Virtual Twin adoption in India doubles post-pandemic: Report

Virtual twin technology is gaining traction in India across various industries, according to a new report by Dassault Systèmes and nasscom. The report reveals a two-fold increase in virtual twin implementations post-pandemic. 

Virtual twin adoption in India is playing a crucial role in accelerating the design-to-realisation process, helping organisations achieve sustainability and circularity goals across the value chain. The findings show that 57% of Indian enterprises allocate less than 30% of technology spending to digital efforts.  

Over half of these enterprises also indicate fragmented digitalisation, with key functions digitalised in silos, limiting effective ROI realisation. Less than one in five companies have advanced process automation, with the majority implementing Retrofitted Process Automation (RPA). 

The report also notes that 25% of companies lack formal budgets for virtual twins, and 80% allocate less than 7% of their tech spend to virtual twin adoption. Additionally, 63% of Indian companies deploy virtual twins at the product or process level, with 40% at the product level and 23% at the process level. Precision in product-market fit emerged as one of the top objectives for implementing virtual twins. 

Regarding deployment time, 75% of virtual twin implementations in India take between 12-24 months at each level of product, process, or system virtual twin. Supplier selection is a major challenge for 75% of Indian enterprises, and 50% are still evaluating suppliers. 

Furthermore, 70% of Indian firms are in the PoC/pilot stages across software, IT-OT hardware, and connectivity tech. Analytics and AI/ML applications are among the least productionised, following high-definition 3D software and other specialist applications. A majority of enterprises seek either best-of-breed software packages or partner with large managed service providers for their virtual twin applications. 

This report is based on a survey of 130 companies in India, as well as in Europe and APAC, focusing on large and mid-sized enterprises. The survey spans four major industry segments: continuous manufacturing, discrete manufacturing, public infrastructure and smart cities, and life sciences and healthcare. 

“Virtual twin technology is poised at the brink of transformative potential, marked by a sharp increase in awareness and early adoptions since the pandemic. Although full-scale implementations and dedicated budgets remain limited, the focus on optimising assets and processes opens up expansive opportunities,” said Sangeeta Gupta, Senior Vice President & Chief Strategy Officer at nasscom. 

“Our report underscores the imperative for organizations to secure top leadership commitment and navigate software procurement challenges to achieve production-grade capabilities. We remain committed to empowering businesses in their journey towards enhanced performance and operational efficiency through virtual twin technology, driving sustainable growth and innovation across industries,” said Deepak NG, Managing Director, India, Dassault Systèmes.