What do industrial operations managers plan to spend on in 2020, and which technologies do they prefer?

by Brianna Crandall — November 13, 2019 — Independent research firm Verdantix has released its annual global survey of 284 managers responsible for operational excellence at large industrial firms across 12 industries and 13 major economies. The interviewees — managers responsible for asset integrity, engineering and operations — expect an average budget increase of 6% in 2020 compared to 2019. High priorities for 2020 are achieving safe operations (58% of respondents), improving asset reliability (50%), and enhancing process excellence (44%).

Verdantix CEO David Metcalfe remarked:

Our operational excellence global survey provides unique data on the 2020 budgets, business priorities and technology preferences of managers responsible for asset integrity, maintenance and safety at the world’s largest industrial firms. With the Verdantix operational excellence survey data, corporate managers can benchmark against their peer group, and tech vendors can align go-to-market plans for 2020 with customer requirements.

Key findings include:

  • New technology is the most significant factor driving investment in operational excellence (49%), compared to efficiency programs (39%), industrial accidents (35%), and enterprise risk management goals (29%).
  • Only 15% of operational excellence managers think digital technology is essential to their success, versus 60% who say it is valuable and 24% who make only minimal use of digital technology.
  • Very significant innovations for the next two years are digital twins (45%), predictive analytics for asset failure (40%), connected worker platforms (38%), and digital sensors for remote monitoring (32%).
  • Very important factors driving spend on asset performance management are operational excellence programs (42%), CEO-led digital transformation strategies (41%), high costs from unplanned downtime (40%), and the availability of new digital technology (35%).

The Verdantix operational excellence global survey also assessed buyers’ brand perception, with the following results:

  • The five most preferred brands for APM (application performance monitoring) software are SAP, Oracle, IBM, ABB and Emerson.
  • The five most preferred brands for operational risk management software are DNV GL, Sphera, SAI Global, Enablon and Cority.
  • The five most preferred brands for operational excellence digital services are IBM, Accenture, Capgemini, DuPont Sustainable Solutions and Deloitte.

In the report, look for such helpful lists as:

  • 8 workstreams included in operational excellence frameworks
  • 7 drivers of investment in operational excellence
  • 8 operational excellence business priorities in 2020 and 2021
  • Digital technology’s role in operational excellence programs
  • Significance of 9 digital innovations for operational excellence in 2020 and 2021
  • Software adoption across 9 operational excellence processes
  • Potential of integrated safety, risk and asset integrity software platforms
  • 7 evaluation criteria for software providers
  • And many more

The Verdantix report, Operational Excellence Survey 2019: Budgets, Priorities and Tech Preferences, is available to research subscription clients.