Transformation from hardware to service models in the operational technologies market

Abstract

This thesis investigates the strategic transformation of a Finnish industrial technology company that transforms from a traditional hardware supplier to a service-oriented platform provider in the US operational technologies market. The US OT market, valued at 54.3 billion USD in 2024 and expected to reach 82.9 billion USD by 2030, is evolving fast with increased adoption of digital solutions that include IIOT, AI-driven analytics, and cloud services. I employed a mixed-methods approach with 125 semi-structured interviews and the conjoint survey of 126 respondents for market trends, customer readiness, competitors' strategies, and adoption barriers analysis. The findings reveal a clearly favorable market opportunity for modular and subscription-based predictive maintenance platforms, which could serve various segments of customers such as OEMs, MROs, and end users. On the other hand, there are strategic challenges: brand recognition must be built, the integration is complex, and customer education is needed. Actionable suggestions based on the research contribute to improving platform capabilities, eco-system partnerships, and differentiated but flexible pricing and onboarding models. By means of this study, an improved understanding of industrial servitization dynamics may be obtained. At the same time, practical guidelines will be provided for technology firms engaged in digital business model transformation within asset-intensive sectors.