Changes are happening constantly in the world of IT, and we’re in the midst of the fourth industrial revolution. Industry 4.0 is a world in which factory machines have wireless connectivity and sensors built in, enabling machines to make their own intelligent decisions.
The Open Industry 4.0 Alliance was created in order to accelerate this journey to Industry 4.0. The Open Industry 4.0 Alliance will establish an open ecosystem and a framework to allow for interoperability between vendors.
“The charter of the Open Industry 4.0 Alliance is to create customer value through holistic interoperable Industry 4.0 solutions and services in a common framework powered by an alliance of leading industry partners to drive the digitization of the factory, plant & warehouse of our customers,” the Open Industry 4.0 Alliance’s website stated.
Software AG is the latest company to join the alliance. Other IT and OT organizations part of the alliance include ifm electronic, Beckhoff, SAP, KUKA, Hilscher, Endress+Hauser, and Multivac. There are over 21 companies in the organization now.
“The members of the alliance have agreed on an open and pragmatic approach to ensure interoperability for industrial automation (Industry 4.0),” said Bernd Gross, CTO of Software AG. “This approach puts customer value front and center. The interplay between IT and OT requires multi-vendor interoperability. That is the only way factories in the manufacturing and process industries can reap the benefits of Industry 4.0. The open standards-based approach is the perfect fit for our philosophy, Freedom as a Service.”
Software AG will position itself in the IoT Connectivity and Open Edge Computing segments. It will also act as a Hybrid Integration Operator.
