November 17, 2025

You Don't Have A Data Problem. You have a Context Problem.

Why are many manufacturers still struggling to extract value from their data?

The simple answer is: it’s not the data itself.

The real problem is how people make sense of it. Or, more accurately, how they can’t.

Even with perfect dashboards and engineered pipelines, teams struggle.

Not because the data’s wrong, but because it’s not embedded in how people actually solve problems.

π“π‘πšπ­β€™π¬ 𝐭𝐑𝐞 𝐦𝐒𝐬𝐬𝐒𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐞: 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐱𝐭.

And not the oversimplified version of β€œwe add a bit of context.”

Real context. The kind that mirrors how people learn, discuss, connect dots, and adapt in messy, real-world environments.

Context isn’t a column in your spreadsheet.

It’s revealed through language, conversation, trial-and-error, shared experience, and collective learning.

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Kudzai Manditereza

Founder & Educator - Industry40.tv

Kudzai Manditereza is an industrial data and AI educator and strategist. He specializes in Industrial AI, IIoT, Unified Namespace, Digital Twins, and Industrial DataOps, helping manufacturing leaders implement and scale Smart Manufacturing initiatives.

Kudzai shares this thinking through Industry40.tv, his independent media and education platform; the AI in Manufacturing podcast; and the Smart Factory Playbook newsletter, where he shares practical guidance on building the data backbone that makes industrial AI work in real-world manufacturing environments. Recognized as a Top 15 Industry 4.0 influencer, he currently serves as Senior Industry Solutions Advocate at HiveMQ.