The OPC Foundation announced the election of three new directors to its Board of Directors (BoD). The new BoD members include Dr. Bernhard Eschermann, CTO of ABB Industrial Automation Division, Dr. Juergen Weinhofer, vice president of common architecture and technology for Rockwell Automation, and Fabrice Jadot, Senior Vice President, Technology & Innovation and CTO, Industry Business, at Schneider Electric.
The new OPC Foundation BoD members join a “Who’s-Who” list of prominent companies that span the Industrial IoT/I4.0 spectrum. Aligned towards the need to establish OPC UA as the single end-to-end standard for open and secure data interoperability across the IIoT/I4.0, these market leaders have the collective expertise and market influence to help make this collective vision a global reality.
Asked about their respective views on the role OPC UA will play in the new OPC Foundation initiative “Field Level Communications” (FLC) and beyond, the new BoD members shared their viewpoints on the topic.
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- Dr. Jürgen Weinhofer, Rockwell Automation
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- Dr. Bernhard Eschermann, ABB
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- Fabrice Jadot, Schneider Electric
“OPC UA has become the dominant open protocol for machine-to-software and machine-to-cloud solutions, and it is becoming critical for companies deploying a Connected Enterprise,” said Dr. Weinhofer adding, “I look forward to helping the OPC Foundation become a leader in machine-to-machine applications and helping OPC UA users unlock more value from their production systems.”
Dr. Eschermann pointed out that, “In the future, customers across various industries will no longer be bound to suppliers based on the communications protocol used and competition will more strongly focus on creating value. Adoption of OPC UA over TSN will drive this paradigm also into the world of deterministic and real-time communication. At the same time, it will enable using the same consistent information model from the field to the cloud.”
Mr. Jadot elaborated on the critical role OPC UA has to play in industry, “At the field level it is connected IT and OT that will be the foundation of the IIoT or 4th industrial revolution. For industrial customers to realize the value of automation at every level requires technology interoperability. We believe open standards-based communications system architectures [like OPC UA] are key to future success.”
Stefan Hoppe, OPC Foundation President and Executive Director commented, “The OPC Foundation is the “United Nations of Industrial Communication and IIoT” and thus the ideal platform for major automation suppliers to collaborate on a neutral ground. Thanks to the OPC UA standard and the active OPCF member participation in its ongoing expansion, the OPC Foundation offers the only concrete, open, and secure way for multi-vendor systems to interoperate from sensor to cloud and everything in-between. This is the base on which an ever-broader range of true IIoT/I4.0 solutions can be built, and the real benefits of this era can be realized.”
More information can be found at the OPC Foundation webpage:
https://opcfoundation.org/about/opc-foundation/organization/