Middle East reveals lower demand for AI and advanced process and engineering design than global trend but leads global demand across five technology categories including edge computing and enterprise mobility, a report said.

Aveva, a global leader in engineering and industrial software, has revealed global survey findings identifying the key investment drivers of digital transformation across 1,240 EMEA, North America and APAC decision makers across nine industry verticals.

The Middle East demonstrated less demand for AI (45 per cent vs global mean 75 per cent) and Advanced Process and Engineering Design (44 per cent vs global mean 74 per cent) yet led global demand in five technologies, more than any other nation:

•    3D Visualization (59 per cent vs global mean 27 per cent)
•    IoT / Edge (56 per cent vs global mean 30 per cent)
•    Enterprise mobility (51 per cent vs global mean 31 per cent)
•    Model Simulations (50 per cent vs global mean 25 per cent)
•    Laser Scanning (41 per cent vs global mean 21 per cent)

“New emerging technologies like AI are taking time to gain traction in the Middle East so the research findings mirror what we are witnessing in the market. AI has the potential to disrupt markets in the Middle East by creating innovative new services and entirely new business models,” said Mohamad Awad, regional VP for the Middle East, Aveva.

“We are already witnessing its impact in Europe and North America across several industries and market sectors and we are confident that the trend will follow in the Middle East region. With the eruption of AI, some of the market leaders five to ten years’ time may be organizations that are not even key players today.”

Global findings unveiled:

The research also identified three key global investment priorities for organizations when it comes to embarking upon the digital transformation journey:

1.    Making sense of data utilising artificial intelligence and real time data visualization

•    The research highlighted a strong demand for technologies that provide predictive outputs from large data flows, with AI and Analytics listed as the most important enabler (75 per cent), closely followed by Real-Time Data Visualization (64 per cent), Augmented, Virtual or Mixed Reality (60 per cent) and Big Data Processing (59 per cent).
•    AI was a top three enabler across all industries globally, with the greatest importance assigned in Power and Utilities (81 per cent) and Oil & Gas (particularly upstream 79 per cent and midstream 78 per cent).
•    Japan (88 per cent) and China (84 per cent) prioritised AI highest, with the UK (79 per cent) and US (77 per cent) following closely behind.

2.    Fostering collaboration through advanced process and engineering design

•    Advanced Process and Engineering Design was the second most important technology (74 per cent) and was in the top three technology priorities across all industries globally, scoring highest among Engineering, Procurement and Construction professionals.
•    This was perceived as an essential technology for global production, ranked as the most important enabler for Marine Ship Building (75 per cent), Buildings/Infrastructure (74 per cent) and Packaged Goods (73 per cent), with Oil and Gas and Energy all ranking the technology highly.
•    Japan (85 per cent) and Germany (82 per cent) are early adopters with high importance attributed across all regions.

3.    Stepping up cyber security and safety capabilities

•    Cyber security was the third most prioritised technology enabler (71 per cent) and in particular a focus for Mining (76 per cent), Downstream Oil and Gas (75 per cent), Power & Utilities (70 per cent) and Marine (70 per cent) and the highest priority for Planning & Scheduling specialists.
•    Improving Safety and Security through technology investment was a priority across all regions, with the Middle East (68 per cent), Australia (63 per cent) and India (60 per cent) particularly highlighting this issue.

For global corporates the two most valuable assets are their people and their data. Businesses today have great responsibility to protect employees and customers, with technology that provides the foresight to critical failures before they occur.

Lisa Johnston, CMO, Aveva said: “As digital transformation moves to the forefront of the industrial agenda, the power of technology to unify data and break silos is allowing specialists to collaborate and change business models. The world’s most capital-intensive projects, from sustainable energy production and mining to smart factories and connected cities are now being designed, planned and delivered by global multidisciplinary teams all connected seamlessly through technology.”

Other findings from the research included:

•    Asset Performance Managers (APM) were found to have the most demanding desires for technology investment, requiring a far-reaching product set and visionary approach. APM was set apart from all other professional categories in the strength of their demand for technology to create new services or products; use data to drive new revenue streams; and to enable collaboration with AI and Analytics their most important enabler. APM also identified technology as providing a great potential to upgrade both safety and security and emergency response times.

•    Face to face engagement and trust remain key vectors for driving sales success. Face to face meetings with a vendor, either at a vendor event or as an introductory meeting, are most influential across all categories, with personal referrals also particularly meaningful. Experience with a vendor is highly prioritized in UK, China and India while France, Japan and Australia place considerable weight on case studies from the vendor.

•    Remote Operations Centers and Learning Management and Training scored highest for relevance across global industries. China and Japan see a Command Center as most relevant, while the US and Australia cite Supply Chain Optimization is key to their business.

•    Delivering cost reduction and enhancing safety prioritised by high growth organisations The countries prioritising cost reduction have been fast to scale over the past decades -  China (61 per cent), India (58 per cent) and the Middle East(60 per cent) indicated that significant margin improvement is possible in these geographies from software solutions. This demand for greater efficiency mirrored a requirement to invest in technology to promote safety as these economies continue to mature (China 51 per cent, UAE 68 per cent and India 60 per cent).

“This research was an opportunity to hear from both our existing as well as potential new customers across the globe and our findings mirror the growing demands for technology solutions in the market globally today. Emerging technologies like AI, Machine Learning and Edge Computing which are transforming the technology landscape with vast data streams delivering operable output as well as true business outcomes for our customers today,” concluded Johnston. – TradeArabia News Service