Topical Roundup: November 2025

Explore Automation.com’s redesigned website to find more information in each of these topical areas. This month's sample of the available content shows you how to make 5G work for OT and IT systems; explains the value of the open, software-defined automation movement; and explicates the rise of cyberattacks in supply chains. Get the latest posts delivered straight to your inbox by subscribing to Automation.com.

IIoT & digital transformation

The True Value of AI Lies in Transformation, Not Just ROI: The true ROI of AI isn’t measured in short-term savings, but in progress: the ability to connect people, processes and data to make smarter decisions every day. That’s the kind of transformation that endures and the value that compounds over time.

Flash-Safe, Real-Time, Secure: How to Manage Device Data for IoT and AI: Developers must no longer compromise between performance and reliability. With IITIA, they gain a platform that scales and evolves with their devices and enables the next generation of secure, deterministic, IIoT and AI-ready industrial systems.

Factory automation & control

 Schneider Electric Champions Open, Software-Defined Automation as the Future of Manufacturing: What manufacturers need to succeed moving forward is open, software-defined automation. The movement involves building an open, interoperable automation ecosystem that allows customers to make their systems flexible and resilient.

What Role Does Robotics Play in the Manufacturing Supply Chain?: Robotics is the execution layer of a data-driven supply chain—linking design, production and logistics into one model so factories can move from point fixes to continuously optimized, end-to-end operations.

Industrial cybersecurity & safety

OT Security at Scale: Lessons Learned: The OT security industry has been selling complexity when what organizations need is simplicity. After hundreds of deployments across manufacturing, oil & gas and building automation, we've discovered a fundamental pattern: the more complex the security solution, the less secure operations become.

When Less Is More: Why Refineries Are Rethinking PLCs for Safety Systems: For decades, programmable logic controllers (PLCs) have been the go-to solution for safety systems across refineries, chemical plants and power facilities. A growing number of plants are replacing PLCs with cyber-proof, cost-effective, hardware alternatives.

Enterprise architecture & networks

Making 5G Effective for Both OT and IT Systems: Celona’s Mehmet Yavuz explains the benefits of 5G communications, including its increased security and flexibility to address the distinct needs of OT/IT integration. 

The Data Lineage Challenge and What to Do About It: By overhauling their data infrastructure from pools of raw data to an activate network of machines and sensors that clearly tell where data was sourced from, manufacturers can fortify their factories and evolve their operations for the AI age.

Operations & management

Renewables at the Core of Future Power Systems: Renewable energy is no longer a fringe technology. It is becoming the backbone of future power systems, driving rapid investment and reshaping how electricity is generated, stored and delivered. Last year, in 2024, renewables accounted for a record 86% of global power additions.

Why Manufacturing Organizations Are Prime Targets for Hackers: Cybercriminals have discovered a trick: Attacking a company's core business operations instead of its peripheral systems like credit card databases generates the highest ransom payments. When production lines grind to a halt, manufacturers will pay almost anything.

Product & company updates

Festo AI-Powered Electric Automation Monitoring Cuts Machine Downtime: Festo has introduced its AI-enabled monitoring and predictive maintenance system Festo AX Motion Insights Electric. The platform delivers continuous monitoring of electric motion, transforming maintenance from reactive to predictive.

Siemens Revolutionizes Electrical Design in Industry with New Software: Siemens has expanded the TIA Selection Tool Cloud with the new “Electrical Designer” feature for electrical planning. The software speeds up electrical design by eliminating time-consuming, manual steps, making work easier and more reliable.

This column appears in the November/December 2025 issue of Automation.com Monthly: AI and Digital Transformation.