Organizations best positioned to capture the value of digital ecosystems are not necessarily those with the boldest strategies nor those with the largest AI budgets. According to a new report, most organizations are investing in digital ecosystem strategy but underinvesting in the operational foundations that make these ecosystems work. Competitive risk, the concern most often raised in boardrooms, ranks last among the obstacles identified in the survey; the biggest challenges are structural.
These were the findings of the IMD-AVEVA Industrial Intelligence Report, which grew out of a common goal: understanding where digital ecosystems are delivering value across industries. By combining rigorous academic research with deep practical expertise on industrial companies operating in complex, data‑intensive environments, the report looks beyond the hype to understand how digital ecosystems are being built, governed, and used, especially in industrial contexts. The data was gathered from a global survey of 275 senior leaders across 12 industries, combined with 19 in‑depth practitioner interviews from IMD’s executive network.
What is changing is that data, AI, and connected platforms are turning those collaborations into real‑time, intelligence‑driven systems.
A digital ecosystem is a network of independent, interdependent organizations that interact through shared digital infrastructure and data, and coordinated decision‑making to create value that no single organization could produce alone. This includes suppliers, customers, technology providers, regulators, and sometimes even competitors.
Where once these ecosystems sounded counterintuitive (who would collaborate with a competitor?), today they are essential. Against a backdrop of geopolitical volatility and amid supply chain disruption and energy transitions, individual organizations are realizing that they need the integrated data insights derived from ecosystems; it has become a strategic and operational necessity.
This is especially true for industrial sectors, which have decades of experience collaborating out of operational necessity. What is changing is that data, AI, and connected platforms are turning those collaborations into real‑time, intelligence‑driven systems. That is where ecosystem value accelerates, but also where new challenges emerge
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While three-quarters of leaders (74%) rate digital ecosystems as a high or top strategic priority, and more than four in five (80%) plan to increase engagement, less than a third of leaders (27%) currently share data substantially or extensively with partners. Fewer than one in 10 (9%) have joint cross‑organizational data governance, while AI is rarely deployed – just 3% say it is the backbone of ecosystem coordination. Leaders see strategic value in ecosystems, but operational behavior lags significantly. Leaders are investing in strategy and pilots, but they are underinvesting in integration, governance, and day‑to‑day data practices. That gap is where ecosystem efforts stall.
Aligned governance is what makes data sharing sustainable.
Data openness and governance are associated with higher ecosystem value across all dimensions measured in the research, from innovation to resilience to customer outcomes. Organizations that share data extensively report value scores nearly a full point higher on a five‑point scale than those that share minimally.
But data sharing alone is not enough. Aligned governance is what makes data sharing sustainable. Less than half (44%) of organizations report data governance aligned with partners, and those that do outperform consistently. In interviews for the report, leaders repeatedly told IMD’s researchers that value does not come simply from extracting more data. It comes from making data sharing predictable, safe, and mutually useful.
Among the leaders surveyed, competitive risk ranks last among perceived barriers; the real constraints are integration complexity, legacy infrastructure, and lack of shared rules.
Ecosystem success is not being held back by the lack of ambition or technology spending.
Most organizations have committed strategically to participating in digital ecosystems. Fewer have built the necessary governance structures, data-sharing practices, and collaboration breadth to drive the most value.
The next phase of ecosystem development will be defined by focus on the following:
Building the right foundations: Ecosystem success is not being held back by the lack of ambition or technology spending. It is being held back by underinvestment in the underlying foundations of collaboration. Governance, integration, and learning matter more right now than algorithms.
Sharing governance, data flows, and collaboration: The next phase is about converting that foundation into a strategic advantage through better data sharing, coordination, clearer roles, and more deliberate leadership.
Read the full Industrial Intelligence Report.
This article coincides with the discussion at the AVEVA World Milan 2026: The power of collaboration in today’s digital ecosystems, featuring Caspar Herzberg, Chief Executive Officer, AVEVA, and Michael Wade, Professor of Strategy and Digital at IMD.
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