Hosted by the Linux Foundation and open to all interested parties, the Margo initiative (which draws its name from the Latin word for edge) will reportedly define mechanisms for interoperability between applications, devices and orchestration software at the edge of industrial ecosystems. The aim of Margo is to make it easier to run and combine applications from any ecosystem member on top of the hardware and runtime system of any other member.
The Margo initiative stresses that its strategy is “not to create yet another standard, but to embrace and orchestrate existing and proven IT standards and enhancing these as needed, to ensure the specific OT requirements are met.”
Florian Schneeberger, chief technology officer of ABB's Machine Automation division (formerly B&R), added, "The more sources you get data from, the better the decisions you can make. Yet, while the benefits of digitalization increase with scale, so do the challenges of navigating heterogeneous industrial ecosystems. That's why interoperability is so crucial to unlocking the full potential of digitalization. It empowers organizations to adopt and scale Industrial IoT solutions at full speed without large teams of IT specialists."
“Mastering efficiency, flexibility and quality faster than competitors is key to success in today’s industrial world,” said Bernhard Eschermann, chief technology officer at ABB Process Automation. “Digitalization can help deliver on these benefits, but digital ecosystems require a robust, secure and interoperable framework at the edge, connecting operations and information technologies. For ABB, a long-standing advocate of open automation systems, driving a forward-thinking collaborative initiative like Margo is key to achieving this goal.”
