"For manufacturing companies, artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer a choice. If companies do not adopt AI and digital twins, they will face competitiveness issues."
Sue Quense, Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) of AVEVA, made the remarks in an interview with The Seoul Economic Daily in Milan, Italy, on the 20th (local time). AVEVA is widely regarded as a leader in digital twin technology, which simulates plant operations by replicating actual factories and buildings in a virtual world.
Quense said "industrial intelligence" centered on AI and digital twins has become a necessity rather than an option for businesses. "AI helps companies grasp large-scale contextual information so they can make better decisions as data moves between systems," she said. "Industrial intelligence is redefining how companies design, build, operate and compete."
This has been made possible as industry- and company-specific expertise and AI applications are applied to data platforms. "With these technologies, companies innovate the way they work and strengthen collaboration to accelerate the pace of projects," she said. "They make better decisions faster and improve the efficiency of operating various facilities." Companies that do not adopt such technologies will inevitably fall behind in the competition, she said.
The challenge is that companies remain reluctant to actively adopt technologies such as AI, cloud and digital twins due to concerns over data leaks and security. "A few years ago, we thought the internet wasn't safe, but that's no longer the case, is it?" Quense said. "Companies' mindset (toward data security) will also change." She also argued that AI must be able to actively utilize the manufacturing-related data that companies possess. "Every company has data, but they also have data in formats that cannot be used or shared immediately," she said. "That is why they need to cooperate with other software companies that can help organize the data."
Accordingly, AVEVA is focusing on expanding its partners, including collaborations with Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Snowflake. The aim is to support enterprise customers in using AVEVA's solutions through the cloud. "AVEVA integrates and manages security from the start to build solutions safely," she said. "We also work closely with cloud providers to support enterprise customers in shifting their mindset, such as by leveraging cloud security."
In Korea, Hanwha Ocean (042660.KS), Doosan Enerbility and Samsung C&T are among AVEVA's major clients. In particular, most Korean shipbuilders use AVEVA solutions to design vessels. That is also the backdrop to AVEVA's establishment of the "AVEVA Marine Center of Excellence" in Busan in 2022. The center develops new features based on requirements from Korean shipbuilders and verifies them again with the companies. "Ships are so complex to design that they could be called 'mobile factories,' and Korea is highly competitive in this field," Quense said. "With the help of Korean companies, a new version of AVEVA Marine, a ship design solution, is also scheduled to be released in November this year."
"This year, we are looking to actively promote digital twins to emerging markets and small and medium-sized enterprises to secure new customers," she said. "Korea also has many industries that can be considered emerging markets, such as semiconductors and batteries, so we will introduce new technologies effective for Korean companies."
