Research on the adoption of digital technologies has largely omitted the process industries. In this study, we address this research gap by presenting empirical evidence from a questionnaire survey comprising 86 responses from members of the German Water Partnership (GWP) association. Our results indicate that firms in the water industry lay emphasis on projects harnessing digital technologies, while the execution and implementation still faces significant challenges that we discuss below. Correlation analysis reveals that firms that have interlaced conventional business strategy with IT strategy stronger prioritize the development new business models in the course of digitalization than their counterparts who do not have a digital business strategy. Due to the new ways of value creation, delivery, and capture enabled by digital technologies, we evaluate the usefulness of a concept named the layered modular product architecture in context of the process industries and relate it to the need for developing a digital business strategy. We close this article by deducing several implications for managers.