Morocco is being urged to expand its use of artificial intelligence in industry beyond successful pilot projects. Khaled Salah, AVEVA's Vice President for Africa, said companies in the country had tested AI in specific industrial assets with positive results. He believes the next step is to expand those applications across operations. Salah said this would require companies to build more standardized databases to support wider deployment.
Salah's comments come as Morocco advances its national AI agenda. The government recently presented progress under its Morocco AI 2030 roadmap, which aims to generate MAD 100 billion in added value for gross domestic product, create 50,000 direct and indirect jobs, and train and certify 200,000 AI talents by 2030. The roadmap also includes data infrastructure projects and a Data Factory to collect, organize, and prepare information for AI systems.
AVEVA develops industrial software to manage assets from design and construction to operation and optimization. Salah said the company is focusing on several Moroccan sectors, particularly water and mining. He cited OCP as one of AVEVA's major customers in Morocco, saying the group uses its technology to anticipate potential equipment failures. By bringing together information from operations and engineering, companies can create a "digital twin" of an asset.
The digital twin provides a 3D model for simulations and "what-if" scenarios. Operators can test how an asset might respond to different conditions and identify possible problems before they occur. Salah also pointed to predictive analytics for pumps as an example of how industrial AI can reduce downtime. The technology monitors equipment behavior and sends an alert when a pump deviates from its normal operating pattern.
In some cases, predictive analytics can warn operators around three months before a failure. Salah said companies were also asking how AI could help lower energy consumption, as some associate the technology with higher energy use. He believes better analysis of industrial assets can help companies produce more while using less energy, allowing them to reinvest savings in AI.
Data readiness remains a central issue for the wider adoption of industrial AI in Morocco. Salah said the main challenge is no longer simply collecting data but making it usable. He said AVEVA's CONNECT platform integrates operational and engineering data into a trusted layer of information. Industrial operators can use this data to generate insights and feed them back to industrial assets.
Salah suggested that companies could begin with a small proof of concept using limited data, assess the return on investment, and expand the project if it delivers results. He said this approach allows businesses to test the technology before wider implementation.
Key points
- Morocco needs to move beyond successful AI pilot projects to wider industrial deployment.
- The country aims to generate MAD 100 billion in added value for gross domestic product and create 50,000 direct and indirect jobs by 2030.
- Data readiness remains a central issue for the wider adoption of industrial AI in Morocco.
