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INDUSTRIAL

AUTOMATION

LANDSCAPE:

The Metamorphosis

he industrial realm has encountered rising The trend of control systems, as depicted in Figure
technology transformations, swift adoption 1, can be summarised as Integrated, Connected and
Tof modern systems, low-cost computing, big Intelligent. To achieve it, the Automation Solution
data analytics and a persuasive network over the last providers are:
decade. The concurrence of cutting-edge information,
computing, and communication technologies propel Integrating vertically – From “Connected
automation and industrial applications to the so-called Equipment” to “Connected Plants.”
next industrial revolution – Industry 4.0. The synergy
of technology-aided integration and joint alliance Integration horizontally – Especially Horizontal
between people and machines across the factory floor integrations towards Analytics, Predictive
and the supply chain is responsible for this revolution. Maintenance and Enterprise Integration for
improved business visibility.

Today, every major industrial automation supplier is
undergoing a strategic shift aligning itself to Digital Focus on core & letting go of non-core – OEMs are
Technology to address Industry 4.0. Most of them had focusing more on core solutions and increasing the
their offerings, software or hardware, and leveraged space for Partners (EPCMs as System Integrators).
their existing Industrial Automation and Control A few advancements by the Automation
offerings (Software or Hardware) and expanded from
there. Solution Providers are highlighted below:

ABB has ABB Ability; Emerson has Plantweb; ABB acquired GE Industrial Solutions in 2017 for $2.6
Honeywell has Connected Plant; Rockwell billion to improve its reach in the North American
Automation has Connected Enterprise; Schneider market and get closer to end consumers. On the other
Electric has EcoStruxure; Siemens has MindSphere, hand, ABB shifted its Power Grids business to Hitachi.
and the list goes on. Hitachi acquired 80.1 % of ABB’s Power Grids business
recently for $6.85bn. ABB appears to have made
The common denominator is that all these companies substantial progress in becoming a more customer-
are dedicated to the automation business and see focused and streamlined organisation.
Industry 4.0 as a considerable opportunity.

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