IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Manufacturing 2025 Predictions

IDC FutureScape Figure

• Figure: IDC FutureScape: Worldwide Manufacturing 2025 Top 10 Predictions

Executive Summary

IDC FutureScape Predictions

• Summary of External Drivers

• Predictions: Impact on Technology Buyers

• Prediction 1: By 2027, 50% of Global Organizations Will Deploy a GenAI-Powered Platform That Combines Disparate Data Sources to Simulate, Assess, and Predict Supply Chain Risks

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 2: By 2027, 70% of G2000 Manufacturers Will Leverage GenAI to Automate Product Quality Management and Improve Development Time/Cost by 10%

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 3: By 2026, Two-Thirds of Manufacturers Will Be Pursuing Industrial DataOps Strategies to Enable the Execution of AI-Supported Use Cases, Thereby Improving Operational Efficiency

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 4: By 2026, 30% of Global Manufacturers Will Use Federated Learning to Scale Industrial AI, Enabling Compliance with Data Regulations, Reduction of Data Preparation Effort, and Stronger Data Security

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 5: Driven by Operational Sustainability Goals, by 2028, 50% of Hard-to-Abate Industries Will Have Adopted a CCSaaS Model, Reducing Their Carbon Emissions by 60–70% and Improving Their ESG Rating by 10–30%

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 6: By 2027, 60% of G2000 Manufacturers Will Be Using GenAI to Enhance People Productivity and Accelerate Time to Expertise

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 7: Unable to Meet Global Repair SLAs, by 2028, 60% of G2000 Manufacturers Will Expand Spare Parts Ecosystem Partners Across the Supply Chain to Confidently Deliver Resolution and Improved Customer Outcomes

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 8: By 2026, Resiliency Pressures and AI Opportunities Will Drive More than 30% of G2000 Manufacturers to Invest in New Advanced Planning and Scheduling Deployments, Leading to PO Rates of Above 95%

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 9: By 2027, 60% of Manufacturers Will Share R&D Data on Innovation, Quality, and Best Practices to Global Data Spaces, Leading to Five Times Faster Time to Market and Overall Lower Cost of Quality

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Guidance

• Prediction 10: By 2027, 40% of Global Manufacturers Will Utilize AI and Generative AI for Compliance Automation, Ensuring a 90% Reduction in Manual Compliance Tasks and Cutting Operational Costs by 15%

• Associated Drivers

• IT Impact

• Guidance

Advice for Technology Buyers

External Drivers: Detail

• AI-Driven Business Models — Moving from AI Experimentation to Monetization

• The Drive to Automate — Toward a Data-Driven Future

• Future Proofing Against Environmental Risks — ESG Operationalization and Risk Management

• Regulatory Flux — Navigating Compliance Challenges in a Shifting Policy Landscape

• Geoeconomic Reordering — Rethinking Globalization, Supply Chains, and Macroeconomic Challenges

• Battling Against Technical Debt — Overcoming Hurdles to IT Modernization

• Customer Experience Squared — Consumer and Citizen Expectations for Digital Services

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• Related Research