by Gary Mintchell | Nov 14, 2025 | Business, Commentary, Manufacturing IT, News
I’ve had the opportunity to talk with many CEOs and SVPs following acquisitions that, to me, seemed out of place. Perhaps a distraction to core business. Perhaps just an ego play to build a larger business/division. Two ranking executives told me that the acquired company and the acquiring company’s software were build with object-oriented programming. Therefore, they said, they could just combine the objects into a new, stronger software offering.
Neither succeeded.
It so happened that the PTC CEO and I were attending the same conference not long after the acquisition of ThingWorx and Kepware. Both acquisitions were beneficial to the owners of the acquired companies. I couldn’t see how entering a new market could help PTC’s business.
“Gary,” I was assured, “we will integrate all the software into a unified and comprehensive industrial software offering.”
I didn’t believe it then. Subsequent events proved me correct. PTC has unloaded the two companies to TPG, a company that seems (foolishly?) trying to grow into a market that I think is dominated (at least in terms of innovation) by Inductive Automation. TPG previously acquired the industrial software business (former Cimplicity, Intellution, iFix) from GE Vernova. I bet they think they can integrate the three (and perhaps others?) into a competitive offering.
Meanwhile, PTC states that the “sale of Kepware and ThingWorx businesses enables PTC to increase focus on Intelligent Product Lifecycle vision.”
PTC further says, “Transaction will provide the Kepware and ThingWorx businesses with additional resources for growth.” I guess that means that PTC had ceased providing sufficient resources for that said growth. TPG is one of those private equity firms. Think it will fatten them up for eventual sale?
Here’s a bit about the businesses, in case you’ve forgotten about them.
Kepware facilitates connectivity between industrial automation devices and applications, acting as a communication platform that enables data exchange and integration across a diverse range of industries including manufacturing, oil and gas, and utilities to simplify the process of collecting, monitoring, and controlling data from multiple sources. ThingWorx is a comprehensive IoT platform for industrial enterprises that connects systems, analyzes data, and enables the remote management of devices through a secure and scalable architecture.
The transaction is expected to close in the first half of calendar year 2026, subject to the satisfaction of regulatory approvals and other closing conditions.
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by Gary Mintchell | Nov 13, 2025 | Manufacturing IT, Security
Rockwell Automation has upgraded its cybersecurity offering for operations technology (OT) applications. Executives touted how Rockwell’s roots in operations roots its cybersecurity offering more naturally in the plant than IT-oriented solutions overlaid at a recent media briefing. They noted its OT-designed platform and security services empower industrial organizations to reduce risk, maximize uptime and simplify compliance across the full cybersecurity lifecycle.
Rockwell Automation announced the launch of SecureOT solution suite, a comprehensive industrial cybersecurity offering designed to help manufacturers and critical infrastructure protect critical operations and build secure environments.
As industrial operations become increasingly connected, organizations are facing a sharp rise in cyber threats targeting operations technology (OT) systems. Many legacy systems were never designed with cybersecurity in mind, and traditional IT tools often fail to protect complex, aging industrial environments. SecureOT was developed to close the gap, helping organizations secure their OT infrastructure with technology and expertise built for the realities of modern industrial operations.
SecureOT brings together Rockwell Automation’s purpose-built SecureOT Platform, professional services and managed security services into a unified solution that delivers end-to-end protection for complex, aging and highly regulated industrial systems.
- SecureOT Platform delivers real-time asset visibility, risk prioritization and vulnerability management across diverse vendor ecosystems.
- Through its professional services, SecureOT offers strategic advisory, assessments and implementation support to help organizations strengthen their security posture. Its managed security services provide continuous 24/7 monitoring and incident response from Rockwell’s dedicated OT Security Operations Center (SOC) and Network Operations Center (NOC).
- SecureOT aligns with globally recognized frameworks, including NIST CSF, NIS2 and IEC 62443, and takes a vendor-neutral approach to securing industrial control systems and technology stacks.
Use case examples:
- A leading oil & gas producer achieved full OT asset visibility and remediated critical risks across remote operations in just six months.
- A large beverage manufacturer migrated their aging industrial network and compute installed base to a fully managed and supported infrastructure across more than 150 sites globally.
- An energy company doubled its NIST CSF maturity scores while delivering measurable ROI to executive leadership.
- A power utility gained secure, real-time visibility into remote substations – achieving NERC CIP compliance and reducing costs through agentless monitoring.
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by Gary Mintchell | Nov 12, 2025 | Cloud, Data Management, Edge, Operations Management
Industrial IT developers increasingly incorporate standard IT infrastructure. Rather than send platitudes about the mythical “IT/OT Convergence,” some actually just do it. Integration with Kubernetes exemplifies one such technology.
This news comes from edge orchestration developer ZEDEDA. The short list of benefits from edge orchestration solutions with Kubernetes.
- Simplifies edge operations by delivering consistent app management across distributed locations, minimizing expensive manual intervention at each site
- Automates large-scale edge infrastructure and application deployment—enforcing desired state for thousands of edge clusters, even with unreliable network connectivity
- Optimized AI processing close to operational data sources reduces expensive data backhaul to the cloud
ZEDEDA announced the first full-stack edge Kubernetes-as-a-Service solution that extends a cloud-native deployment experience to distributed edge environments. This new solution, ZEDEDA Edge Kubernetes App Flows, automates the edge application lifecycle—from packaging and configuration to delivery and observability—eliminating the need to manage cluster and application orchestration infrastructure. Edge Kubernetes App Flows supports the bare-metal and GPU compute required for edge AI applications, such as automated detection of manufacturing flaws and predictive maintenance.
Built on ZEDEDA’s proven edge platform, the new integrated Kubernetes solution extends the platform’s zero-trust architecture and offline resilience—keeping tens of thousands of devices and Kubernetes instances running continuously, even in demanding field environments with physical vulnerabilities and intermittent connectivity.
ZEDEDA Edge Kubernetes App Flows combines GitOps-based delivery with ZEDEDA’s zero-trust edge platform—letting organizations focus on applications, not infrastructure.
Key capabilities include:
- Application Definition and Marketplace: Deploys customizable application definitions consistently across distributed edge locations.
- Application Packaging and Distribution: Builds and distributes manifests tailored for edge requirements.
- GitOps-Based Continuous Delivery: Automates deployments through approved Git workflows for full auditability.
- Adaptive Observability: Monitors deployment and performance, even with intermittent connectivity and limited bandwidth.
ZEDEDA Edge Kubernetes App Flows is built on and integrates with all the leading security and scalability capabilities of ZEDEDA’s proven edge platform, including:
- Zero-Trust Security: Continuous validation of edge devices, applications, and communications.
- Offline Resilience: Graceful handling of intermittent connectivity and disconnected operations.
- Edge Scale: Support for tens of thousands of clusters and unattended edge devices.
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by Gary Mintchell | Nov 11, 2025 | Automation, Robots, Standards
I’m betting that you know where you are in terms of physical location. They once asked on TV ads, “Do you know where your kids are?” Now the questions are, “Do you know where your machines are?” and “Do your machines know where they are?”
OPC Foundation continues its quest to link to everything possible. Its list of “companion specs” is long. This new concerns a partnership regarding spatial understanding—by networked industrial systems of machines, robots, and mobile systems understanding one another by physical location. Sounds useful for things moving around the factory.
This partnership includes AIM-D, omlox, and the OPC Foundation creating a new OPC UA specification.
Industrial automation is facing a paradigm shift: machines, robots, and mobile systems are learning to “understand” space. With the new OPC UA Companion Specification for Identification and Locating, AIM-D e.V., PROFIBUS & PROFINET International (PI) with the open locating standard omlox, and the OPC Foundation are establishing the foundation for a common language of “spatial intelligence.”
Physical AI – that is, AI that actively perceives physical space and acts contextually – requires a unified understanding of positions, movements, and identities in space. This is precisely where the new Companion Specification comes in: it harmonizes the spatial data model for absolute positions within the OPC Foundation and allows for a unified global positioning of assets in the physical and digital world.
This enables a seamless integration of spatial data into industrial IT and OT systems – a prerequisite for autonomous mobile robots, intelligent assistance systems, and self-organizing production environments.
The new specification is now freely available on the OPC Foundation’s website and is considered a milestone for the next evolutionary stage of industrial intelligence.
The collaboration between AIM-D, omlox / PI, and the OPC Foundation brings together the disciplines of identification, locating, and communication in a common spatial context. This creates a decisive foundation to equip robots, vehicles, and machines with a shared spatial understanding – the key to Physical AI, resilient supply chains, and autonomous industrial ecosystems.
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by Gary Mintchell | Nov 3, 2025 | Commentary, Generative AI, News
The IEEE released “The Impact of Technology in 2026 and Beyond: an IEEE Global Study” surveyed 400 CIOs, CTOs, IT directors, and other technology leaders in Brazil, China, Japan, India, the U.K. and U.S. at organizations with more than 1,000 employees across multiple industry sectors including banking and financial services, consumer goods, education, electronics, engineering, energy, government, healthcare, insurance, retail, and telecommunications. The survey was conducted September 11-17, 2025.
I find surveys interesting for an understanding of current sentiment among people who may be involved in the area but seldom have time to think through the questions. As a former product development professional, I’d never use these for developing new products. You need to be a little ahead of this curve.
Still, consider these as opinions coming from a background of much media hype about AI and Agents.
In general, the survey found these opinions:
- Widespread Use of Agentic AI as a ‘Smart Assistant’ for Everyday Tasks Such as Personal Shopper, Scheduler, Data Privacy Manager and Health Monitor Expected; Agentic AI Growth Will Also Spur a Data Analyst Hiring Boom
- Annual trends study forecasts robotics, extended reality, autonomous vehicles, quantum computing and renewable energy as technology areas AI will influence the most in 2026
Be wary of adjectives and adverbs injected into survey releases. Phrases such as “lightning speed” should be sent through the BS filter of your mind. Developments have seemed fast over the past few years. They also seem to have stalled.
Agentic AI is like a smart assistant that, when given a task, can work independently, but still needs its work double-checked. Its adoption is on the rise, and a strong majority of technologists globally (96%) agree that agentic AI innovation, exploration and adoption will continue at lightning speed in 2026, as both established enterprises and start-ups deepen investments and commitments to the technology.
Following are a lot of percentages. I’d advise skimming rather than getting lost in the minutiae.
The rise of agentic AI won’t be confined to business. Survey respondents see it reaching mass or near-mass adoption by consumers in 2026 for the following uses:
- (52%) Personal assistant | scheduler | family calendar manager
- (45%) Data privacy manager
- (41%) Health monitor
- (41%) Errand and chore automator (e.g. grocery orders)
- (36%) News and information curator
In addition, 91% agree the use of agentic AI to analyze greater amounts of data will grow in 2026, spurring a data analyst hiring boom to analyze the accuracy of results, transparency and vulnerabilities.
An interesting list of anticipated top skills for employees follows. Looks as if they have little to do specifically with AI (save one).
According to the survey, the top skills technologists will seek in candidates they plan to hire for AI-related roles in 2026 are:
- (44%) AI ethical practices skills (+9% from prior year)
- (38%) Data analysis skills (+4% from prior year)
- (34%) Machine learning skills (+6% from prior year)
- (32%) Data modeling skills, including processing (no change from prior year)
- (32%) Software development skills (-8% from prior year)
An interesting list of applications. Why was extended reality cited? That seems a long way off, if ever happening. Autonomous vehicles do keep improving.
A majority (77%) of technologists agree the novelty of humanoid robots can inject fun into the workplace but over time will become like commonplace co-workers with circuits. Robotics is also a top area of technology over half (52%) of technologists think will be influenced by AI in 2026. Other areas influenced by AI in 2026 will include extended reality (XR), including augmented, virtual and mixed reality (36%); and autonomous vehicles (35%).
I don’t see manufacturing/industrial applications hitting the top list.
Meanwhile, the top industries expected to experience the greatest transformation from AI next year will be software (52%); banking and financial services (42%); healthcare (37%) and automotive and transportation (32%).
Will they use it?
- (39%) Using Regularly, But Selectively: Generative AI will continue to be a regular part of our work in selective areas, and adds value. (+20% from prior year)
- (35%) Rapidly Integrating, Expecting Bottom Line Results: AI will continue to be integrated throughout all our operations. We’ve already seen measurable bottom line results and expect these to grow.
The top uses for AI applications technology leaders expect in 2026 includes:
- (47%) Real-time cybersecurity vulnerability identification and attack prevention (-1% from prior year)
- (39%) Aiding and/or accelerating software development (+4% from prior year)
- (35%) Increasing supply chain and warehouse automation efficiencies (+2% from prior year)
- (32%) Automating customer service (+4% from prior year)
- (29%) Powering educational activities such as customizing learning, intelligent tutoring systems, university chatbots (-10% from prior year)
- (23%) Accelerating disease mapping and drug discovery (-3% from prior year)
- (22%) Automating and/or stabilizing utility power sources (-3% from prior year)
Will you be using AI—really?
More than half of those surveyed (51%) cited 26-50% of jobs across the global economy will be augmented by AI software in 2026, while less than one-third (30%) cited 51-75% of jobs, (16%) cited 1-25% of jobs, and only (4%) cited 76-100% of jobs.
I’m thinking we may be reaching peak capital investment—mostly for economic reason, not technical. But many people ride the wave.
Close to half of technologists (49%) think it will take 5-7 years to build out the global data center infrastructure required to meet growing AI development and demand. One-third think it will happen sooner, in 3-4 years, while 10% think it will not happen for 8-10 years or more.
by Gary Mintchell | Oct 31, 2025 | Data Management, Manufacturing IT, Operations Management
Inductive Automation unleashed Ignition 8.3 during its Ignition Community Conference in September. It included many significant updates. Trying to be “IT-friendly” since it founding, this tagline of “The OT-IT Bridge of the Future” draws ever closer. They call Ignition 8.3 a unified industrial integration platform that makes it easy to bring your OT and IT environments into one system.
I’ll bullet a few examples of new tools and end with a link to a cool use case for Ignition from the Ukraine.
Centralized Events Management
- Use the new Event Streams Module to handle and manage tag changes, database events, alarms, and more from a central location.
- Event Streams
- Easy Enterprise Orchestration
- Connect or manage configuration across enterprises using standard IT technologies with Ignition’s self-documenting REST Web API.
World-Class Security
- Protect enterprise data with first-class security features like Secrets Management, with extensibility to integrate with third-party secrets management platforms like HashiCorp Vault coming soon.
- Secrets Management
- A Stable, Long-Term Foundation
- Since 8.3 is a Long-Term Support release, you’ll get improvements and fixes for a minimum of five years.
Git Compatibility
Use Ignition 8.3 with Git to collaborate better on big projects and gain complete version control.
Check out more at Inductive Automation.
Check out the Hebron Project presented at the Ignition Community Conference. This application should get you thinking outside the box searching for cool applications of your own.
(Note: Inductive Automation is a long time sponsor of The Manufacturing Connection. This post is purely my own writing/editing with no additional compensation.)
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