Articles and News

Device libraries have been a common problem for many field communicators, and the complicated update procedure has been a nightmare for many users. Vendors sometimes struggle to understand what really happens in the field, and the chat groups on WhatsApp prove that the challenges still exist out there.

By Lee Lane, FDT Chairman of the Board of Directors Created on the long legacy of the rock solid FDT standard, we now release the features and capabilities that are needed for IIoT, remote monitoring, mobility, and IT/OT integration.

The FDT ecosystem is evolving to incorporate modern web-based and mobile applications in the process, hybrid and discrete manufacturing markets.

In this monthly column, 2020 International Society of Automation (ISA) President Eric Cosman encourages members to pitch in and shape the future.

This article discusses how automating cell and gene therapies will bring the treatment to the masses.

By Eric D. Knapp USB attacks blur the line between a network threat and a local physical threat. The USB protocol essentially extends every one of our networks into something exponentially bigger.

By Takayuki Sugizaki, Yokogawa Electric Plant managers are faced with the dual challenges of increasing production efficiency while maintaining aging equipment, and corporate executives must do the same across the entire manufacturing enterprise. In the process industries, subject matter experts (SMEs) are those end user employees with the expertise required to understand processes and equipment.

By James McQuiggan Ransomware is no longer a hit and run type of attack. The criminals are utilizing phishing and other social engineering techniques to gain access to the IT network and pivoting through to the OT networks to copy and exfiltrate the data. It’s only a matter of time before criminal organizations are able to gain access to more OT facilities and organizations.

By Mark Howard Cyber-attacks are a serious concern. While they pose a threat to typical business vulnerabilities, infiltration from a cybercriminal in a manufacturing setting can shut down a plant's operations. This article offers three tips for manufacturers against the rising threat to cyber security.

By Andreas Eschbach Some measures deemed temporary, such as “social distancing” may become permanent to some extent if in effect long enough to take root and become the new norm. Certainly, social distancing will become a consideration and action-item on every risk analysis and health and safety checklist going forward.

The International Society of Automation (ISA) President Eric Cosman will be featured on the ISA Interchange blog monthly with a column directed toward ISA members around the world.

By Gabe Authier While ICS downtime at the hands of a security solution was once a much more realistic concern, cybersecurity tools are now changing the face of ICS cybersecurity by helping operators remediate issues that could threaten system uptime.

By Jim Kilmer Combining 5G and edge computing can give manufacturers more from their technology—simply put, better factories and better products

By Arlen Nipper This article will look at the problems with proprietary manufacturing protocols and discuss how the open-standard MQTT can enable Digital Transformation.

By Simone Bruckner With global data traffic more than doubling every four years, it’s no surprise that the environmental impact of data centres is coming under scrutiny.

By Neil Miles Whether it’s increased flexibility, scalability or cost efficiency - the advantages of a hybrid cloud approach are many. However, companies can only benefit from a truly hybrid IT approach, if they prepare for the inherent complexity.

By Nigel Smith This article explains why counterfeit industrial equipment could present a ticking time bomb for manufacturers.

By Sean Beeker This article discusses the top ten reasons most often cited for ordering online and it will also present specific examples of how industrial end user purchasers are benefiting from online ordering.

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced a delay in the crucial standardization work that would make 5G available for enterprise use cases. The relevant standardization body, 3GPP, has formally announced a deferral of this standardization until at least June 2020, which would delay commercial rollout of industrial 5G until at least 2022.

As more experienced workers retire from the manufacturing workforce, the sector faces a future with a growing skills gap and a greater number of unfilled jobs.