May 22, 2017 –– PTC announced that its Kepware industrial connectivity software now integrates with Microsoft Azure. Utilizing open-source, standards-based communications, Kepware’s KEPServerEX software moves data between industrial controls devices and the Azure cloud platform – allowing organizations to connect, monitor, and manage Internet of Things (IoT) assets across complex industrial environments.
Acting as the hub for machine communication is Kepware’s IoT Gateway, an plug-in capable of pushing information collected by KEPServerEX into big data and analytic software applications. Kepware and Microsoft’s industrial IoT solutions integrate with the help of OPC UA. KEPServerEX can move industrial control data to the Azure cloud platform by utilizing both OPC UA and MQTT via the Azure IoT Gateway SDK and Azure IoT Hub.
One example of how customers are using KEPServerEX and Azure is a use case from BMW Group. To address the team’s many requirements for industrial IoT and big data applications, especially in the area of predictive maintenance, an “IoT Sandbox Platform” has been created, enabling new applications with connectivity from any existing PLC in their factories to be easily connected to the Azure cloud platform for big data analysis.
In addition to integration with the Azure cloud platform, KEPServerEX supports Windows 10 in order to connect industrial data with business processes and analytics. KEPServerEX also provides industrial connectivity to a wide range of other client applications, including the ThingWorx Industrial IoT platform from PTC.
About Kepware
@Kepware is a software development business of PTC Inc. located in Portland, Maine. Kepware provides a portfolio of software solutions to help businesses connect diverse automation devices and software applications and enable the Industrial Internet of Things. From plant floor to wellsite to windfarm, Kepware serves a wide range of customers in a variety of vertical markets including Manufacturing, Oil & Gas, Building Automation, Power & Utilities, and more.
