In the sunlit command centers of power plants, refineries, and smart cities, data centers on continents, a quiet revolution hums along fiber-optic and wireless circuits. Billions of points of data flash onto screens in an instant-temperature readings from oil rigs in turbulent oceans, pressure statistics from pipes running across deserts, usage patterns of power at sprawling factory campuses. For centuries, this flood of cyberspace coursed through the nets like water through a sieve, held and never fully captured. The promise of connectivity, prediction, and effectiveness hung tantalizingly just out of reach, but ever beyond industrial capacities.
Now, today, that dream is in sight. Standing at the intersection of industrial know-how and digital innovation is Vishal Mahna, Vice President of Global Practices for Digital Twin at AVEVA. He is not just crafting code for software or deploying systems. Mahna is building industry’s digital nervous system today-smart networks that sense, learn, predict, and act. Through digital twin technology, breathing virtual twins that mirror every movement of their physical twins across complete lifecycles, he is leading a profound revolution in the manner in which human civilization designs, constructs, maintains, and refines the vital infrastructure that supports civilization.
Understanding the Industrial Digital Twin
To grasp the magnitude of Mahna’s work, one must first understand what sets an industrial digital twin apart from conventional digital models. In the context of digital twins, AVEVA is a leading global provider of industrial software which enables organizations to build and manage these sophisticated virtual replicas. The “AVEVA Digital Twin“ represents a hybrid unified platform centered around their CONNECT industrial intelligence platform, integrating engineering data, real-time operations, and AI-driven analytics into a cohesive ecosystem.
AVEVA defines a digital twin as an interconnected, immersive, and persistent virtual universe which is a “living” digital replica of a physical asset (like a pump), a process (like a production line), or an entire enterprise (like a power plant). Unlike a simple 3D model or static simulation, AVEVA’s approach focuses on three core elements that evolve throughout the asset’s lifecycle.
The foundation begins with engineering data. Using tools like AVEVA Unified Engineering, they create a “digital thread” that starts during the design phase, ensuring that 3D models and technical specifications are accurate from day one. This foundational layer captures the asset’s DNA, every dimension, material property, and design decision—preserving it throughout the asset’s lifetime.
Building upon this foundation comes operational intelligence. Tools like the AVEVA PI System collect massive amounts of real-time sensor data, providing “situational awareness” so the digital twin reflects the current state of the physical asset moment by moment. Temperature fluctuations, pressure variations, energy consumption patterns, all stream continuously into the digital replica, keeping it synchronized with physical reality.
The third element transforms data into foresight: AI and analytics. AVEVA infuses predictive analytics to detect anomalies and predict equipment failure before it happens, allowing for proactive maintenance. Physics-based simulations blend with machine learning models to not only forecast what might occur but prescribe optimal actions, turning the digital twin from a mirror into a decision-making partner.
This comprehensive architecture engineering precision, real-time awareness, and predictive intelligence creates what he champions: digital twins that don’t just observe but actively participate in optimizing industrial operations. It is within this technological ecosystem that Mahna has built his career, pushing the boundaries of what these systems can achieve.
The Evolution of an Industrial Visionary
Mahna’s path to digital twin leadership reads like a masterclass in recognizing inflection points before they arrive. His career began in the disciplined world of automation and control systems, where milliseconds matter and failure isn’t an option. In control centers and command centers, he lived among operators whose vigilance kept refineries running, power flowing, and processes safe. His early universe revolved around alarm management, SCADA systems, and the art of situational awareness, ensuring the right person saw the right data at precisely the right moment.
But even as he mastered this domain, Mahna sensed a fundamental limitation. Control centers excelled at keeping individual assets operational, yet they operated in isolation. Each site, each unit, each control room maintained its own window into reality. Meanwhile, executives peering down from corporate heights couldn’t see the patterns, couldn’t connect the dots across facilities scattered across continents. The data existed. The connections did not.
This realization sparked Mahna’s first transformation. He pivoted toward enterprise visualization platforms- systems designed to weave together KPIs, operational metrics, and business intelligence into unified dashboards. Suddenly, what happened in a sub-system in plant could inform decisions about a enterprise planning or multiple regional operations centers connected to one unified operations center or multiple facilities connected to command center in education city or complete supply chain is visible with multiple data coming from 50+ applications. The silos began crumbling.
Yet Mahna quickly recognized that even panoramic visibility had limits. Showing executives what was happening, even in real time across global operations, still left them reacting to the present. The industrial world needed foresight. It needed to peer around corners, to anticipate problems before they cascaded into crises. This insight propelled him into the emerging frontier of predictive analytics and machine learning. Data transformed from historical record to crystal ball. Maintenance schedules shifted from calendar-based to condition and predictive-based. Energy optimization moved from periodic adjustments to continuous refinement. Production lines began learning from their own patterns and next generation of visualization focused on next gen operators start emerging.
Then came the third pivot- the one that synthesized everything. Digital twin technology emerged not as a single innovation but as a convergence point where engineering models, operational data, and business intelligence could finally unite into living, breathing systems. For Mahna, this represented the natural culmination of his journey: from monitoring what was happening, to predicting what might happen, to creating comprehensive digital representations that could simulate, test, and optimize across entire asset lifecycles. It ranged from the first design sketch to the final decommissioning.
Today, Mahna champions AI-enabled digital twins that transcend passive observation. These systems don’t just watch and predict, they prescribe actions and increasingly make autonomous decisions. Each transformation in his career expanded his sphere of impact: from individual operators staring at screens, to executives making strategic calls, to entire enterprises reimagining how they function.
Technology with a Human Heart
Ask Mahna what drives his relentless pursuit of innovation, and he won’t start with algorithms or architectures. He’ll talk about invisible infrastructure- the power plants, oil rigs, data centers, and factories that form civilization’s skeletal system. These facilities generate torrents of data, yet for decades, that data sat in databases like books in a locked library. The knowledge was there. The key was missing.
“I’ve always been inspired by the idea that if we can unlock and connect this information, we can enable countless new scenarios,” Mahna explains, his enthusiasm palpable even through measured words. He envisions a world where predictive maintenance prevents catastrophic failures, where operations optimize themselves for safety and sustainability, and where designers can test thousands of scenarios before breaking ground.
But there’s a deeper motivation powering his work- a conviction that technology should amplify human capability, not replace human judgment. When engineers and operators gain crystal-clear visibility and instant access to insights, they don’t become redundant. They become empowered. They transform from reactive problem-solvers into proactive optimizers.
The Eight-Pillar Framework
As VP of Global Practices for Digital Twin at AVEVA, Mahna orchestrates a complex global strategy built on eight interconnected pillars. Each pillar addresses a critical challenge in translating digital twin technology from compelling concept to enterprise reality.
The foundation starts with business value and best practices. Every engagement must tie directly to measurable outcomes- enhanced safety, reduced emissions, improved efficiency, and increased profitability. Technology disconnected from tangible results remains an expensive experiment.
Building on this foundation, Mahna provides reference architectures, templates, libraries, accelerators, and validated models on core platforms and products. These pre-engineered frameworks compress deployment timelines, reduce risk, and ensure predictable outcomes. Organizations don’t reinvent wheels; they customize proven designs.
The third pillar ensures every digital twin runs on trusted, secure data. In an era of cyber threats and misinformation, governance and security aren’t optional. The twin must become the authoritative source of truth across the entire industrial lifecycle.
Global scaling forms the fourth pillar. Mahna equips deployment teams worldwide with playbooks, frameworks, and repeatable use cases with his global team. Success in California or Dubai can quickly replicate in Singapore or Mexico City.
The fifth pillar addresses the pilot-to-production gap. Too many digital transformation initiatives stall after impressive demonstrations. By targeting inherently scalable use cases such as predictive maintenance, fleet optimization, and energy management and providing clear ROI frameworks, Mahna helps customers transition from proof-of-concept to enterprise deployment.
Intelligence forms the sixth pillar. Mahna embeds AI agents, machine learning models, and physics-based simulations deep into digital twins, transforming them from sophisticated monitors into prescriptive decision engines that recommend, and increasingly execute, optimal actions.
Partner ecosystem strengthening comprises the seventh pillar. Through enablement kits, training programs, and co-innovation opportunities, Mahna multiplies AVEVA’s impact through a network of partners who can deliver consistent quality globally.
The eighth pillar might be most personally meaningful to Mahna: empowering people and inspiring the next generation. By making industrial software visual, intuitive, and action-oriented, he’s transforming the field’s perception from back-office necessity to cutting-edge innovation and building technologies in context of next generation.
AVEVA’s Distinctive Edge
In the increasingly crowded digital twin space, AVEVA differentiates through a holistic strategy rather than isolated features. The company delivers true end-to-end lifecycle twins- single digital threads connecting initial design through engineering, construction, operation, and optimization. Project data instantly becomes an operational advantage.
AVEVA CONNECT forms the platform’s cloud-native backbone, enabling self-service access, industrial AI, world-class visualization, and closed-loop integration. Highly templatized frameworks ensure that wins at one facility can rapidly replicate across entire portfolios.
Ready-to-use industrial applications for energy optimization, predictive maintenance, production management, and industrial AI operations compress time-to-value. These aren’t blank canvases; they’re pre-configured solutions with embedded best practices and KPIs.
Strategic integrations distinguish AVEVA’s approach. Partnerships with Databricks unite IT and OT data, accelerate model training, and operationalize AI features. Integration with ServiceNow creates closed loops where twin insights automatically trigger work orders, approvals, and change workflows. This transforms prediction into action without human intervention.
At the technological core, AI models blend physics-based simulations with machine learning for prediction, prescription, and guided decision-making. Industrial-grade security, governance, and role-based access ensure the entire system operates as an enterprise-trusted foundation.
Reimagining Three Industrial Pillars
Mahna’s vision for the next five years spans three critical sectors, each facing unique transformation pressures.
Manufacturing stands at the threshold of becoming truly autonomous. Digital twins will evolve from productivity tools into the factory’s central nervous system. With industrial AI and closed-loop integration, facilities will self-optimize in real time, dynamically adjusting energy consumption, quality parameters, and supply chain logistics based on continuously updated models. The result: resilient, sustainable operations that learn and improve autonomously.
The energy sector faces perhaps the most complex challenge: managing both legacy assets and the dramatic shift toward renewables, hydrogen, and carbon capture. Digital twins will become essential tools for optimizing traditional refineries and offshore platforms while simultaneously accelerating new energy infrastructure deployment. With AVEVA CONNECT integrated with Databricks and ServiceNow, insights will flow seamlessly into automated workflows, predicting equipment failures and instantly triggering maintenance actions and compliance reporting.
Infrastructure, encompassing data centers, utilities, and transportation systems, will gain unprecedented network-wide visibility. Digital twins will unite asset health monitoring, environmental data, and operational KPIs into unified systems of record. They’ll enable sophisticated scenario planning for energy demand surges, extreme weather events, and capacity constraints, driving resilience across connected cities and smart grids.
Knowledge Without Borders
For Mahna, global leadership means democratizing expertise. He establishes reference architectures and playbooks that give every deployment team worldwide a consistent starting point while preserving local flexibility.
AI tools capture knowledge from projects and conversations, automatically generating searchable insights. A breakthrough in the Middle East instantly becomes available in Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Formal documentation gets supplemented by practical wisdom- tips, tricks, videos, team channels and hard-won lessons that accelerate adoption and build global community.
Customer successes are celebrated and shared, providing tangible proof points that inspire partners and customers while demonstrating what’s possible with digital twin technology.
Leading Through Transformation
Mahna’s leadership journey mirrors his technological evolution. Early in his AVEVA career, he led through hands-on technical involvement, building products and enabling customer experience, diving into architectures and customer challenges personally. At a global scale, he discovered that leadership isn’t about being the smartest voice in the room. It’s about enabling others to do their best work.
Today, his style centers on empowerment, trust, and strategic clarity. He builds diverse, high-performing teams and equips them with frameworks and support to succeed independently.
Personal values guide his approach: curiosity, creativity, collaboration, resilience, and impact. These principles ensure innovation remains fundamentally about people working together toward meaningful goals.
His advice to emerging leaders distills to essentials: “Be curious, be creative, build and observe, ask ‘why not?’, and always tie innovation back to real human and business value.”
The Intelligence Horizon
As industries face mounting pressure for sustainability, efficiency, and resilience, Mahna’s work represents fundamental reimagination. He focuses on shifting operations from reactive to predictive, isolated to connected, and static to continuously optimizing.
Through AI-enabled digital twins, global knowledge sharing, and human-centered design, he’s building the intelligent infrastructure tomorrow’s industries will depend on. His vision transcends technology to encompass people, practices, and possibilities, ensuring digital transformation delivers genuine transformation.
Across control centers worldwide, operators gain unprecedented visibility. In boardrooms, executives make decisions powered by predictive intelligence. In engineering departments, designers optimize assets before construction begins. And at this transformation’s center, leaders like Mahna prove that industry’s future isn’t merely about automation; it’s about intelligence, connection, and human ingenuity converging to solve civilization’s greatest challenges.