Highlights Technical Program 2025

The Technical Program of the prostep ivip Association in 2025 was shaped by the consistent advancement of existing initiatives toward industrial applicability and international standardization. Key priorities included strengthening end-to-end data continuity, enabling cross-company collaboration in practice, and further developing open standards across the entire product lifecycle.

A central focus was placed on establishing a structured, semantically grounded data foundation for the Digital Thread. In 2025, significant progress was made in making information referenceable and interoperable across domains. Demonstrators and aligned information models showed that collaborative, data-driven cooperation across company and tool boundaries is achievable – while preserving IP protection, data sovereignty, and regulatory compliance. This marked an important step from conceptual approaches toward robust industrial solutions.
In parallel, simulation and virtual validation continued to evolve as key enablers for efficiency, quality, and regulatory assurance. Methodological guidelines, aligned use cases, and concrete recommendations strengthened the role of simulation-driven decision-making in product development. At the same time, regulatory requirements and the use of AI were systematically integrated into end-to-end development and validation workflows.

The active co-creation and industrialization of open standards remained a defining characteristic of the Technical Program. Major publications, new editions, and progress in international standardization bodies underline prostep ivip's role as a platform where industrial requirements are consolidated at an early stage and translated into interoperable solutions. Close collaboration between users, software vendors, and standardization committees ensured that new requirements are consistently integrated into existing ecosystems.

The integration of engineering and manufacturing was further strengthened as well. Standardized data models and exchange formats improved continuity through to production, while sustainability and regulatory requirements became increasingly embedded as cross-cutting themes across the Technical Program.

Looking ahead to 2026, the Technical Program will be further focused and prioritized. Building on the foundations established in 2025, Software-defined Products and Software-defined Vehicles (SDV) will be more prominently addressed and translated into concrete project approaches. AI-assisted development, virtual validation, regulatory requirements, and the continued internationalization of standards will remain central topics. The goal is to further mature methodological concepts into broadly applicable industrial solutions and to align the Technical Program consistently with the strategic needs of its members.