How automation architectures are evolving

8 September 2025  

As manufacturers seek to achieve more with less, they are exploring advanced automation architectures that balance operational efficiency with sustainability. Dave Sutton, product marketing manager for industrial automation at Schneider Electric in the UK and Ireland, argues that to do this, they should embrace open automation.

While every manufacturer is different and uses digitalisation to achieve its own goals, there are certainly some shared goals that apply to the entire sector. These include reducing downtime, improving operational efficiency, cutting waste (in all of its forms), and contributing to sustainability. These goals present challenges that are driving changes in industrial automation control systems towards open architectures at the OT (operational technology) level. This evolution can deliver immense value to businesses and their supply chains.

So, what is driving the trend to open automation? I believe it is a need to overcome the restriction that, although traditional proprietary technologies may work well individually, they are locked and closed, with code that is not portable.

It is not feasible for manufacturers to replace critical assets immediately whenever a more advanced version becomes available. This leaves legacy hardware in place with bespoke software, communications and hardware, locking users into single vendors.

Manufacturers using disparate systems from multiple suppliers see this challenge magnified as they move towards digital transformation. Many require substantial industrial automation (IA) system re-engineering because code written to run on legacy hardware is not portable or compatible with the latest hardware. This hinders manufacturers’ digital transformation, holding back capabilities that could improve their efficiency behind substantial investments of time and money.

The answer is to move to an open automation philosophy, as is seen widely in the IT sector. Manufacturers are demanding systems that are software-centric and hardware-agnostic, so that the same application code can run on a variety of hardware from different vendors. This opens up communications across different machines, devices and sensors, allowing operators to work more efficiently and achieve more with less.

Plug and produce

This can be achieved by adopting the IEC 61499 universal automation standard, which defines how to design distributed applications using “plug and produce” software components that are independent of the hardware on which they run. Development and application of the standard is being led by a community of automation users, technology vendors and academics who want to change the automation game via the non-profit organisation, UniversalAutomation.Org.

Plant engineers, systems integrators, OEMs or anyone else in the manufacturing supply chain involved in designing, linking and supporting legacy systems, can reduce the massive expenditure associated with servicing individual assets, while setting a pathway for continuous improvement.

For example, in a mature sector such as food and beverage manufacturing, it is common to see a mixture of new and old assets. A challenge for food producers is that consumers base their purchasing decisions on multiple factors, and are always looking for the next product or flavour from the fast-moving sector.

Manufacturers need to be flexible and scalable to respond to the demands of the market, but this can seem impossible when battling proprietary systems. Open automation enables that level of flexibility with less time spent on tasks that do not add value, and more time spent on innovating.

This can apply to manufacturers of any size, making any type of product. Schneider recently published a White Paper, called A quantitative comparison of digitised industrial automation, which describes the results of field tests that reveal how software engineering can be delivered three times faster through open automation for standard production strategies, thus increasing flexibility.

Automation systems currently running in UK manufacturing were often installed decades ago. They’re now holding back manufacturers from realising the full potential of digital transformation, as well as advances in technology and computing.

Agnostic platforms

The drive for hardware-agnostic platforms offers an opportunity to use industrial PCs to run application code. It enables the adoption of soft-PLCs or edge controllers, fuelling the convergence of IT and OT. However, even with manufacturers investing in edge computing to handle the burden of collecting, analysing and reporting data, the benefits are limited without an open automation approach that can handle data in a single agnostic platform.

Across industry, we can see the wider adoption of IIoT (Industrial Internet of Things) technologies that offer an immediate improvement for manufacturers. But many are ultimately held back from realising IIoT’s full potential because they are unable to commit fully to their automation systems.

For example, adding a sensor to a legacy asset for real-time data collection will reduce downtime by supporting proactive maintenance but, without interoperability, its potential is limited.

Sharing that same sensor data via an open automation platform extends proactive maintenance capabilities by accessing data from all sources in the facility, both new and old. Manufacturers can use that single digital thread to make informed business decisions to enhance uptime, maintenance and energy consumption, without costly investments in new critical assets.

Unlocking the flow of data throughout a manufacturing facility has driven the deployment of devices at the network edge. They deliver processing power near the assets to create a distributed architecture that offers increased resilience, availability and maintainability. By comparison, traditional large, centralised control architectures are less able to handle the complexity of modern manufacturing processes – especially as businesses look to scale and remain flexible.

This has created a growing demand for physical I/O that must be ready for the data-driven future. Future-ready I/O supports universal automation by using open Ethernet protocols to deliver connections to a variety of devices and architectures for better performance and availability. Not only does this offer short-term advantages, it also fulfils a promise of universal automation by creating a unified framework for all automation. Architectures created today can evolve with future technologies, empowering manufacturers to freely explore any element of digital transformation.

Cyber concerns

Any industrial activity that relies on data connections will always come with

cybersecurity concerns. This isn’t reserved for critical infrastructure. Businesses of all sizes are being targeted increasingly, and as manufacturers become part of more complex supply chains, the attack surfaces increase.

Just as universal automation is all-encompassing, so must cybersecurity be, with a strategy that integrates people, technology and operations. Just because the flow of data has been opened, it doesn’t mean there have to be data protection gaps, even with legacy assets that may have exploitable control systems. This has driven the need for systems that are certified to the IEC 62443 cybersecurity standard, safeguarding potential vulnerabilities in industrial systems, while providing clear guidance on the responsibilities at every level.

Realising the potential of universal automation and digital transformation means that cybersecurity must be considered beyond processes and procedures to encompass every asset or product that is added to the network.

By decentralising and adopting advanced capabilities, manufacturers will see secure data exchange that reduces risks and improves resilience, even as cyber-attacks become more complex. This is essential for manufacturers who want to see the benefits of universal automation with minimised risk, considering the needs of the future while unlocking immediate benefits.

Unscheduled downtime represents a massive cost for manufacturers of all sizes. The Performance in Focus 2024 report reveals that the average hourly cost of downtime in the UK is £5,471.95. This drives the need for predictive maintenance and the open automation that enables it.

To address this challenge, and to facilitate high-availability architectures where downtime cannot be tolerated, manufacturers can use a mixture of technologies  including hot-standby processors, redundant switches, redundant I/O, redundant power supplies, modular hot-swapping, Change-Config-On-The-Fly (CCOFT), Fast Device Replacement (FDR), built-in diagnostics, and ring network topologies.

Open, universal automation represents the future of industrial architectures, supporting manufacturers as they seek to achieve more with less. The future-ready approach empowers facilities of all sizes and specialisms to innovate and optimise continuously, looking far beyond single technologies and realising the full potential of digital transformation.

As UK manufacturing continues to digitalise its operations to compete on a global scale, universal automation is playing an increasingly important role.