I am passing this on from the Peter Diamandis newsletter. I don’t think I can link, but click the link on his name to go to his website and sign up. Diamandis sometimes climbs over-the-top optimistic. But that’s a great counter to the usual cynicism and negativity and dysfunctional thinking prevalent in today’s society.
Understanding artificial intelligence (called by Om Malik “augmented intelligence” and by others as neither artificial or intelligent) today requires a healthy dose of realistic thinking and perspective. I offer these thoughts as a counter to your usual AI hype.
Traditional companies are failing to implement AI effectively. Here are five principles to make the technology actually work for you…
1/ AI problems are rarely AI problems – they’re strategy problems disguised as technology problems. Most organizations fail at AI implementation not because they chose the wrong models or hired the wrong engineers, but because they never clearly defined what business problem they’re solving. They see competitors “using AI” and panic-buy solutions for problems they can’t articulate.
2/ Budget size is inversely correlated with AI success. The companies throwing millions at AI initiatives are systematically outperformed by teams running on shoestring budgets with clear mandates.
3/ The 10x rule is the only rule that matters for AI adoption. Anything less than a 10x improvement in speed, cost, or quality is organizational noise. Most AI projects deliver 20-30% improvements that get lost in measurement error and change management overhead.
4/ Competitive intelligence is your fastest path to AI advantage. While you’re debating whether to build or buy, your smartest competitors are already shipping AI-powered solutions.
5/ Pirates beat committees every time. The worst way to implement AI is through enterprise-wide initiatives with steering committees and governance frameworks. Instead, empower your teams from the ground up. Recent studies indicate some alarming news:
42% of executives say the process of adopting generative AI is tearing their company apart
41% of Millennial and Gen Z employees admit they’re sabotaging their company’s AI strategy
What’s needed is to enable small teams, “pirate ships,” to move at startup speed (within enterprise contexts). Small teams are optimized to experiment and learn rather than aim for consensus. Give them a problem, a budget, and air cover, then get out of their way.
Here’s the key implementation insight: AI amplifies existing organizational capabilities (and dysfunctions).
Another example of a long-term partnership between a large software company and a smaller, innovative software company. This one links AVEVA (think former Wonderware and Schneider Electric) and TwinThread. I cannot believe I haven’t written more about TwinThread before. I know I’ve talked with the founder/CEO Erik Udstuen, whom I knew at Mountain Systems and GE. They were early into the race for a specifically industrial cloud platform.
This news concerns something called an Advanced Analytics solution. This solution targets improving operational efficiency, product quality, and energy usage. They say this underscores the value of AI-powered analytics in driving smart, sustainable industry.
AVEVA Advanced Analytics is a no-code, cloud-native Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution designed to transform raw industrial data into actionable insights. When integrated with CONNECT —AVEVA’s industrial intelligence platform—and our hybrid offerings AVEVA PI Data Infrastructure or AVEVA Operations Control, the complete solution empowers industrial teams with real-time, predictive analytics to make informed, proactive decisions.
Key Benefits Realized by Customers:
Improved Product Quality: Manufacturers have achieved up to 100% first-pass yield, significantly reducing scrap and rework.
Increased Uptime: Deployment has led to a 12% rise in equipment uptime, improving overall production efficiency.
Energy Optimization: Clients report an average 4% reduction in energy consumption, supporting both cost reduction and sustainability goals.
Accelerated ROI: Several organizations experienced a tenfold return on investment within their first year of adoption.
Making a bow toward competition featuring innovative pricing opportunities for customers, the note: AVEVA Advanced Analytics is available through the flexible and scalable AVEVA Flex subscription program, making it easy for businesses of all sizes to adopt cutting-edge analytics, and scale up to build upon successes.
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Almost all press releases refer to AI. Everyone has AI. Suddenly, everyone has Agentic AI.
I researched the topic. Look for specific instances of where AI helps. Agentic AI will make specific decisions automatically. Look for these specific examples. Most (all?) AI works best when constrained into an application, not broadly applied.
This announcement references Model Context Protocol (MCP)—a good thing.
It’s so easy to be skeptical of news releases. Just read carefully—and if you are in the market, probe the sales engineer deeply.
SymphonyAI announced IRIS Foundry for Microsoft Teams, integrating industrial AI directly into Microsoft Teams and Microsoft 365 Copilot via the Model Context Protocol (MCP). Optimized for the complex demands of manufacturing and energy companies, the integration delivers real-time operational visibility, automated workflows, and AI-driven insights—directly inside the tools plant operators, industrial workers, and frontline teams use every day.
Industrial teams often waste time switching between maintenance systems, data historians, and analytics dashboards. With IRIS Foundry integrated using MCP, these capabilities are surfaced within Microsoft Teams, letting users:
Ask plain-language questions in Microsoft 365 Copilot such as, “Show me recent heat exchanger anomalies at Plant 7,” and instantly receive visual summaries within Teams.
Trigger automated workflows to initiate maintenance, adjust parameters, or escalate alerts—without leaving Microsoft Teams.
Customize domain-specific AI assistants using Microsoft Copilot Studio so companies can match plant-specific KPIs, workflows, and compliance needs.
IRIS Foundry MCP Server unifies complex energy and manufacturing data and surfaces it in context:
Data Contextualization and Unified Namespace: Turn raw data into meaningful context linked to assets, processes, and events, while giving streamlined, structured access to real-time and historical information in a publish-subscribe architecture.
Knowledge Graph and Cortex AI: Leverage semantic relationships between equipment, events, people, and documentation to power Cortex—IRIS Foundry’s AI engine for intelligent reasoning, search, and recommendations.
Predictive Analytics and Asset Intelligence: Continuously analyze equipment performance, predict failures, and surface anomalies with contextual alerts automatically routed to relevant Teams channels via MCP.
Process and Operations Intelligence: Track KPIs, identify performance trends, and enable predictive insights across production lines and plants through conversational interactions in Teams and Copilot.
Talking with colleague David Greenfield of Automation World at the very successful Inductive Automation ICC 2025 event about what happened to main competitors. There once was Wonderware (a pioneer) who eventually wound up under AVEVA. Then there was GE (Fanuc/Intelligent Platforms/Digital/Vernova) home of their Cimplicity and Intellution’s iFix which sort of blended into Proficy.
David tapped my shoulder. He had an email where the person wanted to discuss the future for iFix and Cimplicity. I turned around, checked my email, and had an invitation to sponsor an AVEVA one-day conference in Houston. How about that for synchronicity? A bit later I saw that GE Vernova has sold the HMI/SCADA/MES business (Proficy) to an investment firm, TPG. No wonder they sent an email to assure people about the future of their products.
I’ve pasted some of the press release below. I’m not surprised that Vernova is divesting this business. I am amazed that they are getting $600 million for it. That’s a lot of money for software that hasn’t made much of a splash in the market for several years. (When I was bouncing from one entrepreneurial start up to another in the 80s and 90s, why didn’t one of us get something akin to that size of a bail out?)
Oh, and, no, I’m not sponsoring the AVEVA Energy Day in Houston next month. Hint: they should sponsor me 😉
Bullet points in brief:
Transaction will establish manufacturing software business as leading independent industrial technology solutions provider.
Proficy software technology portfolio solves some of the toughest challenges in manufacturing, infrastructure, and other industries.
GE Vernova retains its Electrification Software business focused on developing solutions to help customers electrify and decarbonize the energy ecosystem.
Note: there is much of the usual PR fluff in this release:
GE Vernova Inc. (NYSE: GEV) and TPG, a leading global alternative asset management firm, announced today the signing of a binding agreement confirming the intent under which TPG will acquire GE Vernova’s Proficy® manufacturing software business (“Proficy”) for $600 million. GE Vernova may receive additional sale proceeds in the future depending on various outcomes and conditions. TPG will invest in Proficy through TPG Capital, the firm’s U.S. and European private equity platform.
The proposed transaction would establish Proficy as a standalone software business that helps its more than 20,000 customers manage complexity, enable greater efficiency, and improve connectivity across their industrial operations. Proficy’s software portfolio solves industrial challenges across discrete, process, and hybrid manufacturing, as well as metro transit and other infrastructure applications. Its fully integrated solutions include cloud-based and on-prem HMI/SCADA, MES, industrial data management, and analytics, offering architectural flexibility from equipment to the production line, plant, and full enterprise. In partnership with TPG, Proficy would continue to deliver enhanced and expanded offerings that meet the evolving needs of teams across the broader manufacturing and infrastructure sectors. This manufacturing software business currently comprises approximately 20% of GE Vernova’s Electrification Software revenues.
“We are excited to reach this agreement with TPG to position the Proficy business for independent success, while also generating significant proceeds for GE Vernova to reinvest in our core businesses,” said Scott Strazik, CEO of GE Vernova. “The Proficy portfolio provides critical tools for manufacturing and production customers around the world, and I’m confident that TPG will help this important business continue to grow and meet the expanding needs of the industry. GE Vernova remains focused on delivering solutions to help customers electrify and decarbonize the energy ecosystem, including growing GridOS®, our enterprise software and AI platform for grid orchestration. We recently expanded GridOS through our acquisition of Alteia, an AI computer vision and machine learning company, as we continue to position that business for the future.”
“Manufacturing is undergoing a renaissance driven by customers’ need to increase throughput, optimize operations, and augment workforces. Proficy’s mission-critical, integrated, and increasingly AI-enabled solutions are leading the way, enabling customers to run, monitor, and improve the production process,” said Art Heidrich, Partner at TPG. “We are excited to partner with GE Vernova and Proficy’s leadership team to accelerate growth and power customers’ digital evolutions.”
TPG has deep experience executing corporate carveouts to support and grow innovative software businesses, with investments that have included Boomi, Elite, Everfox, Hospitality Solutions, McAfee, and Wind River.
Upon the successful completion of the proposed transaction, TPG would own and control the Proficy business and GE Vernova would retain a board observer seat. The proposed transaction is subject to information and consultation with employee representatives and other customary closing conditions, including certain regulatory approvals, and is expected to close in the first half of 2026.
Evercore and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC are serving as financial advisors to GE Vernova. Centerview Partners LLC is serving as lead financial advisor to TPG, and William Blair is also serving as financial advisor to TPG.
“This is my eighth ICC, and this is by far the best.” I asked a customer this morning how he was enjoying this year’s edition of the annual Inductive Automation Ignition Community Conference.
I concur completely (although I’ve attended more than eight). The Harris Center in Folsom had long since proved to be too small to house the community’s growth. Executives agreed to move the venue to the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center in Sacramento. They planned for doubling the size from 800 to 1,600, but the organizers told me that doing this the first time encompassed so many unknowns that they couldn’t breathe easily until half-way through the first day. This one reminded me of the automation company user groups I once attended.
I’m writing this in the hallway. The energy from conversations certainly keeps my energy up.
Part of the attraction this year emanates from the ability to house more breakout sessions. New also this year are Walker Reynold’s Prove It! Sessions. I sat in one with HighByte where the task is to prove to the audience that their solution really works.
Colby Clegg and Carl Gould ICC 2025
It helps when company executives have something good to say. And CEO Colby Clegg and CTO Carl Gould certainly rocked the conference with the huge advances in the latest Ignition Release—8.3.
The original vision I heard some 23 years ago focused on building an HMI/SCADA using IT-friendly technology from the ground up. Oh, and coming from a background as an integrator for another software company, the second focus concerned the pricing model designed to make the software more affordable and pricing more transparent.
Reading through just the bullet points I have below shows how far “IT-friendly” has come. The foundation for Ignition ties even more deeply into technologies familiar to all IT developers. With the hit of the show saved for previews of coming attractions when Colby and Carl announced coming in a few months—Model Context Protocol (MCP), thought of like an API for Agentic AI. MCP is so new and powerful that Inductive Automation may be beating IT developers to the game.
Inductive Automation Releases Ignition 8.3
Ignition 8.3 is such a comprehensive update that I’m surprised that it isn’t 9.0. Inductive says it provides tools for building solutions in SCADA, IIoT, MES, HMI, and more. It’s so much more that if I were an analyst paid $50,000 to do things like this, I’d give the category a new name.
This update (actually a significant technology foundation update) to Ignition 8.3 delivers major advancements in data processing efficiency, security, management, and development speed in order to elevate operational technology (OT) to modern IT standards and meet the speed and scalability needs of modern enterprises. These updates continue in the vision of the founder I first heard 22 years ago about developing OT software with the latest IT-friendly technology.
“Ignition has disrupted the industry and defined a new paradigm in industrial enterprise integration. With Version 8.3, we have completed our long-standing vision to create the world’s most powerful, most open, and most flexible application development platform,” says Colby Clegg, CEO of Inductive Automation and co-creator of Ignition.
Key Ignition 8.3 features include:
The new Industrial Historian Solution Suite, which includes the Historian Core Module, the SQL Historian Module, and a new Historian API for custom historian implementations.
The new Event Streams Module, which enables mapping and directing of event-driven data by creating a communication pipeline between various sources (such as tag changes or Kafka topics) and handlers (like scripts or database tables).
Perspective Module improvements, including a new Drawing Editor with native vector illustration tools, a form generator, and an offline mode for data entry and storage.
The redesigned Ignition Gateway, featuring a faster, more powerful web interface, integrated search capabilities, enhanced customization and visual organization, and consolidated configuration and diagnostic tools.
Next-level security that aligns with modern IT standards, including a new Secrets Management system, and Google Protobuf for faster, more secure communication between clients and gateways.
Long-Term Support (LTS), receiving regular updates and enhancements through the next five years.
Ignition 8.3 also features enhanced store-and-forward capabilities, improved enterprise deployment management, built-in REST API, new Gateway deployment mode, version control and collaboration with Git, simplified containerization, and much more.
Ignition Solution Suites, which include collections of Ignition modules and optional support plans that provide Upgrade Protection. Ignition Solution Suites simplify the Ignition purchasing process so that users can buy and deploy the precise solution they need more quickly. Five Solution Suites are currently available, and they align Ignition’s capabilities with common industrial use cases: The Application Building Suite, The Industrial Historian Suite, The DataOps Operations Suite, The Alarm Management Suite, and The Enterprise Integration Suite.
Every year the company recognizes significant and unique applications developed with Ignition. This year the company also recognized outstanding efforts in educating students about industrial automation with the Educational Engagement Firebrand Award, and honored contributions to the Ignition user community with the Community Impact Firebrand Award.
2025 Ignition Firebrand Award Winners:
Concera (End user: Sibanye-Stillwater)
Insight Engineering (End user: Haymes Paint)
SAGE Group (End user: Sydney Airport Corporation)
ASE Global
National Renewable Energy Lab
2025 Community Impact Firebrand Award Winner: Nick Minchin, Senior System Engineer at SAGE Automation, who dedicated much time to answering questions and helping people on the Ignition Forums.
2025 Educational Engagement Firebrand Award Winner: HebronSoft / Hebron IT Academy. These students from the Ukraine developed a process of custom fabricating prosthetic hands for soldiers who lost limbs in the war.
Probably 90% of the press releases I have been receiving manage to work AI into the story. Most refer not to the Large Language Models that have captured the imagination of the tech press. The most useful are machine learning (ML) and some pattern matching that we’ve had for decades.
That’s OK. Just read through the hype focusing only on the application. Is it real? Is it useful? Does it solve a customer need? This is a story from Siemens about a customer actually using one of its “AI” products.
Senseye Predictive Maintenance significantly improves machine maintenance at Sachsenmilch with AI-powered prediction algorithms
Early detection of the end of service life of a pump; pilot project pays off
More automation is planned by integrating Senseye Predictive Maintenance with SAP Plant Maintenance (SAP PM)
Siemens has been supporting Sachsenmilch Leppersdorf GmbH milk processing plant in Germany on its path toward developing a predictive maintenance system. Siemens’ AI-powered solution, Senseye Predictive Maintenance, helps Sachsenmilch ensure continuous operation 365 days a year following strict quality standards.
Sachsenmilch produces a variety of products from milk, butter, yogurt, cheese, and dairy derivatives for baby food to bioethanol in its state-of-the-art and almost fully automated facilities. Every day 4.7 million liters of fresh milk are delivered for processing, the equivalent of 170 truckloads. It’s essential for the company’s equipment to operate 24/7 and for the production facilities to be nearly 100 percent available.
The production environment at Sachsenmilch in Leppersdorf features modern interconnected machines that generate large volumes of data – an ideal setting for a pilot project using Senseye Predictive Maintenance, the advanced predictive maintenance solution.
Senseye Predictive Maintenance utilizes AI algorithms to identify both immediate and future machine issues, which allows proactive maintenance to be performed and prevents downtime. This capability has proven to be extremely valuable in Sachsenmilch’s heterogeneous production environment during the pilot project.
One of the biggest challenges was analyzing relevant plant data like temperature, vibration levels, and frequencies to detect anomalies early on and draw the right conclusions. The implementation process involved a careful analysis of specific failure scenarios and the integration of existing data from the control system. New vibration sensors and the Siplus CMS 1200 measurement system for vibration monitoring were also installed.
Siemens supported the maintenance team at Sachsenmilch with technical and project management expertise. “What we like about this project is that Siemens has know-how on both the technological and the technical sides as well as in project management,” said Roland Ziepel, Technical Manager and head of project management at Sachsenmilch in Leppersdorf. After being trained and the solution’s implementation, the Sachsenmilch team was able to independently continue and successfully complete the pilot.
The pilot with Senseye Predictive Maintenance has already achieved significant cost savings by reducing unplanned downtime. “We can confirm that the pilot project with Senseye Predictive Maintenance has already paid off. Detecting a faulty pump at an early stage saved us a lot of expense – in the low six figures,” Ziepel concluded.
Building on this success, Sachsenmilch plans to further integrate Senseye Predictive Maintenance with their SAP Plant Maintenance System, with the goal of automatically transferring maintenance notifications from the Siemens solution to SAP Plant Maintenance to improve maintenance planning.
In addition, recommendations for data-driven maintenance provided by the Maintenance Copilot Senseye should also be increasingly utilized to help maintenance teams with their work. This is one of the ways that Siemens supports its customers in their innovative and integrated approach to maintenance in order to ensure their long-term operational success.
