Industrial digital twin solutions

A simulation is a model used to analyse or predict how a system behaves under specific conditions. It typically runs independently, using assumed or historical data.

A digital twin, by contrast, is a live, continuously synchronized digital representation of a physical asset, process, or system. It connects to real-time operational data and evolves as the physical system changes.

Digital twins reduce risk and cost by turning operational data into predictive insight — enabling organizations to act before failures occur and optimize performance continuously.

They help by:

• Detecting anomalies early
• Enabling what-if testing before physical changes
• Optimizing energy, throughput, and asset performance
• Reducing manual data retrieval and rework

Digital twins move organizations from reactive troubleshooting to proactive performance management.

AVEVA industrial digital twins unify Engineering (ET), Operations (OT), and Enterprise (IT) data into a single, governed environment.

They enable convergence by:

Connecting engineering models, real-time operational data, and enterprise systems into one contextualized asset model

Using CONNECT to securely share data across sites, partners, and applications

Applying analytics and AI across structured, trusted industrial data

AVEVA bridges design, operations, and business systems — turning fragmented data into a connected industrial intelligence platform.

Many vertical industries and various teams use digital twins.

• Design and construction engineers use them to collaborate on the development of large, capital assets.
• Process engineers use them to improve the design, operation, and optimization of industrial processes.  Specifically, the main drivers are: process design optimization, operational efficiency and cost reduction,  predictive maintenance, safety and risk reduction, sustainability and energy efficiency and operator training (via XR/Simulators).
• Operations teams use them to train new employees and operations analysts use them to find options for maximizing efficiency and sustainability.
• Asset reliability and maintenance teams use them to implement predictive maintenance and reduce downtime.
• Supply chain managers use them for forecasting, optimizing sourcing and planning their logistics network.

With a digital twin, users can perform simulations, explore what-if scenarios, analyze process performance, and uncover opportunities for optimization. These insights enable process engineers to make data-driven decisions that enhance the design, operation, and efficiency of the real-world physical asset.

AVEVA digital twins use:

• Historical and real-time data representing different aspects affecting the physical entity such as flow rate, energy consumption, temperature, weather conditions, and more.
• Models that describe the complex interactions that determine performance of the physical entity. These models can be defined using first principles or created by applying AI to a large volume of historical, trending, and real-time data.
• Analytics that provide insight into trends, assess causality, and make predictions about future performance.
• Visualization solutions that provide users with no-code tools for building role- and use case-specific data visualizations to aid understanding and accelerate decision-making.

The data used by digital twins includes:

• Descriptive information about assets or processes, including design specifications, product information, production processes, real-time feedback, and maintenance records.
• Historical data from industrial monitoring and control systems, process equipment, utility systems, and other sources.
• Real-time data streaming from sensors and other systems.
• Predictive analytics data, including forecasts, simulation results, and market trend data, used to anticipate future outcomes and guide decision-making.

Learn about AVEVA™ Asset Information Management and AVEVA™ PI Data Infrastructure

AVEVA does not offer a single digital twin solution or package, because the right set of software components depends on what you already have in your environment and the specific use case you want to explore. AVEVA lets you use the solutions you already rely on in your business to drive digital twin explorations.

AVEVA does recommend and provide a single, common industrial intelligence platform, CONNECT, as the foundation for your digital twin use cases. CONNECT ensures you can easily integrate all of the information, real-time data, models, analytics, and visualization solutions required and that you can reuse and leverage components built by other teams to accelerate time-to-value and optimize results.

 Learn more about CONNECT