Fully connecting the plant to global clouds now collides with European regulators and CFOs who no longer tolerate dependence on foreign providers; 2026 is the year we rethink where industrial data actually lives.
A digital thread is the data architecture that connects PLM, MES, ERP, and IIoT under one common identifier, unlike a digital twin, which replicates a single asset. Here I explain what it is, how it differs from the twin, and how to start with one real use case instead of a project that never ends.
5 min2424.7
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