Digital Twins Spending Will Reach $12.7 Billion by 2021

Global spending on Digital Twins will reach $12.7 billion by 2021, according to Juniper Research. That is an increase of 17% from $10.8 billion in 2019. Digital Twins are a digital representation of physical assets that utilise IoT data, enabling use cases such as predictive maintenance when combined with AI.

The research outlined that despite the negative impact of COVID-19, Juniper Research is only anticipating a 1% drop in overall Digital Twins spend in 2020. Investment in Digital Twins is driven by valuable efficiency gains, which are increasingly essential in uncertain times. The research identified that under these circumstances, return on investment is still achievable, primarily due to the extensive links Digital Twins have to the wider IoT ecosystem.

The study identified that Digital Twins are not generally standalone products, and must be implemented as part of a wider Industrial IoT strategy. While IoT sensors generate enormous amounts of data in the industrial setting, interpreting this data and putting it into operation requires a collaborative approach based on open platforms. “Digital Twins are only as valuable as the quality of data that enters the platform. As such, the most successful vendors in the market will be those that use partnerships to pair existing platform ecosystems with innovative Digital Twins solutions,“ said research co-author Nick Maynard.

Manufacturing will be the single biggest sector for Digital Twins deployment; accounting for 34% of total spend in 2021, followed by energy & utilities at 18%. North America will dominate spending, accounting for 67% of manufacturing spend in 2021. The research outlines that the US has had successful partnerships in the IoT ecosystem driving adoption, which is an approach that should be replicated in other markets.