Our Perspective
Explore our extensive operational and industrial technology business and market insights, authored exclusively by VDC’s seasoned teams of consultants.
State of the Market The pace of change in engineering has never been faster. Products are becoming more complex, more connected,
State of the Market The pace of change in engineering has never been faster. Products are becoming more complex, more connected, and under more regulatory pressure than ever before. At the same time, AI use in lifecycle management has expanded from chatbots and copilots into a large set of assisted work...
Last week, Noetra, a Japanese AI company, announced the launch of their national research effort with the goal of having “Real-World Native AI” by 2030. Noetra will be building out
Last week, Noetra, a Japanese AI company, announced the launch of their national research effort with the goal of having "Real-World Native AI" by 2030. Noetra will be building out a hyperscale-level AI factory with NVIDIA and using it to train their multimodal foundation model on proprietary Japanese manufacturing/logistics data. This multi-billion-dollar project funded by players such as Sony Group Corporation, SoftBank Corp., NEC Corporation, Honda Motor Co., Ltd,...
Middle Market Guidance from the Forefront of Physical AI – Autonomous 2026 Conference, San Francisco
What a day spent among VCs, founders and robots in San Francisco tells middle-market investors about where this industry is headed, and when it becomes an opportunity for middle market PE.
What a day spent among VCs, founders and robots in San Francisco tells middle-market investors about where this industry is headed, and when it becomes an opportunity for middle market PE.
In industries where communications are critical, deploying devices with specialized capabilities has traditionally required lengthy timelines and significant costs. One such capability is sidelink, which enables devices to communicate directly with one another without relying on cellular network infrastructure. As technologies such as sidelink move toward operational
In industries where communications are critical, deploying devices with specialized capabilities has traditionally required lengthy timelines and significant costs. One such capability is sidelink, which enables devices to communicate directly with one another without relying on cellular network infrastructure. As technologies such as sidelink move toward operational...
California’s Assembly Bill 660 (AB 660), which took effect on July 1, 2026, may appear to be a simple labeling
California's Assembly Bill 660 (AB 660), which took effect on July 1, 2026, may appear to be a simple labeling change. By replacing confusing consumer-facing date labels such as "Sell By" with standardized terms like "BEST if Used By" and "USE By," the legislation aims to reduce...
If your fund holds industrial technology or operational technology companies, you have probably already had the conversation. Maybe you even started it. The board meeting where someone asks the CEO how the company is integrating AI into its products. The value creation conversation that focuses on the
If your fund holds industrial technology or operational technology companies, you have probably already had the conversation. Maybe you even started it. The board meeting where someone asks the CEO how the company is integrating AI into its products. The value creation conversation that focuses on the...
In most industrial and operational tech businesses with recurring revenue, leadership's attention flows to the top of the customer base. The largest accounts get named owners, quarterly business reviews, custom roadmaps, and executive air cover. That focus is rational, but it leaves a structural blind spot. Beneath
In most industrial and operational tech businesses with recurring revenue, leadership's attention flows to the top of the customer base. The largest accounts get named owners, quarterly business reviews, custom roadmaps, and executive air cover. That focus is rational, but it leaves a structural blind spot. Beneath...
Exploring the integration of AI at the edge, this research note documents the deployment of OpenClaw on the new Qualcomm Arduino UNO Q. By leveraging agentic workflows for local system monitoring, the experiment highlights how accessible hardware and flexible tooling enable developers to move from simple prototyping
Exploring the integration of AI at the edge, this research note documents the deployment of OpenClaw on the new Qualcomm Arduino UNO Q. By leveraging agentic workflows for local system monitoring, the experiment highlights how accessible hardware and flexible tooling enable developers to move from simple prototyping...
From patient records to workforce efficiency and resource allocation, healthcare organizations are responsible for managing countless moving parts, all while
From patient records to workforce efficiency and resource allocation, healthcare organizations are responsible for managing countless moving parts, all while delivering high-quality patient care. As information management becomes increasingly complex, healthcare organizations are looking for technology solutions that can help reduce the burden. VDC Strategy’s 2025 Buyer...
Your company has a competitive weapon it already owns but likely almost never fires. It's your value proposition, and it’s likely just sitting in its holster. Most industrial and operational technology companies know exactly what they sell and exactly who they sell it to. Nearly every sales
Your company has a competitive weapon it already owns but likely almost never fires. It's your value proposition, and it’s likely just sitting in its holster. Most industrial and operational technology companies know exactly what they sell and exactly who they sell it to. Nearly every sales...
Recurring revenue is among the most trusted signals of business health, and among the most easily misread. A book of contracted ARR with a high renewal rate is often seen as a powerful indicator of a business that is performing well. Yet these metrics often reveal something
Recurring revenue is among the most trusted signals of business health, and among the most easily misread. A book of contracted ARR with a high renewal rate is often seen as a powerful indicator of a business that is performing well. Yet these metrics often reveal something...
In February of this year, VDC Strategy published a piece on the impact of the memory supply shortage on pricing.
In February of this year, VDC Strategy published a piece on the impact of the memory supply shortage on pricing. Since then, memory costs have remained elevated and the pricing and availability impact is now also expanding to SSDs and processors. RAM pricing (which had spiked dramatically,...
When people talk about why language models worked, they usually point to scale: bigger models, more compute, better optimizers. The truth is that the internet did most of the work in creating that scale. By the time GPT-3 arrived, decades of human writing had already been digitized,
When people talk about why language models worked, they usually point to scale: bigger models, more compute, better optimizers. The truth is that the internet did most of the work in creating that scale. By the time GPT-3 arrived, decades of human writing had already been digitized,...
Industrial and operational technology companies face a uniquely difficult challenge in managing many aspects of their business, and culture is no exception. On the one hand, they must satisfy the rigorous expectations...
Industrial and operational technology companies face a uniquely difficult challenge in managing many aspects of their business, and culture is no exception. On the one hand, they must satisfy the rigorous expectations...
Honeywell has formally exited the AIDC/Track & Trace and Enterprise Mobility markets, announcing the sale of its Productivity Solutions &
Honeywell has formally exited the AIDC/Track & Trace and Enterprise Mobility markets, announcing the sale of its Productivity Solutions & Services business unit to Brady Corporation for $1.4 billion on April 20th, 2026. Noteworthy is the significant discount this represents relative to the investments Honeywell made to...
While the AI most people know runs in distant data centers, answering questions and generating images from the cloud, Physical AI operates where the action actually happens: on the device, at the edge, in the moment. It drives cars, pilots drones, stocks warehouses, performs surgery, and walks
While the AI most people know runs in distant data centers, answering questions and generating images from the cloud, Physical AI operates where the action actually happens: on the device, at the edge, in the moment. It drives cars, pilots drones, stocks warehouses, performs surgery, and walks...
Companies that build and sell industrial and operational technology face a distinctive risk environment. Their products are often deeply embedded in customers' critical workflows such as facility operations, fleet management, industrial process control, or transaction processing, which means that both the cost of failure and the value
Companies that build and sell industrial and operational technology face a distinctive risk environment. Their products are often deeply embedded in customers' critical workflows such as facility operations, fleet management, industrial process control, or transaction processing, which means that both the cost of failure and the value...
While SaaS valuations deflate under AI-native competition, a quieter AI-driven revolution is gaining momentum across manufacturing lines, distribution centers, retail floors, and critical infrastructure; anywhere operations meet the physical world. The result is going to be transformative for industrial and operational tech companies and investors, as value
While SaaS valuations deflate under AI-native competition, a quieter AI-driven revolution is gaining momentum across manufacturing lines, distribution centers, retail floors, and critical infrastructure; anywhere operations meet the physical world. The result is going to be transformative for industrial and operational tech companies and investors, as value...
Pricing stability across AIDC and enterprise mobility hardware seems to be a thing of the past. While there was a
Pricing stability across AIDC and enterprise mobility hardware seems to be a thing of the past. While there was a flurry of activity in Q1 2025 due to tariffs and their resulting impact, 2026 shifts are more structural – driven by memory supply imbalances due to AI-first...
Retailers are prioritizing panic button technology as new safety legislation in states like Washington and New York takes effect. These mandates require accessible internal response systems to protect frontline workers. By leveraging integrated software and wearable solutions, retailers can meet complex regulatory requirements while enhancing employee well-being
Retailers are prioritizing panic button technology as new safety legislation in states like Washington and New York takes effect. These mandates require accessible internal response systems to protect frontline workers. By leveraging integrated software and wearable solutions, retailers can meet complex regulatory requirements while enhancing employee well-being...
Wednesday, Texas Instruments (TI) (NASDAQ: TXN) made the landmark announcement of its intent to acquire Silicon Labs in an all-cash
Wednesday, Texas Instruments (TI) (NASDAQ: TXN) made the landmark announcement of its intent to acquire Silicon Labs in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $7.5B. The acquisition is a clear indicator that the war between embedded hardware platforms continues to wage as we transition into a new...
CES 2026 underscored the shift from cloud-first intelligence to embodied systems, where machines can perceive, reason, and act in safety-critical environments. VDC
CES 2026 underscored the shift from cloud-first intelligence to embodied systems, where machines can perceive, reason, and act in safety-critical environments.VDC attended CES 2026 in Las Vegas, which ran January 6–9, 2026 across 13 venues, including the newly renovated Las Vegas Convention Center campus. CES opened after two Media...
ServiceNow’s announced acquisition of Armis marks a significant moment in the evolution of the OT and extended IoT (XIoT) cybersecurity
ServiceNow’s announced acquisition of Armis marks a significant moment in the evolution of the OT and extended IoT (XIoT) cybersecurity market. While acquisitions of OT security specialists have become more common, this deal stands out for what it signals about enterprise cybersecurity priorities and the growing centrality...
Rugged tablets are entering a new era. Once reserved for the harshest environments, enterprise-grade rugged tablets have become foundational to
Rugged tablets are entering a new era. Once reserved for the harshest environments, enterprise-grade rugged tablets have become foundational to a fully connected frontline. The global market is accelerating in 2025, driven by large-scale refresh cycles, AI-enabled workflows, edge intelligence, and renewed investment across military, public safety, manufacturing, retail,...
