KPMG’s Global Tech Report 2026 for Industrial Manufacturing finds that manufacturers are moving beyond experimentation and actively scaling AI, advanced analytics, digital twins, and edge computing to improve operations and competitiveness. While nearly half of manufacturers already report business value from AI and most expect to scale deployments within the next year, data quality remains a major challenge despite confidence in existing data foundations. The report highlights strong returns from technology investments, growing cybersecurity spending driven by connected operations and geopolitical risks, and an increasing focus on workforce readiness as AI becomes embedded in daily work. Manufacturers are prioritizing resilient data environments, modernized operations, and human-AI collaboration to drive productivity, innovation, and long-term growth while managing security and operational risks.

Join for free to read