The fourth edition of our Operational Technology Report is available now. It draws on structured interviews with 310 plant managers and maintenance leads across 19 countries, conducted between January and March 2026.
Three findings worth noting
Maintenance budgets have recovered in nominal terms but not in real terms. Sixty-one per cent of respondents reported a budget increase, while 44 per cent reported an increase that exceeded local inflation.
The skills constraint has shifted. Two years ago respondents reported difficulty recruiting control engineers. This year the more common complaint was retaining them past the third year, which points to progression rather than pay.
Security plans exist more often than they are funded. Seventy-eight per cent of sites had a documented operational technology security plan; 31 per cent had a funded programme against it. The gap was widest at sites between 100 and 500 employees.
Method and limitations
Respondents were self-selected from our client base and from two industry associations, which biases the sample toward organisations already investing in automation. We have published the questionnaire and the anonymised response distribution so readers can judge the sample for themselves.