AWS (Amazon Web Services) Digital Manufacturing Architecture: IMTS 2024

Summary

At IMTS 2024, AWS (Amazon WEB Services) and its partners demonstrated technological building blocks from sensor edge to business systems to accomplish industrial digitalization for increasing industrial production efficiency and profits. Amazon AWS and partners offer an entire selection of certified hardware, software and tools for manufacturers to create real-time closed loop industrial production to improve performance, profits and lifecycle return-on-investment. The solutions are based on open architecture standards, enabling integration of existing and new industrial controllers and applications.

The technology gap between industrial automation and the rapid influx of new technologies is a strategic business issue. In discussions with manufacturing management, industrial digitalization is becoming a priority with concerns that competitors throughout the world not burdened with old ways of doing things will more easily leverage technology in their operations to gain a significant competitive advantage. This is prompting a review of new and better solutions.

AWS Manufacturing Reference Architecture illustrates an example of industrial digitalization encompassing the entire manufacturing process, including embedded edge, enterprise, supply chain and cloud. AWS has an architectural framework and platform that includes building blocks and development tools, designed to make it easy to apply their technology. AWS has created a large and growing ecosystem of partners, users and developers to build and extend capabilities. The accelerating integration of OT into IT coupled with a high adoption rate of AWS by Enterprise/IT gives them high credibility. Partners can be found on the AWS Marketplace.

 

New architectural model

I believe Amazon Web Services (AWS) has clearly defined a new disruptive architecture in contrast to traditional industrial automation suppliers that cling to managed and gated ecosystems that are costlier to maintain and more fragile. The traditional industrial automation industry has dramatically lagged in the adoption of technology and lock in customers with closed ecosystems including partner programs and interfaces that are promoted as “open,” but these are highly gated, bureaucratically controlled, closed ecosystems, which limit participants and solutions. More details on this topic can be found in the article: Can Manufacturers Compete When Trapped in Existing Automation Architectures?

Edge integration

The AWS IMTS 2024 booth featured embedded hardware providers to integrate the manufacturing edge, sensors, actuators and other devices into the architecture. The AWS manufacturing architecture encourages open natively connected edge devices in contrast to the traditional industrial automation and control model being dominated by single vendor proprietary controls. Traditional suppliers promote simply “connecting” industrial end/edge devices (controllers and sensors) to their proprietary controllers and computer servers rather than directly connecting to the architecture creating additional application engineering labor, layers of complexity, higher maintenance cost and added failure points. 

The AWS IoT ExpressLink program and tools powers a range of hardware modules developed and offered by AWS Partners. The connectivity modules include software implementing AWS mandated security requirements, making it faster and easier for to securely connect devices to the cloud and seamlessly integrate with a range of AWS services. Edge device partners displaying in the AWS IMTS booth included Infineon, ESPRESSIF, AVNET and Toradex.

AWS partners

Other partners demonstrated solutions that leverage the AWS architecture for a range of manufacturing applications from edge to enterprise included:

• 42Q Cloud based MES
• Storm Reply, Amazon Web Services Premier Consulting Partner
• Cognizant, Digital and Technology Service Provider
• Software Defined Automation Industrial DevOps
• Xemelgo Manufacturing Software
• Spryker Manufacturing Software
• Siemens, Manufacturing Software
• SoftServe IT consulting and digital services
• HighByte DataOps software
• Litmus Automation Industrial IoT Edge platform

A technology gap can become a productivity gap

Automation analysts and vendors frequently categorize manufacturing users, grouping them as innovators, early adopters, late majority and laggards for their adoption of new automation technology. Users today have become significantly more sophisticated, technologically, and with greater cooperation with IT people are starting to do the categorizing themselves asking, “Which automation vendors are innovators, early adopters, late majority and laggards?” This is becoming a strategic factor guiding industrial manufacturer investments to be competitive in their industries.