Liberating your data: Why an industrial data fabric is key

Whether it's to optimise processes, increase efficiency, reduce emissions or design new processes, data is a key resource for asset-intensive companies for the foreseeable future, Craig Smith tells OGN

- 

FOR almost as long as there has been industry, there has been data.

Beginning with handwritten paper records of readings collected from different equipment or records of production output, by the 1990s and the advent of digitalisation, data was collected automatically by suites of sensors capable of recording dozens of measurements multiple times per second.

Today, data is an invaluable resource. Companies can tap for insights on everything from the condition of their physical assets, to how to increase efficiency, to monitoring and analysing emissions.

"As companies work to extract the most value from that resource, many are now turning to what's been dubbed an industrial data fabric, allowing companies to collect data from across their operations and – perhaps most importantly – contextualise and analyse it for actionable insights," says Craig Smith, General Manager and Senior Strategic Planning Director, KSA, Aspen Technology.

For companies with the forward-looking vision to implement it, a data fabric can deliver a deep and rich data stream that can help drive continuous improvement across operations, from optimising processes and increasing efficiency to fostering innovation and enabling industrial AI, all of which can help drive increased profitability.

To enable more companies to realise those benefits, Saudi Arabia in taking a leading role in developing industrial AI technology across the region.

In late 2024, the Kingdom announced plans to invest up to $100 billion in its AI initiative, Project Transcendence, to support new data centres, startups and other infrastructure.