Video: 10 Minute IT Jams - An update from AVEVA

Alexa Levative is a woman on a mission.

As the Vice-President of Pacific at Aveva, she brings decades of industrial software expertise to the Asia-Pacific region and says the company is driving digital transformation for customers from energy and infrastructure to manufacturing. "Aveva is a software leader but in a very specific segment – industrial," she said. "We enable our customers…across the entire lifecycle, starting from the design through build to operate and optimise."

Aveva's products help businesses create what Levative calls a "truly digital twin" – a comprehensive digital replica spanning all operational phases and connecting vital information in real time. With a legacy of over 50 years and a customer base of more than 20,000 industrial clients worldwide, Aveva has become a quiet yet substantial force in digitalising industry.

To illustrate the company's longstanding impact, Levative highlights Aveva's work in Australia. "Let's take one very nice example, AGL – Australia's largest energy provider. They have been an Aveva solutions user for more than 20 years," she explained. Aveva's PI System underpins AGL's transition to renewable energy, enabling machine learning and real-time performance optimisation for 200 wind turbines. "Providing that solution, we help them optimise costs of around 50 to 70 million Australian dollars," Levative said.

Recent years have seen Aveva invest heavily in its suite of products. Acquisitions like OSIsoft have bolstered its real-time data capabilities, while a determined shift towards the cloud is reshaping how clients use its technology. "We developed a SaaS model for our solutions. We transition our products into SaaS," Levative explained, referring to Software as a Service. "Sustainability for us is…very natural – to provide our customers with functionality [that helps] them get the best out of their existing assets or to design assets as something which they can really find the benefits in."

Flexible licensing is another innovation that Levative believes sets Aveva apart. "We developed a model of licensing called Flex. The simple analogy can be when you buy some kind of mobile pool credits and you consume them the way you want," she said. The new model allows customers to use Aveva's entire product portfolio without being locked into individual licences. "So instead of the old mode…buying one product…and then another one, and then you wonder, okay, should I buy more of these and more of those, and how to get rid of the licences that may not necessarily [be used] today. So the Flex is really another area of investment for us."

Looking to the future, Aveva's product development continues to focus on customer needs and technological advancement. "Sixteen per cent of the revenue we earn, we invest into R&D – this is over 100 million a year," Levative revealed. The big themes are energy transition, sustainability, and what Levative terms the "metaverse experience" – a bold vision for industrial collaboration using virtual and augmented reality.

"We develop the concept which is called metaverse. Although it may sound very futuristic and far, far away from today, it's not that far away," she said. Aveva's R&D teams have built virtual environments where users can, for instance, 'enter' a plant using VR headsets and interact with equipment in real time, or collaborate on engineering projects with geographically dispersed colleagues. "When you go through those gates you physically – like, virtually – appear in a plant where you can touch virtually all the meters, all the equipment and you can get information…in context."

Levative believes Australia may soon lead in embracing this metaverse model. "Australia is very close to making that step. Metaverse experience can be as simple as a couple of monitors or big screens. You can extend it to augmented reality headset…for different roles, that could be a different experience, but…the point is, we have information connected."

Security remains a concern in the industrial world, particularly as critical assets move to the cloud. Aveva's answer is flexibility. "We developed fully cloud [solutions]…but we decided to build also a hybrid approach," she said. "We do a lot of things on the local ground to allow our customers to have that confidence and quick reaction…At the same time, if you need, for example, predictive analytics…you need to put this information into AI, so that AI is based in the cloud…this is called hybrid solution so our customers can get the best out of both worlds."

Aveva's Pacific presence, championed by Levative since her move from Europe in September, is notable for its unique resources. "In Pacific, we have a unique combination. We have two big R&D teams located – one in Sydney, another in Brisbane. Those products were called Scitech and Ampla – truly Australian products. Scitech, by the way, [is a] 50 years old product," she explained. The team spans offices in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, and works in a hybrid mode to support customers throughout Australia.

Levative is particularly proud of the local research and development offering. "We have all the necessary resources here. We can provide [an] experience which may not necessarily [be something] other offices are able to provide." She invites customers to get involved. "I really invite you to ask that question as I will be really pleased to organize a meeting with our R&D team. They really love to share what they're working [on]…[and] to get a bit of a glimpse what is approaching, just around the corner."

For enterprises interested in Aveva's work, Levative suggests reaching out directly. "If the question is about our solutions, the best way is to contact our sales…if you're not able to find our sales contacts…then you can reach out to me and I'll navigate you to the right contact."

As the conversation wrapped up, Levative reflected on the company's ambitions and the region's promise. "It was a pleasure to have that nice and short productive interview with you," she said.