Industrial AI Readiness Report 2026: Data Comes First

The 2026 Industrial AI Readiness Report

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Industrial companies everywhere, from manufacturing and energy to transportation and smart cities, are being pushed to “do something with AI.” Predictive maintenance, digital twins, edge AI, and even agentic operations are now showing up on roadmaps and board slides.

But here’s the reality: AI ambition is accelerating faster than AI readiness.

That’s why IIoT World, in collaboration with HiveMQ, released a new report: Accelerating AI Use Cases in 2026: The Industrial Data, Intelligence & AI Readiness Survey Report. This was put together by HiveMQ based on data collected in 2025 via an extensive survey conducted by IIoT World. We want to thank the 272 industrial professionals who contributed their time and expertise to this research.

The #1 blocker isn’t AI, it’s data.

When asked what’s holding Industrial AI back, respondents pointed first to foundational issues:

54% cite data quality and availability as the top challenge
48% point to legacy integration and data silos
43% highlight trust, explainability, and transparency

And only 34% say they already have production systems with real-time data streaming.

High interest. Low adoption.

While 64% are using or planning AI for predictive maintenance, and 55% for process optimization, only 7% say AI is embedded in most core processes today
Yet in three years, 44% expect it to be.

Industrial AI Readiness

This report explains:

Why AI projects fail when moving from pilot to scale
What “AI-enabling architectures” look like in real operations
How leaders are aligning OT/IT teams, governance, and real-time data
The most expected outcomes, including reduced downtime (53%) and improved OEE (52%)

Download the full 2026 Industrial AI Readiness Survey Report to benchmark your strategy and accelerate AI results, without getting stuck in pilots.

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