# Digital twin Source: https://ordergroup.co/glossary/digital-twin/ Last updated: 2026-10-10 > What a digital twin is, how it differs from a dashboard or simulation, and what data, models and integrations the software behind it needs. [Energy](https://ordergroup.co/glossary/energy/) 4 min read # Digital twin Also known as: digital twin software Definition A digital twin is a software representation of a physical asset or process, kept in sync with it through live data, so operators can monitor it, simulate changes and sometimes control it without touching the real equipment. Cite this entry Text "Digital twin". Order Group, Software glossary, 10 October 2026. https://ordergroup.co/glossary/digital-twin/ HTML `Digital twin - Order Group` Reviewed by [Michał Dżaman](https://ordergroup.co/authors/michal-dzaman/), Co-founder & Head of Backend Last reviewed 10 October 2026 ## How a digital twin works There is no single agreed definition. NIST says so directly in IR 8356 (February 2025) and quotes the Digital Twin Consortium's version instead: "a virtual representation of real-world entities and processes synchronized at a specified frequency and fidelity." Its own shorter wording is "the virtual (i.e., digital) representation of a physical or perceived real-world entity, concept, or notion." The twin can represent a pump, a whole plant or a process such as a charging schedule. ISO/IEC 30173:2023 sets out the concepts and terminology on the standards side. A twin differs from a simulation model in one way: live data. A model is built once from drawings and physics. A twin is fed continuously by sensors, usually over industrial IoT or an existing SCADA system, so its state follows the real asset. NIST describes a "digital twin definition" as a machine-readable description of an entity type, and each real asset as an instance created from that definition. In software terms that is a schema for the asset class plus one live object per physical unit. Once the twin has live state and history, it can do three kinds of work. It can show the current condition of the asset in one place, next to its documentation. It can run what-if scenarios, such as a different charging strategy or a new plant layout, without risk to the equipment. In the most advanced setups it can also send commands back to the asset. The blog post on [digital twin troubleshooting](https://ordergroup.co/blog/digital-twin-troubleshooting/) shows how the first two help with outages and incident recovery. What a twin does and what it needs CapabilityData it needsHow fresh the data must beMain risk MonitoringLive sensor readings, asset metadataNear real timeWrong or stale readings shown as truthSimulation and what-ifHistory, physical or data-driven model, external data such as weather and pricesAs the scenario requiresModel not calibrated against measured dataPlanning of new assetsSite data, performance model, cost modelOn demandAssumptions copied from vendor sheetsControl (write-back)Live state plus command path to the equipmentReal time, with confirmationUnsafe commands, hidden manipulation ## What a digital twin means for your software "Digital twin" on a requirements list can mean anything from a dashboard to a closed-loop controller, so pin down which capability from the table you are buying. A monitoring twin is mostly a data engineering job. A simulation twin also needs a model and someone to calibrate it. A control twin is part of your safety case. Ask first about the data path. The contract should name the sources (PLC, SCADA, meters, weather and market feeds), the sampling rate, how gaps and outliers are handled, and who owns the time series. Fix data quality and naming of signals at the start. Retrofitting them after dashboards and models exist is expensive. Then decide where the twin runs and how it is secured. NIST IR 8356 lists five features that make twins a new security problem: massive instrumentation of objects, centralization of their measurements, visualization of how the object operates, remote control, and shared standards for twin definitions. Centralization is the practical one. NIST notes that if the twin is compromised, "the attacker has total access to all data about the instrumented object," and an attacker who controls the twin could change what the operator sees while issuing commands. Keep read and write paths separate, require operator confirmation for commands that move equipment, and log every write. Access control needs more design work than buyers expect. Operators, engineers, management and external partners each see different assets and actions. Put identity in one place, for example single sign-on at the load balancer, and keep role definitions in configuration rather than scattered through dashboards. Finally, agree how the twin is maintained. Equipment gets replaced, firmware changes signal lists and models drift. Budget for model updates and recalibration after the launch, and make the asset definitions versioned so history stays readable after a change. Writing the specification? Add Digital twin to your requirements checklist Collect the terms your project touches and get their system requirements in one e-mail, ready for an RFP. Questions to settle before ordering a digital twin TopicQuestion ScopeMonitoring, simulation, planning or control?DataWhich sources, what sampling rate, who owns the history?ModelPhysics-based, data-driven or both, and who calibrates it?SecurityIs write-back allowed, and with what approval and logging?AccessWhich roles exist and where are they managed?OperationsWho updates the model when equipment or firmware changes? ## From our projects For Kyoto Group we spent three and a half years on industrial IoT and digital twin software for a molten-salt [thermal energy storage](https://ordergroup.co/glossary/thermal-energy-storage/) system, from a UX/UI MVP to a SCADA-based system that monitors and controls the flow of energy in real time. The twin layer combined plant data with weather data and energy price analysis and included a plant performance simulation interface. In 2024 the team also worked on a web platform for planning where future solar thermal plants should go and for simulating their performance and cost from data such as solar irradiation and terrain. Plant data ran through an industrial data platform whose functions were enough for tests and prototypes but caused problems in long-term use, so for production logic we would choose a more mature runtime next time. Streamlit worked well for proofs of concept. Putting OIDC login to Azure Entra ID on the AWS load balancer took authentication out of the applications. Role-based access for the dashboards was difficult to configure and did not hold up well over time, so plan roles early. From our projects [KYOTO - Industrial IoT & Digital Twin for Thermal Energy Storage Why our team flew to Oslo every two weeks: the story of KYOTO's industrial IoT and digital twin project for thermal energy storage, and its results.](https://ordergroup.co/case-studies/kyoto-digital-twin-software/) ## Related terms - [EMS](https://ordergroup.co/glossary/ems/) Energy management system An energy management system (EMS) is software that reads the meters, inverters and batteries on a site and sends them setpoints, deciding when to charge, discharge, curtail or trade within grid, contract and safety limits. - [SCADA](https://ordergroup.co/glossary/scada/) Supervisory control and data acquisition Supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) is a class of industrial control systems that collects real-time data from field devices and sensors, presents it to operators and sends control commands to equipment across a plant or network. - [Thermal energy storage](https://ordergroup.co/glossary/thermal-energy-storage/) Thermal energy storage (TES) stores energy by heating or cooling a medium such as water, rock or molten salt, and releases it later as heat, cold or power. It lets a site buy electricity when it is cheap and deliver heat when it is needed. ## Read more on the blog - Article [Battery Energy Storage System (BESS): How It Works and What Software It Needs](https://ordergroup.co/blog/battery-energy-storage-system/) - Article [What Does BMS Mean? Battery & Building Management Systems Explained](https://ordergroup.co/blog/what-is-bms/) - Article [Fixing Common Issues with a Digital Twin](https://ordergroup.co/blog/digital-twin-troubleshooting/) - Article [Managing Surplus Renewable Energy with Energy Storage Systems](https://ordergroup.co/blog/surplus-renewable-energy-storage/) ## Sources 1. [NIST IR 8356: Security and Trust Considerations for Digital Twin Technology (February 2025)](https://csrc.nist.gov/pubs/ir/8356/final) - National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Michał Dżaman reviewed this entry. Ask how it applies to your project. [Ask an engineer](https://ordergroup.co/contact-us/) ## FAQ ![Michał Dżaman](https://ordergroup.co/media/images/T02DHCC1Z-USU629221-c8b7d6d66b56-512.format-webp.webp) Michał Dżaman Co-founder & Head of Backend [Talk to an engineer](https://ordergroup.co/contact-us/) ### What is the difference between a digital twin and a simulation model? A simulation model is built once and run on assumed inputs. A digital twin is connected to the real asset and updated with live data, so its state follows the equipment and its simulations start from the actual condition. ### Do I need a digital twin or is SCADA enough? SCADA shows the current state and lets operators control the plant. A twin adds history, models and what-if scenarios on top of that data. If you only need to see and operate the equipment, SCADA is enough. ### Is a digital twin a security risk? It can be, because it centralizes data and sometimes control of the whole asset in one system. NIST IR 8356 recommends treating it with full risk management guidance such as the NIST Cybersecurity Framework. Separate read and write paths and log every command. ### How long does it take to build a digital twin? It depends on the scope and on how ready the data is. A monitoring twin on clean, named signals is a short project. Simulation, planning and control add model work and testing against real hardware; the Kyoto work grew from an MVP over three and a half years. Building a system that depends on Digital twin? See how we build software for this domain, with case studies and the stack we use. [See Energy Hub](https://ordergroup.co/energy-hub/) Requirements checklist For each term we send the definition and what it requires from your software. Free, no sales call needed. Your checklist is empty. Use the plus next to a term to add it.