Manufacturers need to adapt to changing times and adopt new technology to stay competitive. For many manufacturers, concepts like software-defined automation may seem strange and far away. But the truth is that it’s going to become the norm sooner than you may think.
That’s why I want to provide you with a clear understanding of what it is, why it matters and how you can prepare.
So, let’s start with a definition. Software-defined automation (SDA) is exactly what it sounds like, but what does that mean? For starters, it’s a priority realignment and it’s easiest to understand what it is by comparing it to what it’s not.
Industrial automation design has long started with physical hardware—turning on motors, sensors, etc.—and then developing automation routines to form processes. Software-defined automation turns this on its head and starts with modular, reliable and device-agnostic programming, then it slots in the hardware to match. Technology trends like virtualization, edge and cloud computing, DevOps, and open-source software are all aspects of a movement towards software-defined automation.
Advantages of SDA
Why should manufacturers change their approach to automation in favor of SDA?
Traditionally, hardware has been tightly coupled with a vendor’s proprietary software. As the field moves towards software-defined automation, you are going to see a move toward more software standards like PLCOpen, PackML and OPC UA that are shared between vendor platforms. You will also see hardware that is more interchangeable because of standardization. This is going to have lots of benefits for manufacturers.
Software that is decoupled from hardware can give you more options for spares. And in facilities that have hardware from multiple vendors, it will be simpler for workers to gain the skills they need to troubleshoot and support control systems and resolve downtime issues faster.
In the IT and network infrastructure fields, this conceptual shift started a while back. In the industrial automation field, we have something of a benefit by being late to this party. As we move toward software-defined automation, we can take advantage of the systems and concepts that have already been developed, and are at maturity, in other fields. This will get us closer to the real advantages faster, such as ease of incorporating and expanding powerful new technologies like AI, cybersecurity solutions and virtualization.
Preparing for SDA
Manufacturers have to balance the benefits of adopting some of these technologies with the uncertainties that come with an evolving field. Luckily, there are a few things you can do to position yourself well and the best place to start is by recognizing and investing in an adjacent trend—IT/OT convergence. Businesses have been realizing that to unlock more technology adoption in their traditional manufacturing operations, they must break down the separation of the IT and OT skillset, tools and work processes.
Software-defined automation promises to take IT/OT convergence one step further. SDA builds upon IT/OT convergence and ultimately should use the best of both practices to create software-based infrastructure to control and optimize industrial processes which are more scalable, adaptable and resilient than our current reality.
So, what can you do to get ahead of these inevitable changes to manufacturing technology? My recommendation is to find immediately beneficial projects that require IT and OT to collaborate to be successful. These teams should be working together to create software-based solutions that meet the requirements of these traditionally separate organizations.
A good example is the workflow required to implement IIoT, which pulls data from industrial equipment and pushes the data into business analytics. The immediate benefit comes from gaining better operations insights to optimize your manufacturing processes and resources. A secondary benefit is to build your convergence muscle. It forces you to think through the IT/OT overlap; for example, how to extend networking and cybersecurity best practices to the factory floor while keeping your equipment up and running.
SDA and, by extension, IT/OT convergence, is not something that manufacturers will check a box and say “done.” It is a continuous transformation of skill sets, harmonization of technologies and shift of culture that will bring your manufacturing operations forward to meet the changing landscape of industrial automation.
G Brooks-Zak, P.E., is co-founder of Outlier Automation, an integrator member of the Control System Integrators Association (CSIA). For more information about Outlier Automation, visit its profile on the CSIA Industrial Automation Exchange.
