The Cloud Initiative Reference Architecture
At HMI 2025, a significant milestone was reached in the industrial automation community: the Cloud Initiative Reference Architecture. This architecture represents a unified and collaborative approach to cloud integration. It is the first reference architecture to be jointly supported by all major cloud and automation providers, signaling a new era of interoperability and openness in industrial systems.
A better-together approach to data sharing
The Cloud Initiative Reference Architecture is designed to bridge the gap between traditional on-premises industrial systems and modern cloud-native services. It integrates key technologies such as OPC UA, Asset Administration Shell (AAS), and Eclipse Dataspace Components (EDC) into a cohesive, open-source framework. This architecture enables seamless data flow and control across edge and cloud environments, ensuring that industrial data can be securely shared, visualized, and acted upon in real time.
Open-Source as a foundation
Among the core components of the architecture are open-source tools like UA Cloud Publisher, Commander, Viewer, and Action. These tools facilitate the publishing, commanding, visualization, and execution of industrial data workflows. The architecture also incorporates widely adopted open-source technologies such as Mosquitto MQTT, Apache Kafka, InfluxDB, PostgreSQL, Grafana, and Rancher, or they can be replaced by managed services from cloud providers. These integrations ensure that the architecture is both robust and scalable, capable of supporting diverse industrial use cases.
A blueprint for the EU Digital Product Passport
A key feature of the architecture is its support for the European Union’s Digital Product Passport (DPP) initiative. By leveraging OpenAPI-compatible interfaces and standardized data formats such as OPC UA Nodeset file format, the architecture enables manufacturers to create, embed, and manage digital twins of physical products. The use of OPC UA Companion Specifications and AAS Submodel Templates ensures semantic consistency and interoperability across different systems and organizations.
Standardized data sharing for manufacturing supply chains
The architecture also emphasizes secure and federated data exchange through the use of Dataspace Connectors, particularly the Eclipse Dataspace Connector (EDC). This open-source tool supports decentralized identity management and federated catalogs, allowing organizations to share data securely while maintaining control over their digital assets. The EDC is backed by major cloud providers, further reinforcing the collaborative nature of the initiative.
A collaborative approach to accelerate international rollout
Real-world applications of the Cloud Initiative Reference Architecture are already underway. In partnership with organizations such as the OPC Foundation, Digital Twin Consortium, CESMII, and International Manufacturing-X, the architecture is being used to combine OPC UA and AAS ecosystems. These efforts are enabling the creation of standardized, interoperable digital twins that can be used throughout the product lifecycle, from design and manufacturing to maintenance and recycling.
Building the future today
The OPC Foundation Cloud Initiative Reference Architecture is more than just a technical framework – it is a vision for the future of industrial automation. By fostering collaboration, standardization, and openness, it paves the way for a more connected and intelligent industrial ecosystem. As more organizations adopt this architecture, the benefits of interoperability, scalability, and data-driven decision-making will become increasingly evident across the industry.
Learn more at http://opcfoundation.org/cloud and watch the recording about the architecture from OPC Day 2025 here.