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Network traffic monitoring has evolved from a nice-to-have administrative tool into an essential cybersecurity defense mechanism.

2016 was an exciting year of innovation and exploration in industrial automation. All this cutting-edge development fuels the excitement, but also begs a relevant question: Will these developments lead to convergence, divergence, and/or chaos in 2017?

By Bill Lydon, Editor, Automation.com Keeping consistent with Internet of Things and Industry 4.0 concepts and architectures, Turck has embedded PLC control into their traditional products, thereby extending capabilities to be a control company.

By Bill Lydon, Editor, Automation.com For cost and efficiency purposes, most vendors will try to minimize downtime with already existing automation systems and manufacturing equipment, instead of buying new equipment. This may be a prudent decision in some cases but it does beg some questions

By Bill Lydon, Editor Siemens’ MindSphere, a cloud offering that links physical products and production facilities with digital data, and which leverages OPC UA, was a major feature at the 2016 Siemens Automation Summit.

A major driver for the effort for open process control standards, has been the widespread call for accelerative automation technology, along with an ecosystem of suppliers that can leverage the latest technology.

Usually during cybersecurity presentations, the speakers talk about serious consequences of cyber security and then overwhelm people, who are not familiar with the topic, with deep levels of details and intricacies. This one answers a simple question: Where does the reasoning begin?

By Bill Lydon, Editor The rapid rise of the cloud and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) has spurred dozens of companies to harness the new technologies and drive the evolution of the manufacturing industry. In this article, Bill talks with Honeywell about their approach to IIoT and innovation

By Bill Lydon, Editor ODVA believes EtherNet/IP is ideally positioned for the fourth industrial revolution and the world of integrated cyber physical systems. This article summarizes ODVA's initiatives for the process industries, Industry 4.0 and field device configuration/integration.

By Bill Lydon, Editor The 2016 Hannover Fair was full of energy and industrial innovation, highlighted by an abundance of evidence that shows Industry 4.0 is moving from concept to real-world applications.

By Bill Lydon, Editor The Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) in many respects is the progression of distributed computing. The fundamental components of an automation (or other) system are sensors; they are the “eyes, ears, and fingers” of any system. If the concepts of IIoT are to succeed, we need more effective, powerful sensors.

By Bill Lydon, Editor "Industrial Automation Absorbed by IT," may be the future headline if the industrial automation community does not make a commitment to multivendor, open-interoperability, and Internet of Things (IoT) technology. If this comes to pass it may not be the optimal solution for industrial automation effectiveness.

In a smart connected world, plants rely on HMIs for detailed data and industrial control insights. This feature comes from the ebook AUTOMATION 2023 Volume 3: IIoT & Industry 4.0.

Chris interviews Brian Kime, senior analyst with Forrester, about how critical infrastructure and industrial operators are embracing digital transformation, securing their OT and IT networks, and mitigating the risks and vulnerabilities associated with them.

Without context, manufacturing data is worthless. Here's what to consider to turn digital junkyards into gold nugget insights.

Real resilience isn’t heroic last-minute decision making during a crisis. It’s unglamorous, disciplined preparation done well in advance.

It is time to think of a drone as more than a flying camera. It is a mobile platform for easily delivering sensors to various locations.

In industrial automation, the mechanical-to-informatics ratio has nearly inverted over the past two decades in diverse industries including assembly, energy distribution, and batch processing.

Dramatic advancements in technology are driving the Internet of Things, creating more tools for industrial automation and the process industries.

From Greg McMillan and the ISA Mentor Program team.