Three-year research collaboration will explore how AI-driven insight, data, and human expertise help enterprises scale value across connected industries
AVEVA has announced a landmark three-year research collaboration with IMD Business School aimed at developing original thought leadership on industrial intelligence and its role in enabling value creation across connected business ecosystems.
The joint research initiative will examine how organisations can harness industrial intelligence—the integration of data-driven insights, industrial AI, and human expertise—to build, orchestrate, and scale ecosystems spanning manufacturing, energy, transport, and data centre industries. The programme will be led by IMD professors Michael Wade and Mark Greeven, combining academic rigour with real-world industrial expertise.
“Industrial intelligence is the key to unlocking value across connected business ecosystems.”
— Caspar Herzberg, CEO, AVEVA
Industrial intelligence sits at the core of AVEVA’s platform strategy and reflects how enterprises are increasingly moving beyond siloed operations to collaborative, data-enabled networks. The research will explore emerging trends and best practices that allow organisations to unlock insights from vast data sets, empower frontline workers, and innovate at scale while maintaining operational resilience.
Key areas of focus include the role of artificial intelligence in managing complex ecosystems, how global business networks can accelerate the energy transition and circular economy goals, and the evolution of ecosystem-driven business models. The research will also address how organisations can redefine partnerships in the digital era while ensuring regulatory compliance and effective risk management.
“By bringing together AVEVA’s deep technical roots in industry with IMD’s applied research focus, we’re cracking the code on how industrial intelligence can be harnessed to address higher-order business problems,” said Caspar Herzberg, CEO of AVEVA. “This collaboration will explore the people, process, and technology enablers of connected ecosystems and identify the critical success factors enterprises must prioritise to drive resilience, sustainability, and productivity.”
IMD said the partnership is designed to deliver actionable frameworks grounded in operational reality rather than theory alone. According to Stefan Michel, Dean of Faculty and Research at IMD, the project reflects IMD’s commitment to applied research that directly addresses leadership challenges. “By combining IMD’s academic depth with AVEVA’s industry insight, we are producing research from business, for business—research that helps leaders expand what they can achieve in practice,” he said.
Through executive interviews and engagement with industry practitioners worldwide, the research programme aims to provide practical guidance for organisations navigating increasingly interconnected industrial landscapes. AVEVA said the collaboration reinforces its broader mission to help enterprises leverage industrial intelligence to build more efficient, sustainable, and collaborative operations across global ecosystems.
