A NEW study commissioned by IBM revealed that while Asia-Pacific (APAC) organizations are increasing investments in AI and Industry 4.0 capabilities, many — 85 percent of survey respondents — overestimate their actual maturity and may struggle with fundamental challenges in the pursuit of holistic AI adoption.
This disparity highlights a risk that strategic investments may be misaligned, as leaders could overlook critical bottlenecks that would ultimately stall progress in their digital transformation journeys. Nevertheless, with the right focus, most enterprises can still turn ambition into action and accelerate their journey from Industry 4.0 toward Industry 5.0.
The report, “APAC AI-Driven Industry 4.0: Building Tomorrow’s Industries,” assesses the readiness of large enterprises in the manufacturing and energy and utilities sectors across APAC. It showed that many organizations have invested early in digital tools, especially in areas such as design and supply chain. To unlock true value from these high-end assets, they now need end-to-end visibility, stronger coordination, and a more AI-driven digital backbone.
The IBM report further disclosed that key barriers in the transition from Industry 4.0 to Industry 5.0 include:
Strategic misalignment, in which organizations with strategies pending execution, siloed plans, or isolated pilots risk fragmented and ineffective progress.
People-centered blind spots, where the absence of focused investment in capability development and engagement could stall AI pilots.
Siloed execution, highlighted by the lack of mechanisms for cross-team knowledge sharing, which can hinder collaboration and slow innovation.
Slow core modernization, which translates to limited adoption of predictive maintenance and real-time supply chain visibility, exposing organizations to downtime and disruptions.
Partial AI integration, whereby AI and machine learning (ML) are not treated as strategic pillars, leaving the hoped-for end-to-end intelligent operations largely unrealized.
The path forward
To bridge the gap between ambition and reality and set the stage for Industry 5.0, organizations must adopt a holistic, strategic approach with the following essentials:
Establish a value-driven tech strategy that aligns technology adoption with measurable business outcomes and ROI.
Strengthen core platforms to enable end-to-end visibility and knowledge sharing.
Treat data as a strategic asset by breaking down silos and integrating cross-functional data to build an AI-ready foundation for enterprise-wide insights.
Develop agile approaches that integrate new technologies efficiently with existing infrastructure.
Embed Industry 5.0 thinking centered on human resource development, sustainability, and resilience in building a future-ready enterprise.
The Industry 4.0 Readiness Assessment Study, commissioned by IBM, reflects the perspectives of 135 technology, data, and business leaders across manufacturing and energy and utilities organizations in the Asia-Pacific region.
IBM is a leading provider of global hybrid cloud, AI, and consulting expertise, helping clients in more than 175 countries capitalize on insights from their data, streamline business processes, reduce costs, and gain a competitive edge in their industries.
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