Aveva unveils AI & data updates across industrial suite

AVEVA has unveiled a series of updates across its industrial software portfolio, focused on artificial intelligence and industrial data infrastructure.

The announcements span CONNECT, AVEVA Unified Engineering, AVEVA Operations Control and the AVEVA PI data portfolio. They target industrial groups grappling with fragmented operational data, regulatory requirements and ageing infrastructure while trying to apply AI tools in day-to-day operations.

Rob McGreevy, chief product officer, said the main obstacle for many industrial organisations is connecting engineering, operational and compliance data in a usable form. He said the latest product changes are intended to address that problem.

"For industrial enterprises, the challenge is not ambition but infrastructure. The promise of AI remains largely unrealised for most industrial teams because the operational data, engineering data, workflows, and compliance frameworks required to safely deploy AI at scale have rarely been connected in one place. The innovations we are announcing are aimed at closing this gap, across every layer of the industrial technology stack," said McGreevy.

Data platform

A central part of the update is CONNECT, AVEVA's industrial intelligence platform. New integrations with Snowflake and ServiceNow are designed to let customers use operational technology data in analytics, automation and machine learning tools already deployed across their organisations.

CONNECT is also set to receive an industrial knowledge graph to help users build and manage digital twins by modelling relationships between industrial assets and their data. The model will be populated through a twin builder that uses agentic AI to map existing data sources to a standard data model, with an emphasis on data lineage and governance.

Another addition is Flows, a data pipeline tool from AVEVA's Crosser acquisition. It will let users assemble and deploy processing pipelines for tasks such as cleansing, filtering and transforming data in real time. The tool includes more than 800 connectors, expanding the range of systems and sources CONNECT can draw from.

AVEVA also pointed to its long-running partnership with Microsoft as part of its industrial data strategy. That work includes a customer-hosted software-as-a-service option for large enterprises that need tighter control over data sovereignty, security policy and private network access.

Operations tools

Within operations software, updates to Operations Control will introduce unified visualisation across operator interface, supervisory control and data acquisition systems, and broader enterprise systems through CONNECT. The aim is to give users a more consistent operational view across the stack.

The HMI and SCADA platform is also being updated with native C# and Python support. This would let users run AI algorithms closer to industrial assets and processes, where operational decisions are made in real time.

Open-format templates, data models and graphics can also be used by generative AI applications, which AVEVA said could significantly reduce engineering work. Future updates will include Model Context Protocol integrations and broader AI server and client management for both cloud and on-premises systems.

Engineering access

In engineering software, AVEVA is extending browser-based access to Unified Engineering so users can work with both cloud and on-premises project data through a web browser. It is also adding two updates to the suite: integration with Flows through CONNECT, and a new marine design offering that combines hull design, outfitting and 2D schematic production.

McGreevy said the broader changes reflect a push to embed AI tools within existing industrial workflows rather than requiring users to move to separate systems.

"The announcements at AVEVA World reflect our commitment to matching the depth and pace of progress our customers are making. We are deepening the capabilities they rely on to run safer, smarter, more efficient operations. From engineering to operations to compliance, we're continuing to embed AI and intelligence more deeply into industrial workflows, helping them move faster, manage complexity, and scale with confidence," he said.

Governance focus

AVEVA also outlined a series of changes to the PI System portfolio, which is widely used in industry to collect and manage operational data. The updates are intended to make data more accessible and scalable for analytics and AI workloads while maintaining the governance controls expected in regulated sectors.

They include performance and scalability improvements to PI Server, more efficient transfer of PI Server data into CONNECT, and web-based management tools for AVEVA Adapters. PI Vision is also receiving updates to trend analysis, navigation and usability.

AVEVA is also introducing PI Audit Reporter, a web-based audit trail review and reporting product developed with Cognizant.

The product changes come as industrial software suppliers seek to show how AI can be applied in sectors where data quality, context and traceability matter as much as the models themselves. AVEVA cited a Gartner prediction that organisations will abandon 60% of AI projects not supported by AI-ready data through 2026.

More than 90% of leading industrial enterprises use AVEVA software, according to the company. AVEVA is headquartered in Cambridge and focuses on sectors including energy, manufacturing and infrastructure.