For many years now, we've heard and read about how "next year" will be the breakout year for AI. And in a way, that's always true – each year marks a new level-up in AI's ability to optimize traditional business operations and streamline work for the better. These year-after-year improvements have also further refined AI, for more fit-for-purpose applications that drive new value in specific use cases. Industrial AI is the latest iteration of this phenomenon, applying AI's processing to specialized applications in a manufacturing world rapidly undergoing profound digital transformations. Just as 2020 and 2021 marked new evolutions in artificial intelligence, 2022 promises to see industrial AI turn a major new corner in how the manufacturing sector draws on AI applications to tackle the problems of today and create new value-adding layers to their organization and ways of working.

Most industrial organizations don't need to be sold on AI. They know its benefits, its value for being competitive, and that it's critical to their existence as a business. Consider some of the findings from a 2019 Accenture study, where 84% of C-suite executives said AI was essential to achieving their growth objectives, and 75% added that failing to scale AI across their organization will lead to them going out of business in five years. So, the will to adopt AI is there; nobody still needs to hear the sales pitch. What's needed, though, is guidance on just how and where to get started.