. It is a present-day operational challenge. Industrial firms are under growing pressure from fluctuating prices, shifting dependencies ...
Upcoming / 27 May, 2026
Maintenance strategies designed for stable environments are failing under persistent disruption. Demand volatility, supply constraints and energy variability are forcing maintenanc...
Upcoming / 20 May, 2026
Today's risk landscape is dominated by headlines, but the most disruptive threats are often building quietly beneath the surface. From tightening labour markets and disrupted suppl...
Upcoming / 30 April, 2026
Industrial firms are being hit by operational shocks with growing frequency and complexity. Supply chain disruptions, energy price volatility, labour shortages and rapid shifts in ...
16 April, 2026
Industrial firms are becoming accustomed to operating in environments that change faster than their traditional planning processes were designed to handle. Supply chains shift unex...
15 April, 2026
One year after the US import tariffs introduced on what President Trump dubbed “Liberation Day”, the impact across the industrial economy is becoming clear. What was framed as a po...
07 April, 2026