Most manufacturers face the same starting point: brownfield operations with equipment from multiple vendors and departments that work toward different objectives. The scope of what needs connecting creates enough resistance that many companies never take the first step. At Hannover Messe 2026, Thomas Roehrl of Siemens described this as the biggest mistake in platform deployment: getting overwhelmed by complexity and choosing inaction. After six years building Siemens Industrial Edge and the Xcelerator platform, then moving to deployment, he sees the same pattern across manufacturers of all sizes.
Two Forces That Stall Deployment
The first is organizational. The industry has moved toward solution selling, where combining portfolios delivers bigger value but increases complexity. More value means more stakeholders involved, and each brings different priorities. IT/OT integration is one example: the IT department has to work with the quality department, and each operates with different objectives. The challenge is making sure every group gets their contribution while keeping everyone aligned on a larger target.
The second is brownfield complexity itself. Every manufacturer’s reality is brownfield, with existing equipment from multiple vendors. Organizational friction makes it harder to coordinate across departments, and brownfield complexity makes the technical scope feel unmanageable. Together, they create the conditions for the most common outcome: the project never starts.
How One Use Case Breaks the Cycle
The way through: pick one problem, deploy a solution for it, and grow from there. This avoids both traps at once. A single use case keeps the number of departments involved manageable and limits the technical scope to something achievable.
According to the Siemens Xcelerator marketplace, manufacturers have used digital twins to reduce ramp-up time by up to 40%. Traditional software procurement takes 6 to 12 months; targeted deployments through the marketplace deliver first production insights within a month. These outcomes came from scoped use cases, not from trying to digitalize everything at once.
With over 4,000 certified partners across EPCs, solution providers, and distributors, even the partner ecosystem can feel overwhelming. The practical step is the same: identify the problem first, then match it to the right partner. At Hannover Messe, Thomas Roehrl pointed to physicality as the direction manufacturing AI is heading: “This is where we make AI actually real for manufacturing because it interacts with the things and the stuff we produce.”
Based on a video interview with Thomas Roehrl, Director, Xcelerator Deployment (Edge, Cloud, IoT, AI) at Siemens Digital Industries, recorded by Lucian Fogoros of IIoT World at Hannover Messe 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What causes brownfield deployment paralysis in manufacturing?
Manufacturers see the full scope of brownfield complexity, with equipment from multiple vendors, and get overwhelmed before they begin. The most common response is inaction. Companies that break through the paralysis start with one specific use case and grow from there instead of trying to address everything at once.
2. Where does organizational friction slow platform deployment?
Organizational friction sits between departments inside the manufacturer’s own company. Solution selling combines portfolios for bigger value, which increases complexity. IT and OT departments, for example, need to collaborate despite having different objectives. Making sure every stakeholder contributes while working toward a shared target is the main deployment challenge.
3. How should manufacturers start digitalizing brownfield operations?
Pick one use case, deploy a solution for it, and build from there. The starting point is a specific problem worth solving. With over 4,000 certified partners in the Siemens Xcelerator ecosystem, the practical step is to identify the problem first, then find the partner that fits that issue.
4. What results do manufacturers see from targeted digitalization deployments?
According to the Siemens Xcelerator marketplace, manufacturers have used digital twins to reduce ramp-up time by up to 40%. Traditional software procurement takes 6 to 12 months, while targeted marketplace deployments deliver first production insights within a month.
Part of a paid awareness campaign for Siemens. Editorially independent.
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