Beyond Industry 5.0: The Role of Multicloud Technologies for Sustainable Production and Proposals to Overcome Challenges

Abstract

The transition to a new industrial paradigm beyond Industry 5.0 demands hyperconnectivity and massive processing, creating a paradox where high computational demand can threaten corporate sustainability goals (ESG). This study aims to structure and prioritize a Multilayer Framework of multicloud technologies to balance disruptive advances, lean optimization, and decarbonization. A mixed, sequential, and exploratory-normative approach was used. Initially, the literature was triangulated with expert panels and suppliers to map 21 technological functionalities, structuring them into four layers of a bidirectional value flow. Then, a hybrid multi-criteria modeling (AHP-TOPSIS) was applied to rank these technologies against five market constraints. Calibration with AHP revealed that Cyber Resilience, approximately 38%, and Process Optimization, approximately 27%, lead executive priorities, surpassing environmental impact or cost efficiency. As a result, the TOPSIS ranking highlighted Human–Machine Symbiosis (BCI/neuroergonomic readiness), Zero Trust architecture, Federated Learning, and GenAI KPI Analytics as the leading functionalities in their respective layers, with Hyper-BPM emerging as a closely associated optimization engine at the governance layer. Finally, the proposed roadmap was assessed using an anonymized industrial Proof of Concept (PoC) in a brownfield advanced manufacturing facility, providing evidence of its operational feasibility for integrating lean optimization with legacy systems and ESG-oriented monitoring. It is concluded that industrial sustainability does not rely solely on green technologies, but on decentralized orchestration along the Edge-Cloud continuum. Environmental gains are therefore more likely to emerge when cyber governance and lean-oriented operational management jointly support decentralized multicloud orchestration.