How to Choose the Right Digital Twin Partner

The global digital twin market size is projected to reach $110.1 billion by 2028, reflecting the virtually limitless potential of this technology. These virtual replicas of physical objects or systems simulate their real-world counterparts through their entire lifecycles. From automotive and luxury retail to maritime and defense, digital twins are transforming industries by continuously optimizing across business operations. This creates a compounding effect that maximizes ROI.  

With so many possibilities, though, how do businesses focus on their specific needs and choose the right development partner for their digital twin journey?

Five Essentials for Choosing the Right Digital Twin Partner

Choosing the right digital twin partner goes beyond technical expertise. It’s about finding a collaborator who understands your needs and can navigate the complexities of the field. In order to drive measurable success, here are five crucial steps to choosing the right development partner:

1. Identify the right digital twin maturity level for your organization

The first step is to pinpoint the specific problems or questions your digital twin needs to address. This clarity allows your partner to guide you to the right digital twin maturity level. At Younite, we classify digital twin maturity into five key stages: 

1. Descriptive: Acts as a foundation for an organization's data. All relevant information is consolidated into a virtual model that accurately represents its counterpart real-world object or system.
2. Informative: Extends beyond simply storing information. This integrates IoT and sensor data to provide complete visibility into how assets, spaces, and systems are working together in real time.
3. Predictive: Uses simulations and data analysis to forecast future outcomes based on real-time and historical data. With two-way interaction, it enables proactive decision-making by predicting potential issues and optimizing performance before they occur.
4. Prescriptive: Actively simulates and predicts outcomes and also provides actionable recommendations and optimizations to improve performance and decision-making.
5. Autonomous: Where the greatest business value comes from. The digital twin is equipped with the data and processes to autonomously act on its generated insights. 

2. Assess the partner's ability to scale across maturity levels

As your business grows, so should their solution, seamlessly scaling to handle increased data volumes, more complex simulations, and additional integrations. A good partner should help your business grow from simpler Descriptive-level models toward more advanced Autonomous-level solutions if needed.

3. Evaluate relevant experience and expertise

Request examples of use cases the partner has successfully delivered. Do these use cases align with your organization’s goals? For example, if the partner specializes in Informative-level smart building systems but your needs involve Prescriptive-level industrial production, they may not be the right fit.

4. Check whether they deliver customized solutions

Digital twins are not a one-size-fits-all solution to different business challenges. Their complexity mirrors the intricacy of the real-life objects or systems that they represent, and their value lies in solving specific problems. Your partner should be able to leverage the different maturity models to tailor their solutions to your unique needs and industry. For example, integrating CAD models (Descriptive) into complex simulations (Predictive) may be critical in certain fields.

5. Ensure robust data security and management measures

Does the partner conform to industry standards? As your digital twin advances to higher levels of maturity, such as Predictive and Autonomous, robust data security becomes crucial. Make sure the partner has strong data protection measures to safeguard sensitive information at these intensive levels.

Start your digital twin journey with Younite

If your organization is ready to harness the power of digital twins and capitalize on this strategic investment, Younite is here to guide you through every step of the journey. While the idea of implementing digital twins may seem like a large undertaking, our experience at Younite shows that it’s a journey that can start small, methodically grow, and deliver tangible business benefits from day one.

Let’s start a conversation today and chart a course toward measurable success.