24 n INDUSTRIAL AUTOMATION September 2025 www.drivesncontrols.com How automation architectures are evolving While every manufacturer is different and uses digitalisation to achieve its own goals, there are certainly some shared goals that apply across the entire sector. These include reducing downtime, improving operational efficiency, cutting waste (in all of its forms), and contributing to sustainability. These goals present challenges that are driving changes in industrial automation control systems towards open architectures at the OT (operational technology) level. This evolution can deliver immense value to businesses and their supply chains. So, what is driving the trend to open automation? I believe it is a need to overcome the restriction that, although traditional proprietary technologies may work well individually, they are locked and closed, with code that is not portable. It is not feasible for manufacturers to replace critical assets immediately whenever a more advanced version becomes available. This leaves legacy hardware in place with bespoke software, communications and hardware, locking users into single vendors. Manufacturers using disparate systems from multiple suppliers see this challenge magnified as they move towards digital transformation. Many require substantial industrial automation system re-engineering because code written to run on legacy hardware is not portable or compatible with the latest hardware. This hinders manufacturers’ digital transformation, holding back capabilities that could improve their efficiency behind substantial investments of time and money. The answer is to move to an open automation philosophy, as is seen widely in the IT sector. Manufacturers are demanding systems that are software-centric and hardware-agnostic, so that the same application code can run on a variety of hardware from different vendors. This opens up communications across different machines, devices and sensors, allowing operators to work more efficiently and achieve more with less. Plug and produce This can be achieved by adopting the IEC 61499 universal automation standard, which defines how to design distributed applications using “plug and produce”software components that are independent of the hardware on which they run. Development and application of the standard is being led by a community of automation users, technology vendors and academics who want to change the automation game via the non-profit organisation, UniversalAutomation.Org. Plant engineers, systems integrators, OEMs or anyone else in the manufacturing supply chain involved in designing, linking and supporting legacy systems, can reduce the massive expenditure associated with servicing individual assets, while setting a pathway for continuous improvement. For example, in a mature sector such as food and beverage manufacturing, it is common to see a mixture of new and old assets. A challenge for food producers is that consumers base their purchasing decisions on multiple factors, and are always looking for the next product or flavour from the fast-moving sector. Manufacturers need to be flexible and scalable to respond to the demands of the market, but this can seem impossible when battling proprietary systems. Open automation enables that level of flexibility with less time spent on tasks that do not add value, and more time spent on innovating. This can apply to manufacturers of any size, making any type of product. Schneider recently published a White Paper, called A quantitative comparison of digitised industrial automation*, which describes the results of field tests that reveal how software engineering can be delivered three times faster through open automation for standard production strategies, thus increasing flexibility. Automation systems currently running in UK manufacturing were often installed decades ago. They’re now holding back manufacturers from realising the full potential of digital transformation, as well as advances in technology and computing. Agnostic platforms The drive for hardware-agnostic platforms offers an opportunity to use industrial PCs to run application code. It enables the adoption of soft-PLCs or edge controllers, fuelling the convergence of IT and OT. However, even with manufacturers investing in edge computing to handle the burden of collecting, analysing and reporting data, the benefits are limited without an open automation approach that can handle data in a single agnostic platform. Across industry, we can see the wider adoption of IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) technologies that offer an immediate improvement for manufacturers. But many are ultimately held back from realising IIoT’s full potential because they are unable to commit fully to their automation systems. For example, adding a sensor to a legacy As manufacturers seek to achieve more with less, they are exploring advanced automation architectures that balance operational efficiency with sustainability. Dave Sutton, product marketing manager for industrial automation at Schneider Electric, argues that to do this, they need to embrace open automation.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjQ0NzM=