Monitoring and control advancements are central to driving productivity, resilience, and profitability in every enterprise. New developments are important in realising their value, especially with new opportunities from digital transformation. After a year of industry-wide innovation and technology advancements, our team at SolutionsPT has examined today’s top trends shaping industrial monitoring and control, in order to explain how they can help industrial operators scale their businesses.
Advanced AI integrationThe first and most prevalent trend in industrial monitoring and control is Artificial Intelligence (AI). In fact, it is very likely that AI will feature in almost all conversations about industrial technology in the coming year, with its increasing adoption and cost-effectiveness. More than £78 billion has been invested in the UK’s AI sector so far since the current government took office, and the Industrial Strategy promises there is more to come.
In practice, AI can track fluctuations in real-time that align with production activities. For example, in the case of a temperature increase in a food processing plant’s large-scale refrigeration, a system will alert operators to solve the problem before it leads to lost profits. Applying that predictive thinking to other industrial contexts, it’s easy to see why AI will play a major role in monitoring and control in 2026. It holds the potential to support energy and utilities, monitoring the grid in real time, or forecasting renewable sources to adjust power distribution to maintain grid stability. Any industrial setting that sees complex assets running continuously can achieve value from AI algorithms embedded into monitoring systems, alerting operators of potential issues before detection by manual inspection.
Another trend we are seeing is the increasing agility of monitoring and control systems to handle new regulatory updates or market demand shifts that require process adjustments.
We have always highlighted the importance of breaking down information silos and moving toward integrated solutions in industrial settings. By doing this, businesses can build a foundation that supports expansion. This scalability relies on monitoring and control systems that are interoperable so that businesses can install new components, sensors, or entirely new assets with minimal configuration changes. For example, manufacturers can add entirely new production lines without compromising on data flow or adding training needs for the already-busy operator.
Upgrade to innovateIn sectors where technology is rapidly evolving, businesses must strike a delicate balance between the latest digitalisation capabilities and budget availability. In order to ensure return on investment, operational teams need clear and measurable benefits to be well researched before dedicating capital expenditure to upgrades.
However, looking toward 2026 and beyond, this is no longer a one or the other approach. Upgrading to the latest monitoring and control systems can now deliver advanced capabilities in a cost-effective way. Upgrading can be easy, available at just a click of a button, and you can take baby steps to adopt new technology one step at a time. Industrial businesses can leverage next-generation SCADA systems for real-time data collection from any number of sources. Advanced HMI capabilities give onsite operators a clear view of their responsibilities at a glance, with intuitive options that maintain better control, reduce errors, and make informed decisions, without the costly rip-and-replace approach.
The AVEVA InTouch for System Platform represents the best-in-class monitoring and control for industrial businesses in any sector with a vast heritage within industry that has now been evolved to meet the needs of Industry 4.0 innovation, with InTouch 2026 expected to launch in Q1 of next year. Regardless of the hardware already in place, the scalability objectives, or the budget, operators can access the next-generation capabilities to create graphics, access alarms and events, visualise trends and history, and implement security with a single deployment.
AVEVA InTouch and OMI for System Platform deliver best-in-class operational monitoring and control for industrial businesses across all sectors, building on a strong heritage and evolving to meet the demands of Industry 4.0. With the upcoming launch of the System Platform suite of solutions in the first half of next year, AVEVA empowers operators with next-generation capabilities, enabling dynamic graphics creation, real-time alarm and event management, trend and historical data visualisation, and robust security, all within a single, scalable deployment. Regardless of existing hardware, growth objectives, or budget constraints, AVEVA provides a unified and future-ready experience for industrial operations.
Embracing these trends is no longer optional—it’s essential for businesses that aim to scale, innovate, and lead in their sectors. At SolutionsPT, digital transformation is seen as a powerful force for good, unlocking a new future for industry and those who work within it. Register for an Innovation Lab to find out more today: https://info.solutionspt.com/innovationlab
