Check out these short stories about applications of automation. As I’ve written for decades, automation is not all about replacing jobs but in enhancing the ability of humans to solve problems.
The Association for Advancing Automation (A3) announced the launch of Age of Automation, a global advertisement feature series presented by A3 and produced by BBC StoryWorks that explores how automation is transforming industries and improving lives around the world. The series features original films and articles highlighting organizations using automation to address real-world challenges.
Through compelling, human-centered storytelling, Age of Automation examines how automation technologies are being harnessed to expand access to healthcare, enhance education, strengthen disaster response, and build more resilient industries. The series brings together stories from leading global organizations working at the intersection of innovation and impact.
“Automation is often discussed in terms of productivity and efficiency, but at its core, it’s about people,” said Jeff Burnstein, president of A3. “This series highlights how automation augments human capability: improving patient care, expanding educational access, strengthening safety, and empowering the next generation of innovators.”
Produced by BBC StoryWorks, the commercial content studio of BBC Studios, the series spans multiple continents and industries.
A3’s episode focuses on young innovators participating in robotics competitions, showcasing how hands-on automation experiences are helping teens redefine the future of technology and workforce development.
Additional episodes spotlight organizations including Mayo Clinic, Google, Cisco, Daifuku, Komatsu, Toyota Mobility Foundation, Cimcorp Group, and Avnet.
Automation Stories, Human Stories
The series explores how automation has evolved from a foundational industrial tool to an embedded force shaping modern life. With global populations growing and demands shifting, automation technologies are increasingly being deployed to address healthcare access, educational equity, disaster resilience, mining safety, and supply chain efficiency.
Each short film presents a community-centered story — from AI-enabled learning for deaf students to autonomous mining trucks designed to improve safety, to robotic mobility systems helping a child take his first steps.
“Technology develops in layers, and automation is one of the most powerful enablers of human progress,” Burnstein added. “By presenting this series with BBC StoryWorks, we’re able to showcase authentic stories that demonstrate how automation is improving lives in tangible, measurable ways.”
I tell publicists continually that this is a personal blog. That I write everything—except for quotes and relevant parts of releases.
Bill Lydon has been colleague and media competitor for decades. I had experience and some technical skills. His puts mine to shame. I saw this article about Open versus Proprietary systems on LinkedIn. He sent the document with a couple images. I’m posting without interposing commentary.
I first left the factory floor to begin writing at the rise of “PC-based Control.” These “open systems” were supposed to make control and programming better, cheaper, faster. The PLC suppliers promptly adapted some of the technology. The PC suppliers did not have the market muscle to displace the incumbents.
Systems Integrators told me that open systems would put them out of business. I counseled them that on the contrary it would take more integration expertise to apply these systems. I was also annoyed by the reliance on technology explanations. If the solution does not make business sense, it should not be considered.
I’m passing the commentary over to Bill to expand his thoughts on the subject. It’s worth saving and discussing with your team.
Open , Proprietary, or Managed Ecosystems
By Bill Lydon, Digital Manufacturing Transformation Consultant
Key Highlights
Open Systems Investments Require Critical Business Management Decisions
Open industrial control & automation systems investment decisions at user companies need to be made based on clear technical and business criteria to be successful. The fundamental decision process for industrial manufacturing businesses is what investments are required to reliably continue to be competitive and profitable over time? As technology development and system integration become easier with plug-and-play and no-code programming of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) technologies, the criteria change for making these decisions.
Analysis that simply looks at raw costs without considering other factors, including lifecycle costs, is incomplete and misleading.
When deciding to purchase any control and automation solution, the first question: Does the solution meet my project application performance requirements? Additional fundamental questions must also be asked about initial and lifecycle costs, reliability, and system maintainability:
Lifecycle Investment- System maintainability
Maintenance People Training, Knowledge, & Skill Requirements?
Software Maintenance Resources Required, Service Contracts, & Lifecycle Investment?
Control & Automation System Integration Investment
Software Integration Investment
The analysis needs to be performed internally and possibly with the assistance of an unbiased consultant that would NOT be involved in any of the ultimate system design, project engineering, system installation, and/or system integration. Using accurate information “Kicking hard” against assumptions is a critical part of this process.
Industrial Digitalization Imperative
Understanding the trade-offs and using accurate criteria to measure and judge investments to create an integrated real-time industrial manufacturing business is an important strategic management activity. Companies are becoming more aware of the need to modernize creating an integrated real-time industrial manufacturing business using production methods and automation to compete globally. Organizational competitiveness and flexibility can only be accomplished by critical business management decisions rationally and deliberately leveraging advanced technologies, centering on automation, to enable a successful transition. Taking advantage of the new technologies and initiatives have allowed leadership companies to leapfrog competitors. The process requires avoiding looking for “silver bullets” to achieve long-term goals.
Make versus Buy
Some believe using open computer platforms and open-source software is the best solution rather than integrated control and automation software and hardware from traditional suppliers. This reminds me of the early days of PCs, some businesses thought they saved a significant amount of money buying motherboards, cards and pieces of software to create internal systems. Those businesses learned that integration was not trivial and, depending on the vendor selected, keeping systems running could become a challenge over the lifecycle. Control and automation systems used for discrete or process industries are significantly more complicated and must meet performance and system availability requirements for manufacturers to be profitable. Manufacturers of products continually are faced with fundamental make-versus-buy decisions for their business to be successful.
Industrial Automation Open Systems Ongoing & Evolving
The entire controls & automation industry has been on a journey from completely proprietary systems driving towards open systems since the 1980s.
Architecture Models
Closed System Model
The Closed System Model describes the computer industry when mainframe and minicomputer companies were vertically integrated including hardware, software, peripherals, and service. Distributed Control Systems (DCS) serving the process industries adopted the same closed system model.
Fully Open System Model
Personal Computers and open standard data networking introduced open architecture concepts starting in 1970. Hardware from multiple vendors could be used in the computer when the Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus became common. Competing operating systems, particularly CP/M and the more dominant MS-DOS, allowed people to write computer applications since these ran on open platforms. Windows and Linux came later, allowing developers to create applications. Linux had the distinction of being open source.
Gated Ecosystem Model
Gated Ecosystem Models came into being centered vendors including Microsoft, Oracle, Red Hat’s with these vendors qualifying third-party suppliers to give users confidence systems meet reliability and performance requirements. For serious businesses, including industrial, applications it became apparent building and integrating hardware & software components to create internal systems was not trivial and, depending on the vendor selected, keeping systems running could become a challenge over the lifecycle. Responsible management at end user companies thoughtfully and accurately performed make/buy investment analysis for purchase decisions. This represents the model today and the PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) industry has adopted this model.
Industrial Automation Managed Ecosystems vs Open Systems Debate
The industrial control & automation open systems debates bring the light valid points of view. I have been reflecting on automation & control system architectures with the latest frenzy about open systems since I have participated in design, architecture analysis, discussions, and standards for many years including being a cofounder and president of an industrial software company.
PLC Gated Integrated System Architecture Model
The PLC industry has been more progressively slowly adopting open system building blocks compared to DCS systems that have basically remained closed architecture. Major PLC vendors have been on an open systems journey using a gated system architecture model. The gated system architecture model is based on each supplier’s core propriety systems architectures designed for system integrity including performance, reliability, lowest Mean Time to Repair (MTTR), and quality. The system architecture leverages third-party hardware and software with partner programs that create a managed and gated ecosystem that expands capabilities by leveraging vetted and qualified third-party companies. Inherently the architecture and commercial policies do not provide users with seamless multivendor application program portability and field hardware interchangeability.
The PLC industrial automation & control vendors gated integrated system architecture model certainly improved price/performance with the adoption of many open and commercial technologies including industrial network standards including Modbus, Profibus, DeviceNet, PROFINET, EtherNet/IP and, EtherCAT, and MQTT. OPC UA systems interfaces are more recently is being embraced. Microsoft Windows HMI and Linux server implementations of SCADA, data historians have been another step forward. Using open I/O intelligent protocols including Modbus, PROFIBUS, DeviceNet, HART and I/O Link enable more intelligence to be driven into edge devices including sensors, analytic instruments, valves, and drives.
PLC hardware remains closed architecture controller backplanes with only third parties allowed to provide I/O and peripheral hardware modules after rigorous analysis and licensing agreements. In some cases third party partners are given access to proprietary interfaces through tight licensing agreements so they can provide specialty hardware modules.
PLC systems however have greater flexibility and lower engineered & installed cost than traditional DCS systems.
DCS Remain Closed Proprietary Architecture
Major DCS vendors have maintained closed systems. DCS suppliers have made innovations inside of their closed proprietary architecture. DCS suppliers based on user demand have interfaces in their controllers for select open architecture field I/O networks particularly HART communication protocol for field instruments.
Closed architecture DCS systems suppliers’ resistance to open standard adoption inspired creation of the Open Process Automation System (O-PAS) initiative driven by a group of process industry users primarily oil & gas producers.
PLC/DCS Convergence
PLCs have been displacing DCS process control systems for several years with powerful PLCs and industrial edge computers leveraging more open standards. Some industries, particularly oil & gas producers, have primarily continued to use closed architecture DCS for process control which I find hard to understand. In the early days going back to 1970s PLCs addressed discrete control & automation but over the years with increased performance with technology advances PLCs have been displacing DCS process control systems.
Critical Manufacturing Business Decision
Industrial control & automation systems investments require critical business management decisions for long term competitiveness, growth and profits over time applying technical and business criteria to be successful. Evaluate purchases should always be done in-house & as appropriate engage consultant(s) that will NOT be involved after purchase in project design, engineering, installation, and integration. Using accurate information “Kicking hard” against assumptions.
I was intrigued by an item in News Items by John Ellis quoting the Wall Street Journal regarding the continued slide in manufacturing employment in the US and the prolonged slide in manufacturing activity. The first Trump administration elicited promises of moving manufacturing to the US with the building of plants. Little of that actually happened. The Biden administration invested a few billion, but what has that brought. The second Trump administration thought that tariffs would provide the protection from competition to jump start manufacturing.
I pose the idea that it takes more than investment. And protection from competition really just allows local companies leeway to raise prices. What it really takes is better, bolder, visionary leadership to search out customer needs, design products they will buy, and then produce the products.
It takes more than waving a few dollars at the problem.
I reflected recently on the changers in programming since my first experiences around 1977.
Everything back then was text based. You typed everything line-by-line. I started with BASIC and assembler. And also RPG on an IBM minicomputer. Went to C and C++ and then picked up Java in the early 90s.
Then I discovered integrated development environments (IDE), such as eclipse for Java. Then the IDE for C#. At that point, I was thinking, “this isn’t programming. There’s so much built in that you don’t even have to type.”
I try to forget the horrible experience of Ladder Diagram on a PLC.
(Oh, I should note that I was never a professional programmer. Fortunately, I had other roles.)
Lately, automation suppliers have been adding CoPilot to their programming interfaces.
Why this reflection on migration? I’ve been reading mass media and social media angst about the end of programmers with things like Vibe Coding and Claude Code.
Programming automation has been a constant for decades. They all served to make programmers better and faster and better able to tackle tougher problems.
Even with AI, someone must have the ideas of what needs to be developed, do the thinking about approaching the problem, and make the decisions for the best application.
We’re only going to see better applications solving harder problems. Those who lose their jobs will be those who cannot adapt.
New people? They will just think it’s the only way.
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I wrote recently about two announcements regarding “open” DCS platforms designed for easing the migration and upgrade path for owner/operators. This news looks at the Schneider Electric (Foxboro) announcement.
Schneider Electric announced EcoStruxure Foxboro Software Defined Automation (SDA), the industry’s first open, software‑defined Distributed Control System (DCS). This breakthrough combines the trusted reliability of Foxboro with the agility of open, software‑defined automation, helping hybrid and process industry customers modernize faster, reduce risk, and ensure their operations are future-ready.
I’m not so sure about being the first software defined controller, but I’ll let marketers argue it out.
On the one hand, this looks to be a significant advancement in the state of the art. I was left wanting much more information. I have several other questions waiting for answers.
What is meant by “open”?
What is meant by interoperability? With what? Whom?
Validated by whom?
Is this related to the work of OPAF?
How does it simplify operations?
Does it migrate only Foxboro installed base, or also that of others?
Like I said, this is no doubt a significant advancement. I just wonder how much. Could be a lot. My problem seeing new things is that I visualize even more from the technology than it offers today. I’ve confounded many CEOs and product managers over the years with, “Wow, this is great, can it also do…” Once a product development manager, always one, I guess. I’m always thinking about what’s next.
EcoStruxure Foxboro SDA delivers flexibility, scalability, and cost efficiency without sacrificing reliability.
They conducted some owner/operator research with Omdia which concluded that closed systems cost mid-sized industrial companies 7.5% of revenue through downtime, inefficiencies, and compliance retrofits every year.
“EcoStruxure Foxboro SDA marks a defining moment for industrial automation,” said Hany Fouda, Senior Vice President, Process Automation, Schneider Electric. “By embracing openness and software-defined architecture, we’re giving our customers the agility to modernize without compromise, protecting their investments while unlocking future-ready capabilities. This evolution is a strategic enabler for digital transformation, and Schneider Electric is proud to lead it.”
Developed by listening to real customer challenges; aging systems, rising costs, and the need to do more with less, Foxboro SDA decouples hardware from software to protect existing investments and enable a smooth, lower-risk modernization path. The result is simpler workflows, faster insights, and sustainable performance gains.
Key Features
Open, Software-Defined Architecture: Foxboro SDA decouples software from hardware to deliver vendor independence and interoperability, enabling flexible, scalable architectures that simplify
Cybersecure & Future-Ready: Foxboro SDA is built with secure-by-design principles and IEC 62443-3-3 compliance, delivering a future-ready platform that enables IT/OT convergence, AI/ML integration, and autonomous operations for Industry 4.0 and energy transition.
Simplify Operations & Reduce Costs: Customers can lower CapEx and OpEx, streamline deployment with intuitive tools, and minimizes downtime by avoiding obsolescence and enabling predictive maintenance.
As the first software-defined distributed control system, Foxboro SDA is a validated, software-defined automation architecture for distributed control systems powered by EcoStruxure Automation Expert (EAE). It enables interoperability, rapid deployment, and fit-for-purpose configurations while maintaining high availability. The system ensures digital continuity by keeping data connected and consistent throughout the plant lifecycle—from design to production to maintenance. This enables automated workflows, better product quality, and easy integration with analytics for smarter, real-time business decisions.
Customers benefit from a future-ready upgrade path, built-in cybersecurity, and simplified operations that support IT/OT convergence and advanced technologies like AI and machine learning. Foxboro SDA provides our customers with a control solution that is unbound by hardware, engineered for agility and empowered by data. It’s more than a system – Foxboro SDA is a strategic enabler for digital transformation.
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I wrote a preview last week of two similar news items that have come my way. They suggest ways to deal with a persistent problem—especially one relevant these days with so few greenfield projects and so much need to upgrade old technology. This post looks at the ABB release.
ABB launched an aggressive acquisition campaign a quarter-century ago accumulating the leading share of process control installations. I say this based on the old Control Magazine/ARC Advisory Group rankings (well, along with ABB press releases that always touted market share leadership).
The first thing the company had to do was build a unifying structure—and along came the 800xA platform. They’ve improved that platform over time keeping current with technology advances.
I’m combing two news items here. The first explains their upgrade platform called Automation Extended. The second explains the first instantiation with the aforementioned 800xA.
I am interested in learning about any of your experiences upgrading 800xA to current technology.
The Automation Extended program helps industries modernize distributed control systems without disruption by building on ABB’s proven platforms and safeguarding existing investments
A modern, open and modular automation ecosystem enables advanced analytics, AI and IoT integration, allowing technologies to be adopted at customers’ pace without operational risk
A separation-of-concerns architecture protects the core control while enabling new digital capabilities to be deployed at scale – without touching mission-critical operations
Here is the problem statement.
ABB has introduced its Automation Extended program, a strategic evolution of its distributed control systems (DCS), designed to help industries modernize without disruption. Building on ABB’s long-standing leadership with the world’s largest DCS installed base and vision in process automation, Automation Extended outlines how future automation capabilities can be introduced progressively – preserving system integrity while enabling the flexibility, scalability and efficiency needed for the next era of industrial operations.
The ABB platforms affected.
Operators can continue to rely on trusted ABB systems such as ABB Ability System 800xA, ABB Ability Symphony Plus and ABB Freelance, while introducing new technologies progressively and without operational interruption. This approach provides a structured, low risk path to modernization, preserving continuity while enabling innovation.
An explanation of the implementation including the required adjective I pointed out in my earlier piece. The best I see to define “open” is a reference to OPC/UA. Many companies point to this technology referring to their being open.
The Automation Extended program is implemented through a modern, open and modular environment designed for interoperability, scalability and seamless integration across industrial domains. Based on separation of concerns principles, the automation ecosystem includes two distinct yet securely interconnected environments:
The control environment, a software‑defined domain that ensures robust, reliable and deterministic control for critical processes.
The digital environment, securely connected to the control layer, enabling advanced applications, edge intelligence and real‑time analytics. This space leverages artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning for decision support without disturbing proven control structures.
A single, unified and comprehensive automation service approach for ecosystem lifecycle management and optimization is applied for the management and maintenance of these diverse technological environments.
ABB launches System 800xA 7.0 DCS, bridging today and tomorrow’s automation
Building on ABB’s long-standing approach to modernization without disruption, ABB Ability System 800xA 7.0 distributed control system (DCS) acts as a bridge to future automation technologies
In brief:
Introduces Automation Extended functionality, enabling gradual uptake of advanced digital capabilities while maintaining core system reliability
Long Term Support (LTS) ensures predictable, secure system operation with extended lifecycle coverage and minimal disruption
As a Long-Term Support (LTS) release, System 800xA 7.0 provides a stable, predictable path for both existing installations and new projects, with broad Windows OS compatibility, expanded virtualization support, and long-term continuity without disruptive upgrade cycles.
As the first DCS adopting ABB’s recently announced Automation Extended program, System 800xA enables stepwise digital adoption for process and system monitoring and optimization. Through the “separation of concerns” architecture, with distinct yet securely interconnected control and digital environments, customers can deploy system performance monitoring, advanced analytics, and AI-based decision support applications without impacting the mission-critical control layer that safeguards operations.
Key enhancements:
Extension packs as a new delivery model—System 800xA 7.0 introduces a new, modular software delivery approach through Extension Packs, enabling customers to stay on their base software version while adopting innovations on an independent lifecycle in a non-disruptive way. This reduces the need for large-scale upgrade events, minimizes operational risk and lowers lifecycle costs.
Broader operating system and virtualization support—The system supports two generations of Microsoft operating systems, including Windows Server 2025/2022 and Windows 11/10, enabling flexible upgrade paths. It also supports multiple virtualization platforms including VMware and Hyper-V, giving users more flexibility in how they deploy and maintain their automation system’s infrastructure.
Strengthened cybersecurity and system hardening—System 800xA 7.0 incorporates native Microsoft Defender malware protection, IEC 62443-aligned security capabilities, improved certificate management, and updated core components. Together, these measures help protect critical systems against modern cyber threats while simplifying security maintenance.
Modern engineering tools and expanded connectivity—Enhancements to OPC UA client/server functionality, Ethernet-APL device integration, and network-centric I/O performance improve project scalability and interoperability. Version 7.0 also supports the latest MTP standards for ABB’s Modular Automation Orchestration Designer, helping customers meet emerging requirements for modular production.
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You see many news items. Many times media only regurgitates what it is given by publicists. Or, they like the extravagant quote.
Om Malik recently wrote Our Crazy Unhinged Now about a news item from Elon Musk. This is a great lesson on reading through press releases.
The past decade has taught us this about Musk. The man loves his hyperboles. A million robotaxis by the end of 2026. A billion humanoid robots. Just last week, on Tesla’s earnings call, he announced the end of the Model S and Model X production lines, giving them an “honorable discharge.” The Fremont factory will be retooled to build Optimus robots instead. A million units a year, he says, on the same floor space that used to produce 100,000 cars. What that announcement really masks is simpler. Tesla’s EV sales fell 9% in 2025. The Model S and X accounted for just 3% of deliveries. The EV game, as a game of excitement and disruption, is pretty much over. It is now a boring business where Chinese manufacturers are going to dominate and push Tesla into increasingly marginal territory. The honorable discharge is really a quiet retreat dressed up in the language of the future. But hey, we are all living in the new Announcement Economy.
Consider this as you consume news (or what passes today for news).
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“What you’re supposed to do when you don’t like a thing is change it. If you can’t change it, change the way you think about it. Don’t complain.” I’ve seen this quote attributed many ways. But it’s a good, Stoic thought.
One of my early bosses taught me—don’t come to me with a complaint or problem statement; come with an observation and proposed solution.
In my turn in leadership, people would occasionally come to me with a “cool idea.” The expectation was that I’d go to work on it. I would respond, “That’s a great idea. Why don’t you grab the reins and lead that project.” Usually they would drop the idea and go away. Suddenly, it was not so “cool.” But a good, forward thinking idea with potential—those would get done. And a new leader born.
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Dragos has more news coming next week. In the meantime, news of a collaboration with, who else for industrial software, Microsoft. How many Microsoft mentions squeezed into one sentence—Dragos brings proven energy and industrial cybersecurity, seamlessly deployed on Microsoft Azure, integrated with Microsoft Sentinel and readily accessible through Microsoft Marketplace.
Dragos Inc., a global leader in cybersecurity for operational technology (OT) environments, announced February 3, an expanded collaboration with Microsoft to help organizations modernize and secure their cyber-physical operations amid accelerating digital transformation, cloud adoption, and AI-driven change.
This collaboration focuses on integrating Dragos’s capabilities with Microsoft’s cloud and security platforms. By deploying the Dragos Platform on Microsoft Azure, integrating with Microsoft Sentinel, and enabling streamlined procurement through Microsoft Marketplace, organizations can more tightly align IT and OT security operations while adopting robust protections purpose-built for operational environments.
The collaboration addresses Microsoft customers’ on-premises OT security needs and enables Dragos to expand its cloud reach, creating deployment flexibility that serves customers’ diverse infrastructure strategies. Importantly, Dragos, a Microsoft partner, addresses a long-standing capability gap for organizations seeking to modernize operations without introducing unacceptable operational risk.
They provide a list of benefits:
Unified IT/OT security operations through native integrations with Microsoft Sentinel Flexible deployment options across cloud, hybrid, and on-premises environments to support diverse infrastructure strategies
Improved visibility into industrial assets, threats, and operational impact, enabling faster, more informed response
Reduced procurement friction via Microsoft Marketplace and alignment with customers’ Azure consumption commitments
A future-ready foundation for securing AI-enabled, connected, and automated operations
This integrated approach enables organizations to accelerate cloud and AI initiatives while maintaining the safety, availability, and compliance requirements essential to cyber-physical environments.
Four integration pillars:
Flexible Deployment Options—Beginning in Q1 2026, the Dragos Platform will support SaaS deployments on Azure, in addition to on-premises and hybrid models.
Microsoft Sentinel Integration—OT-specific telemetry, threat intelligence, and asset context from Dragos flow directly into Microsoft Sentinel, enabling unified IT/OT detection, investigation, and response.
Microsoft Marketplace Availability—Customers can procure Dragos through Microsoft Marketplace and apply Azure consumption commitments (MACC), aligning OT security investment with broader cloud and AI initiatives.
Looking Ahead—This collaboration establishes a scalable foundation for continued innovation, enabling deeper technical integration and coordinated go-to-market execution as OT, cloud, and AI environments become increasingly interconnected. For customers, it provides a clear, future-ready path to secure modernization, establishing Dragos’s OT-native cybersecurity as an integral capability within one of the world’s most important enterprise technology ecosystems.
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“A complex system that works is invariably found to have evolved from a simple system that worked. A complex system designed from scratch never works and cannot be patched up to make it work. You have to start over with a working simple system.”
This is why sudden change rarely is, and why persistence and user feedback end up changing the systems that run our world.
Process control is a complex system. It built up over decades from analog devices to digital computer systems housed in large operator stations. I’m not about to argue Gall’s Law for process. But everyone involved knows the painful, expensive, time-consuming project of upgrading their current system once it becomes a bit too aged.
And upgrading is today’s problem.
There are few new projects—what are called greenfield. Especially in the United States where perhaps 60% of my readers live and work.
Two companies sent news releases charting their paths to upgrading existing process control systems within a week of each other. One touting the largest installed base. The other most likely with a much smaller installed base. Different approaches to solving the problem of simplifying the upgrade path.
OK, so much for the suspense. One came from ABB. The other, announced at an analyst conference this week, from Schneider Electric/Foxboro.
First, I had to think through the common words used by both in order to get to that golden nugget of real news.
Here’s a list of those words. Perhaps you see them or hear them often from your sales engineers.
Modern
Open
Modular
Modernize
Flexibility
Scalability
Efficiency
Interoperability
Once I cancelled out all the “buzz” words, I was able to focus on the reality. I love it when I get a release or an interview where they actually say what they do rather than hiding behind generalities.
I thought for quite some time about what these releases really said. I’ll post them here after I receive answers to many questions. I like definitions for such terms as “open.” Both are active members of OPAF. Neither mentioned that. Is there a correlation? How interoperable is interoperable?
These companies have taken different paths owing to their installed bases and objectives. I criticize neither.
I will delve into the technologies next week after I hear back. Perhaps you’d like to grab a half-hour of quiet time (OK, many of you are smirking, but it’s possible) to reflect on your needs and your plans for upgrading. Will it be complexity squared? Or, can you find a simpler path.
Some famous physicist advised that your solution should be as simple as possible—but not too simple. Consider that.
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