Rockwell report: Days of ‘experimentation’ are over, DX is here to stay

When it comes to staying competitive, manufacturers have no choice now but to digitally transform their operations—and about a third have already involved AI, says a new report from manufacturing technology heavyweight Rockwell Automation.

Rockwell’s 2026 State of Smart Manufacturing Report, its 11th-annual study and publicly released on May 19, showed that 90% of the report's more than 1,500 manufacturing respondents view digital transformation—involving such technologies as AI, cloud computing, and data analytics and by following through on practices such as digitization of processes, predictive maintenance on plant machinery, and merged IT and OT operations—as essential to operational success.

In a climate, respondents added, when they are operating under sustained volatility driven by cost, labor, cybersecurity, and supply chain pressures.

Stories of AI adoption: Wolfspeed uses ‘three-stage maturity model’ for agent deployment

Speaking of AI, fully one-third—34%—of the respondents polled across 17 countries said their operations already are AI-augmented, supporting functions such as quality, cybersecurity, and process optimization. According to the new Rockwell report, these manufacturers expect more than half of their operations to be AI-supported by 2030.

The report reflects an inflection point, according to Rockwell officials, as many manufacturers are moving beyond experimentation and toward broader deployment of digital capabilities.

Fewer organizations are operating in pilot mode, the Rockwell report notes with statistics, while more respondents report active use of smart manufacturing technologies to support real, day-to-day operations: For example, this year, only 18% reported they were piloting smart manufacturing technologies while 59% reported these tools are used actively to support operations.

“What stands out in this year’s research is not just the challenges, but how leaders are responding—by making digital transformation a core operating priority,” said Blake Moret, Rockwell Automation’s chairman and CEO, Rockwell Automation, a global market leader in industrial automation and digital transformation.

“The organizations that are seeing results are those that connect technology, people and processes to turn insight into better decisions, stronger performance and greater resilience.”

See also: Expanding expert decision capacity with AI reasoning agents

The survey behind the report, which draws on more than a decade of findings, was conducted by Sapio Research in association with Rockwell Automation.

The survey, of managers through the C-suite, drew respondents from a range of industries sizes with revenues spanning $100 million to over $30 billion including consumer packaged goods, food and beverage, automotive and semiconductor, energy, and life sciences.

Of the survey respondents, 62% reported being decision-makers, so they had influence over the direction of digital transformation at their organizations.

Some other key findings from the report:

• Manufacturers are moving from pilots to scale: Six in 10 respondents report actively using smart manufacturing technologies to support operations, while only 18% remain in pilot mode, marking the decline of the pilot-heavy phase of previous years.
• One-third of operations are AI-augmented: The much-hyped technology is supporting functions such as quality, cybersecurity, and process optimization.
• Operational intelligence is a competitive divider: While organizations continue to collect growing volumes of data, according to the report only 43% is being used effectively, highlighting execution—not data availability—as a constraint on performance.
• Cybersecurity is a reality: Nearly half of manufacturers (46%) experienced at least one cyber incident in the past year, according to the Rockwell report, reflecting rising exposure as operations become more connected and autonomous. Secure, integrated IT/OT architectures are now foundational to scaling AI and using advanced automation.
• Where DX wasn’t happening, it was planned: Even among organizations not yet adopting smart manufacturing, 70% plan to invest in the next 12 months.
• Company budgets are starting to seriously back DX: Among respondents, 28% of their operating budgets are now dedicated to industrial technology, show that the investment is no longer about exploration but is about execution.