There is plenty of discussions around the Industrial Metaverse. Recently I read four reports from BCG, Cap Gemini, Siemens and MIT explaining the merits of the Industrial Metaverse. All gave detailed outlines on the technology make-up for Industrial Metaverse but as so often is the case, plenty is implicitly assumed, rather than explicitly articulated (besides the technology).
This is where my work focuses, the “how” “who” and “what”. As Ecosystem design and thinking often feels abstract and certainly harder to measure in the early stages, what is clear, in my mind, that the Industrial Metaverse falls under strategic transformation which seems to always lag behind technological capability as these components advance rapidly, yet often are holding back adoption until the organization aspects become clearer. We do need to change transformational mindsets. We need to build a foundational organizing framework.
This “lag” needs a bridging of the gaps to truly unlock the Industrial Metaverse Systemic potential, to move beyond fragmentation into Ecosystem thinking and designs, so this is my point of “stepping-in” to shape this.
Within the reports they offered only general emerging pointers on the complexity and intricate organizational and collaborative structures required for any systematic integration. They do not elaborate on the dynamic principles needed, touched on Ecosystems in passing yet Industrial Metaverse really do need this interconnected strategic transformational application and that comes from addressing the Ecosystem thinking and design it needs to extract the lasting, real value.
There could be many reasons for this, this Metaverse is a very emergent field and is still in its nascent stages. With this then reports like these focus on defining concepts, highlighting the underlying technological enablers (Digital Twins, AI/ML, Cloud/Edge, XR etc) and quite rightly want to showcase early tangible use cases to demonstrate the emerging “whats possible” more than the necessary “how to and what it means”.
We do need to change the current discourse around the Industrial Metaverse and why I place significant emphasis on “Dynamic Ecosystems“ or the intricate interplay of technology with the human and organizational framework, especially leading to “Meta-Twinning,” and its architecture is indeed largely missing or implicitly assumed rather than explicitly articulated as a foundational strategic approach.
This isn’t just about listing principles; it’s about showing how these principles form a coherent, adaptive blueprint for building the Industrial Metaverse and achieving “meta-twinning.”
Explicitly Articulating the Dynamic, Organizing Framework
In the series of posts (link to first) leading to this one, I have outlined some of the suggested framework. To finish the series at this point I want to “touch upon ” different aspects necessary for adoption of the Industrial Metaverse.
1. The “Dynamic” Aspect: The Core Principles (The ‘Why’ and ‘How it Behaves’)
- I outlined my “Dynamic Ecosystem Principles“: The framework is built upon these foundational principles. Let me briefly explain what each means in the context of an industrial organization.
- Real-time Sensing & Responsiveness: This emphasizes continuous monitoring and adaptive reaction to both internal (e.g., machine data) and external (e.g., market shifts) stimuli. This is about constant feedback loops.
- Decentralized Governance & Adaptive Efficiency: Decision-making and autonomy are pushed closer to the action, enabling agility while maintaining overall strategic alignment. It’s about optimizing for continuous evolution, not just current speed.
- Continuous Learning & Proactive Resilience: Any design of the ecosystem is a perpetual learning machine, where insights flow freely to build proactive capabilities against future disruptions and reduce existing “tensions”
- Collective Value Creation & Network Amplification: Here ths strss point is how the value is generated synergistically across participants, leading to exponential returns and network effects.
- Future-Oriented Design for Sustainability & Regenerative Success: Any strategic transformation needs to be framed as building for long-term viability, renewal, and positive impact, moving beyond short-term gains.
- Connect to “Motion” and “Adaptation”: Everywhere we need to use language that reinforces dynamism. This framework is not static; it’s designed for constant motion, evolution, and self-optimization in response to unpredictable industrial realities.
2. The “Organizing” Aspect: The Framework Structure (The ‘What it Looks Like’ and ‘How it’s Built’)
- My work on “Integrated Interconnected Business Ecosystem” forms the Overarching Structure:
- Beyond Simple Collaboration: This is a defined architectural approach for organizing complex interactions.
- Non-Hierarchical, Circular, and Evolving: The overarching structure is a very clear departure from traditional linear or purely hierarchical models. It’s about continuous feedback loops and emergent properties, reflecting the dynamic principles.
- Multi-layered Interoperable: You will find within the Integrated Interconnected Business Ecosystem I explain how different “layers” (e.g., innovation, business, enterprise, end-to-end value chain) within the framework interoperate, with the Dynamic Ecosystem itself, acting as the core orchestrator that binds them.
- Detail the Horizontal Pillars of Organization: These are the foundational elements that need to be explicitly designed and managed within the framework for the Industrial Metaverse. As you work through the implementation stages I have suggested a frame that needs validating in each step taken:
- Purpose: The shared vision and strategic alignment that unites all participants towards a common “meta-twinning” goal.
- Relationship: The defined roles, responsibilities, and mechanisms for interaction and collaboration between diverse stakeholders (internal business units, technology partners, suppliers, customers, even competitors).
- Value Creation: The explicit models for how collective effort generates new value, how it’s shared, and how it drives the continuous refinement of the “meta-twin.”
- Governance: The adaptive rules, policies, and structures that manage trust, intellectual property, data sharing, security, and decision-making across the distributed ecosystem. This is crucial for high-stakes industrial environments.
- Enabling Technology: The underlying platforms (like Siemens Xcelerator, Nvidia’s Omniverse platform, Dassault’s 3DExperience platform, Microsoft, PTC and their ThingWork or AVEVA, part of Schneiders Electric ) where their specific tools, and standards that facilitate the seamless integration and operation of all components (Digital Twins, AI/ML, Cloud/Edge, XR, IoT, 5G, Blockchain), do need to combine with Dynamic Ecosystems to build the comprehensive “meta-twin.”
These specific horizontal pillars in my framework you use as sub-headings for practical implementation steps..
Finally,where key assessment areas become tangible and real
We need to:
- Prioritization & Phased Rollout– impact and feasibility assessments and the phases to expand the meta-twin scope
- Governance & Operating Model for Dynamic Ecosystems in specific structures, shared trust and formal collaboration agreements, who owns what and addressing conflicts in structured ways for sustainability and future regenerative success.
- Platform strategy and orchestration– whose platform (see above for leading players) that best supports “Meta-twinning” in vision and dynamic ecosystem principles (openness, modularity, AI/XR integration etc) and how existing IT/OT systems will be fully addressed and integrated into this platform.
- Talent & Skill Development– what and who is required and how will the existing workforce be upskilled to effectively interact with and leverage the “Meta-Twin in AI and Human interfaces for “collective value creation”
By explicitly laying out the Dynamic Ecosystem framework in this structured manner, you provide a clear, actionable blueprint that distinguishes and empowers organizations to adopt a truly transformative mindset for the Industrial Metaverse and move towards the ultimate promise of connecting “our” ecosystem fully up