Developed by the Object Linking and Embedding for Process Control (OPC) Foundation, OPC UA is a set of industrial standards for the exchange of data between automation products from different vendors
In the midst of Industry 4.0, a revolution based on the rapid and automated communication between physical systems and virtual networks, the OPC standard is helping facilitate interoperability from the factory floor up to the office network.
The report looks at the benefits to end users, including reduced implementation costs, better security, scalability, platform independence and interoperability.
"OPC UA is helping support industry trends, such as Industry 4.0, big data and IoT by offering end users plug-and-play communications solutions," Jonathan Wilkins, director at European Automation, said. "As we look at the ways in which industrial automation is rapidly advancing manufacturing systems, there is still a lot that the standard has to offer.
"Not to give too much away from the report, but we see OPC UA playing an essential role in the development of how products make their way through a production line and the ordering of replacement parts," Wilkins concluded.
The OPC UA report is the latest in a series from European Automation. The company has previously looked at information security, energy efficiency and RFID technology. The downloadable reports can be found on the European Automation website.
