Digital Transformation Reshapes the Industrial Market and Creates New Pivots of Growth for Automation Solution Providers in the Region
This outlook study provides information on the key trends and predictions for the automation market in the Middle East and Africa in 2020, analysing developments across end-user industries. Demand for automation solutions in this region experienced a steady growth in 2019, aided by the moderate investment climate. The automation market across the region is set for a paradigm shift due to digitalisation initiatives by end-user industries. Focus on portfolio consolidation through mergers and acquisitions (M&As) and partnerships will gain prominence in 2020. This study analyses the effect of such changes on the market in detail, along with other trends that are expected to transpire over the upcoming year as organisations set to prepare for the future. Digital Transformation is reshaping the industrial market and creating new pivots of growth for automation solution providers in the Middle East. Digitisation was the key theme across major end-user industries in the region. Automation majors have realigned their market strategies to match the opportunities offered by digitisation. We expect that there will be an increased number of M&As for companies with Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) capabilities. Established industrial automation companies have a large appetite for digitalisation and analytics capabilities, which serves as a strategy for gaining a competitive advantage in the market. While there is an appetite for automation in Africa, market price sensitivity, low skills, and a slow shift towards local value-added manufacturing have led to a slow uptake of advanced automation technologies. Businesses in South Africa have been investing steadily to prepare for the impact of the fourth industrial revolution. This study also highlights the IIoT platform offerings of major automation companies and end-user partnerships with IIoT firms.
Integration of IIoT technologies will complement conventional automation systems, as end users will have better control over the systems’ functionality and monitoring. Though traditional automation vendors are offering IIoT-ready solutions, forging strategic partnerships with pure-play IIoT providers will add value to the existing offering and enable automation vendors to be a single point of contact for end users. The new ethos of automation vendors is in creating partnerships with start-ups that have expertise in niche technologies (Cybersecurity, Digital Twins, Blockchain, Drones) in order to generate market growth. This trend is evolving quickly in the Middle East region. This automation outlook also offers in-depth outlook on the key trends across end-user verticals that affect the Middle East and Africa automation market.
Key Issues Addressed
- What are the key factors that will influence the Middle East and Africa automation market in 2020?
- What are the key growth opportunities for automation companies?
- What are the key automation trends to watch out for in 2020?
- What are the key end-user industry trends which will have an impact on the automation market in 2020?
- What is the impact of digitalisation in the automation market?
Table of Contents
Companies Mentioned (Partial List)
A selection of companies mentioned in this report includes, but is not limited to:
- ABB
- Emerson
- Honeywell
- Schneider Electric
- Siemens
- Yokogawa
