The enterprise software landscape just took another maturity step from co-pilot towards autonomous mode. IFS’s acquisition of TheLoops isn’t just another tech deal – it’s the advent of an AI agent platform purpose-built for the mission-critical operations that keep our world running. Think digital coworkers, not digital assistants.
This move adds another drum beat to the rolling agentic thunder surrounding enterprise software today. Instead of systems that simply track what humans do, we’re entering an era where intelligent agents actively participate in workflows, make decisions, and execute tasks alongside human teams. It’s the difference between having a really smart dashboard and having an actual colleague who happens to be made of code.
Mark Moffat, IFS CEO, commented: “The opportunity AI presents to mission-critical industries is immense, but needs to be structured around real value capture. The agentic capabilities that TheLoops provides our customers will enable them to transform their processes, operational efficiency and how they differentiate in the Moments of Service they provide their customers. Our customers can leverage intelligent digital teammates who understand their business from day one, agents that speak their industrial language, follow their rules, and operate securely in their workflows. With TheLoops, we’re providing a platform that makes Industrial AI agentic, actionable, and available – at scale. This is IFS extending its lead in Industrial AI.”
The Autonomous Revolution Meets Industrial Reality
TheLoops brings something uniquely powerful to IFS’s already robust position in Industrial AI: truly autonomous agents that understand the complex semantics of industrial environments. These aren’t chatbots with fancy APIs—they’re intelligent systems that comprehend industry-specific workflows, regulatory requirements, and the intricate dance of asset-intensive operations.
The momentum has only accelerated into 2025. IFS’s Q1 2025 results show Annual Recurring Revenue up 30% year-over-year, with the company’s market valuation now exceeding €15 billion. The company added over 50 new customers in Q1 2025 alone, including global brands like Total Energies, ArcelorMittal Projects Europe BV, Collins Aerospace, Goodyear, and Hitachi Energy. Building on 2024’s record performance—when ARR exceeded €1 billion with total revenue of €1.228 billion and over 350 new customers including Comcast, E.On, Exelon, and Rolls-Royce Power Systems—this trajectory demonstrates sustained market demand for Industrial AI solutions. This isn’t a company making speculative bets—it’s one responding to massive market demand.
Beyond Pattern Recognition to Autonomous Action
Traditional AI excels at pattern recognition and prediction. Industrial AI agents go several steps further—they reason, decide, and act. The TheLoops platform enables what IFS calls “agentic decision making,” where AI systems don’t just recommend actions but actually execute them within governed parameters.
This is particularly crucial in asset-intensive industries where downtime costs thousands per minute and regulatory compliance isn’t optional. These agents understand that shutting down a production line requires different protocols than rescheduling a meeting. They speak the industrial language fluently—from maintenance schedules to safety protocols to supply chain dependencies.
The multi-agent environment that emerges from this acquisition creates something like a digital workforce ecosystem. Specialized agents handle different domains but collaborate seamlessly, sharing context and coordinating actions. It’s enterprise orchestration taken to its logical conclusion.
Market Momentum and Customer Validation
The numbers tell a compelling story about market readiness. The global asset lifecycle management market was valued at $4.80 billion in 2023 and is expected to reach $8.10 billion by 2033. More telling is that IFS achieved over 80% customer satisfaction scores in 2024, measured across multiple touchpoints throughout the entire customer lifecycle—well above industry standards.
This isn’t just about technology adoption; it’s about fundamental business transformation. Customers adopting IFS Cloud grew 71% year-over-year in Q3 2024, indicating that enterprises aren’t just experimenting – they’re committing to this new operational model. The market isn’t waiting for AI maturity – it’s demanding it now.
The Composable Advantage
IFS’s approach leverages their fully composable platform architecture, allowing customers to deploy AI agents incrementally rather than requiring wholesale system replacement. This composability becomes crucial when introducing autonomous agents into established workflows—companies can start with specific use cases and expand as confidence builds.
The semantic awareness built into these agents means they understand context beyond simple rule-following. They comprehend the difference between routine maintenance and emergency repairs, between planned shutdowns and unexpected failures. This contextual intelligence enables truly autonomous decision-making within appropriate boundaries.
Security and governance remain paramount, with agents operating within customer-defined parameters for data access, compliance standards, and decision authority. It’s autonomy with guardrails – smart enough to act independently, constrained enough to maintain control.
What this means for ERP Insiders
Prepare for workforce planning 2.0. The integration of autonomous AI agents demands a fundamental rethink of workforce planning and operational design. According to Visa’s Growth Corporates Working Capital Index 2024-2025, nearly half of growth corporates improved operational efficiencies by using working capital more predictably to manage cash flow and fund strategic investments. With AI agents handling routine tasks, human workers can focus on higher-value activities, but this requires deliberate workforce transformation strategies. Conduct an audit of repetitive, rule-based processes within your asset management workflows. Identify 3-5 pilot areas where AI agents could handle routine decision-making while maintaining human oversight. Start building internal capabilities now – companies that wait will find themselves competing against organizations with digital workforces that never sleep, never err, and continuously optimize.
Accelerate industrial AI adoption or risk competitive displacement. IFS’s 23.1% growth rate in the asset lifecycle management market, far exceeding the industry average of 9.8%, demonstrates that early adopters of Industrial AI are capturing disproportionate market value. IFS customers are “not simply piloting AI, they are operationalizing it at scale, unlocking productivity, business resilience and strategic growth,” with over 50 new organizations becoming customers in Q1 2025. Develop a 12-month Industrial AI roadmap that moves beyond pilot projects to production deployment. Don’t fall victim to “pilotitis.” Focus on use cases where autonomous agents can deliver measurable ROI within 6 months – predictive maintenance, supply chain optimization, and compliance monitoring are proven starting points. Partner with vendors that understand your industry’s specific operational complexity rather than generic AI providers.
Invest in composable platforms that enable incremental transformation. IFS’s composable platform architecture allows customers to “mix and match different capabilities based on specific business requirements and adapt quickly to new opportunities”. This flexibility becomes critical as AI capabilities evolve rapidly. Evaluate your current ERP and asset management systems for composability and AI-readiness. If you’re locked into monolithic systems, develop a migration strategy toward platforms that support incremental AI agent deployment. Prioritize vendors with proven industrial AI capabilities and strong ecosystem partnerships – the cost of platform switching will only increase as AI agents become more sophisticated and integrated into core operations.
