Almost all press releases refer to AI. Everyone has AI. Suddenly, everyone has Agentic AI.
I researched the topic. Look for specific instances of where AI helps. Agentic AI will make specific decisions automatically. Look for these specific examples. Most (all?) AI works best when constrained into an application, not broadly applied.
This announcement references Model Context Protocol (MCP)—a good thing.
It’s so easy to be skeptical of news releases. Just read carefully—and if you are in the market, probe the sales engineer deeply.
SymphonyAI announced IRIS Foundry for Microsoft Teams, integrating industrial AI directly into Microsoft Teams and Microsoft 365 Copilot via the Model Context Protocol (MCP). Optimized for the complex demands of manufacturing and energy companies, the integration delivers real-time operational visibility, automated workflows, and AI-driven insights—directly inside the tools plant operators, industrial workers, and frontline teams use every day.
Industrial teams often waste time switching between maintenance systems, data historians, and analytics dashboards. With IRIS Foundry integrated using MCP, these capabilities are surfaced within Microsoft Teams, letting users:
Ask plain-language questions in Microsoft 365 Copilot such as, “Show me recent heat exchanger anomalies at Plant 7,” and instantly receive visual summaries within Teams.
Trigger automated workflows to initiate maintenance, adjust parameters, or escalate alerts—without leaving Microsoft Teams.
Customize domain-specific AI assistants using Microsoft Copilot Studio so companies can match plant-specific KPIs, workflows, and compliance needs.
IRIS Foundry MCP Server unifies complex energy and manufacturing data and surfaces it in context:
Data Contextualization and Unified Namespace: Turn raw data into meaningful context linked to assets, processes, and events, while giving streamlined, structured access to real-time and historical information in a publish-subscribe architecture.
Knowledge Graph and Cortex AI: Leverage semantic relationships between equipment, events, people, and documentation to power Cortex—IRIS Foundry’s AI engine for intelligent reasoning, search, and recommendations.
Predictive Analytics and Asset Intelligence: Continuously analyze equipment performance, predict failures, and surface anomalies with contextual alerts automatically routed to relevant Teams channels via MCP.
Process and Operations Intelligence: Track KPIs, identify performance trends, and enable predictive insights across production lines and plants through conversational interactions in Teams and Copilot.
Talking with colleague David Greenfield of Automation World at the very successful Inductive Automation ICC 2025 event about what happened to main competitors. There once was Wonderware (a pioneer) who eventually wound up under AVEVA. Then there was GE (Fanuc/Intelligent Platforms/Digital/Vernova) home of their Cimplicity and Intellution’s iFix which sort of blended into Proficy.
David tapped my shoulder. He had an email where the person wanted to discuss the future for iFix and Cimplicity. I turned around, checked my email, and had an invitation to sponsor an AVEVA one-day conference in Houston. How about that for synchronicity? A bit later I saw that GE Vernova has sold the HMI/SCADA/MES business (Proficy) to an investment firm, TPG. No wonder they sent an email to assure people about the future of their products.
I’ve pasted some of the press release below. I’m not surprised that Vernova is divesting this business. I am amazed that they are getting $600 million for it. That’s a lot of money for software that hasn’t made much of a splash in the market for several years. (When I was bouncing from one entrepreneurial start up to another in the 80s and 90s, why didn’t one of us get something akin to that size of a bail out?)
Oh, and, no, I’m not sponsoring the AVEVA Energy Day in Houston next month. Hint: they should sponsor me 😉
Bullet points in brief:
Transaction will establish manufacturing software business as leading independent industrial technology solutions provider.
Proficy software technology portfolio solves some of the toughest challenges in manufacturing, infrastructure, and other industries.
GE Vernova retains its Electrification Software business focused on developing solutions to help customers electrify and decarbonize the energy ecosystem.
Note: there is much of the usual PR fluff in this release:
GE Vernova Inc. (NYSE: GEV) and TPG, a leading global alternative asset management firm, announced today the signing of a binding agreement confirming the intent under which TPG will acquire GE Vernova’s Proficy® manufacturing software business (“Proficy”) for $600 million. GE Vernova may receive additional sale proceeds in the future depending on various outcomes and conditions. TPG will invest in Proficy through TPG Capital, the firm’s U.S. and European private equity platform.
The proposed transaction would establish Proficy as a standalone software business that helps its more than 20,000 customers manage complexity, enable greater efficiency, and improve connectivity across their industrial operations. Proficy’s software portfolio solves industrial challenges across discrete, process, and hybrid manufacturing, as well as metro transit and other infrastructure applications. Its fully integrated solutions include cloud-based and on-prem HMI/SCADA, MES, industrial data management, and analytics, offering architectural flexibility from equipment to the production line, plant, and full enterprise. In partnership with TPG, Proficy would continue to deliver enhanced and expanded offerings that meet the evolving needs of teams across the broader manufacturing and infrastructure sectors. This manufacturing software business currently comprises approximately 20% of GE Vernova’s Electrification Software revenues.
“We are excited to reach this agreement with TPG to position the Proficy business for independent success, while also generating significant proceeds for GE Vernova to reinvest in our core businesses,” said Scott Strazik, CEO of GE Vernova. “The Proficy portfolio provides critical tools for manufacturing and production customers around the world, and I’m confident that TPG will help this important business continue to grow and meet the expanding needs of the industry. GE Vernova remains focused on delivering solutions to help customers electrify and decarbonize the energy ecosystem, including growing GridOS®, our enterprise software and AI platform for grid orchestration. We recently expanded GridOS through our acquisition of Alteia, an AI computer vision and machine learning company, as we continue to position that business for the future.”
“Manufacturing is undergoing a renaissance driven by customers’ need to increase throughput, optimize operations, and augment workforces. Proficy’s mission-critical, integrated, and increasingly AI-enabled solutions are leading the way, enabling customers to run, monitor, and improve the production process,” said Art Heidrich, Partner at TPG. “We are excited to partner with GE Vernova and Proficy’s leadership team to accelerate growth and power customers’ digital evolutions.”
TPG has deep experience executing corporate carveouts to support and grow innovative software businesses, with investments that have included Boomi, Elite, Everfox, Hospitality Solutions, McAfee, and Wind River.
Upon the successful completion of the proposed transaction, TPG would own and control the Proficy business and GE Vernova would retain a board observer seat. The proposed transaction is subject to information and consultation with employee representatives and other customary closing conditions, including certain regulatory approvals, and is expected to close in the first half of 2026.
Evercore and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC are serving as financial advisors to GE Vernova. Centerview Partners LLC is serving as lead financial advisor to TPG, and William Blair is also serving as financial advisor to TPG.
I recorded this as I was leaving Inductive Automation’s Ignition Community Conference 2025 in Sacramento. The event team performed wonderfully moving ICC from the smaller Harris Center in Folsom to the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center in Sacramento with double the attendance. Lots of energy, many partners. The event had to be credited a success. Of course, the highlight was introduction of Ignition 8.3. This update included many long-sought additions. Note: Inductive Automation has been a long-term sponsor for my work. However, we do not have an “influencer” relationship, that is, they do not pay me for writing content. They just appreciate my work. If this information is useful, please pass along.
“This is my eighth ICC, and this is by far the best.” I asked a customer this morning how he was enjoying this year’s edition of the annual Inductive Automation Ignition Community Conference.
I concur completely (although I’ve attended more than eight). The Harris Center in Folsom had long since proved to be too small to house the community’s growth. Executives agreed to move the venue to the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center in Sacramento. They planned for doubling the size from 800 to 1,600, but the organizers told me that doing this the first time encompassed so many unknowns that they couldn’t breathe easily until half-way through the first day. This one reminded me of the automation company user groups I once attended.
I’m writing this in the hallway. The energy from conversations certainly keeps my energy up.
Part of the attraction this year emanates from the ability to house more breakout sessions. New also this year are Walker Reynold’s Prove It! Sessions. I sat in one with HighByte where the task is to prove to the audience that their solution really works.
Colby Clegg and Carl Gould ICC 2025
It helps when company executives have something good to say. And CEO Colby Clegg and CTO Carl Gould certainly rocked the conference with the huge advances in the latest Ignition Release—8.3.
The original vision I heard some 23 years ago focused on building an HMI/SCADA using IT-friendly technology from the ground up. Oh, and coming from a background as an integrator for another software company, the second focus concerned the pricing model designed to make the software more affordable and pricing more transparent.
Reading through just the bullet points I have below shows how far “IT-friendly” has come. The foundation for Ignition ties even more deeply into technologies familiar to all IT developers. With the hit of the show saved for previews of coming attractions when Colby and Carl announced coming in a few months—Model Context Protocol (MCP), thought of like an API for Agentic AI. MCP is so new and powerful that Inductive Automation may be beating IT developers to the game.
Inductive Automation Releases Ignition 8.3
Ignition 8.3 is such a comprehensive update that I’m surprised that it isn’t 9.0. Inductive says it provides tools for building solutions in SCADA, IIoT, MES, HMI, and more. It’s so much more that if I were an analyst paid $50,000 to do things like this, I’d give the category a new name.
This update (actually a significant technology foundation update) to Ignition 8.3 delivers major advancements in data processing efficiency, security, management, and development speed in order to elevate operational technology (OT) to modern IT standards and meet the speed and scalability needs of modern enterprises. These updates continue in the vision of the founder I first heard 22 years ago about developing OT software with the latest IT-friendly technology.
“Ignition has disrupted the industry and defined a new paradigm in industrial enterprise integration. With Version 8.3, we have completed our long-standing vision to create the world’s most powerful, most open, and most flexible application development platform,” says Colby Clegg, CEO of Inductive Automation and co-creator of Ignition.
Key Ignition 8.3 features include:
The new Industrial Historian Solution Suite, which includes the Historian Core Module, the SQL Historian Module, and a new Historian API for custom historian implementations.
The new Event Streams Module, which enables mapping and directing of event-driven data by creating a communication pipeline between various sources (such as tag changes or Kafka topics) and handlers (like scripts or database tables).
Perspective Module improvements, including a new Drawing Editor with native vector illustration tools, a form generator, and an offline mode for data entry and storage.
The redesigned Ignition Gateway, featuring a faster, more powerful web interface, integrated search capabilities, enhanced customization and visual organization, and consolidated configuration and diagnostic tools.
Next-level security that aligns with modern IT standards, including a new Secrets Management system, and Google Protobuf for faster, more secure communication between clients and gateways.
Long-Term Support (LTS), receiving regular updates and enhancements through the next five years.
Ignition 8.3 also features enhanced store-and-forward capabilities, improved enterprise deployment management, built-in REST API, new Gateway deployment mode, version control and collaboration with Git, simplified containerization, and much more.
Ignition Solution Suites, which include collections of Ignition modules and optional support plans that provide Upgrade Protection. Ignition Solution Suites simplify the Ignition purchasing process so that users can buy and deploy the precise solution they need more quickly. Five Solution Suites are currently available, and they align Ignition’s capabilities with common industrial use cases: The Application Building Suite, The Industrial Historian Suite, The DataOps Operations Suite, The Alarm Management Suite, and The Enterprise Integration Suite.
Every year the company recognizes significant and unique applications developed with Ignition. This year the company also recognized outstanding efforts in educating students about industrial automation with the Educational Engagement Firebrand Award, and honored contributions to the Ignition user community with the Community Impact Firebrand Award.
2025 Ignition Firebrand Award Winners:
Concera (End user: Sibanye-Stillwater)
Insight Engineering (End user: Haymes Paint)
SAGE Group (End user: Sydney Airport Corporation)
ASE Global
National Renewable Energy Lab
2025 Community Impact Firebrand Award Winner: Nick Minchin, Senior System Engineer at SAGE Automation, who dedicated much time to answering questions and helping people on the Ignition Forums.
2025 Educational Engagement Firebrand Award Winner: HebronSoft / Hebron IT Academy. These students from the Ukraine developed a process of custom fabricating prosthetic hands for soldiers who lost limbs in the war.
I have written about alternative technologies several times over the past 20 years. I’ve speculated about the power of Raspberry Pi for various control projects. Open source and standards-based programming tools. Some projects have become public using alternatives to big-name tools.
Can a company switch to different technologies?
David Heinemeier Hansson, co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of 37 Signals, explained a major change at the company moving from Apple-technology-based software development to a Linux-based one.
37 Signals developed the popular collaborative work tool Basecamp. Also the email client I use, HEY. Heinemeier Hansson co-wrote with partner Jason Fried the books Remote: Office Not Required, It Doesn’t Have To Be Crazy At Work, and Rework.
When the company released HEY, Apple gave them a lot of App Store grief. 37 Signals had been an almost exclusive Apple shop. The fallout from the hassle Apple gave them caused Heinemeier Hansson disenchantment with Apple. He immediately switched from iPhone to Android. Found out he didn’t lose anything in the transition. Then he explored Linux on the desktop. He didn’t think that would ever work, but he found a way around.
I should mention that he is a major force behind the programming language and IDE Ruby on Rails. He began this journey with Ubundu and Omakub on a less complex computer than the Mac. He then worked on his own open source Linux distribution called Omarchy with Hybrland windowing built on the Arch Linux distribution.
This worked so well for his own development work that he is transitioning all the company’s software development work to that platform.
Agentic AI has been in the news recently. I had interviewed HighByte Chief Product Officer John Harrington about it in the spring. Here is the company’s announcement about its new Intelligence Hub version 4.2 bring it to life.
Industrial software company announces general availability of HighByte Intelligence Hub version 4.2, enabling Agentic and AI-assisted DataOps at the edge
HighByte announced the release of HighByte Intelligence Hub version 4.2 with an embedded Industrial Model Context Protocol (MCP) Server that powers Agentic AI and new LLM-assisted data contextualization via native connections to Amazon Bedrock, Azure OpenAI, Google Gemini, OpenAI, and local LLMs.
HighByte Intelligence Hub provides the first Industrial MCP Server to expose data pipelines as “tools” to AI agents, including descriptions and parameters. With the Intelligence Hub, AI agents can securely access all connected industrial systems and make real time or historical data requests on them.
The latest release also introduces Git integration and OpenTelemetry (OTel) support to scale and manage deployments using DevOps tooling for version control and observability. Users will also have access to new Databricks and TimescaleDB connectors and enhanced connectivity with Apache Kafka and Amazon S3 for cloud-to-edge use cases. Furthermore, the Oracle Database connection has been enhanced to support Change Data Capture (CDC), the Snowflake SQL connection now supports write operations, and the AVEVA PI System connection supports enhanced PI point metadata reads. These capabilities optimize bi-directional connectivity for the many disparate data services found in the cloud, data center, and factory floor.
