Beckhoff Automation is now a member of The Open Group and its well-known Open Process Automation Forum (OPAF).
“The missions of OPAF and Beckhoff go hand in hand. We believe that technologies that are inherently interoperable benefit everyone – most importantly system integrators and end users,” said Jesse Hill, process industry manager for Beckhoff Automation LLC. “Joining OPAF will enable us to respond even faster and more effectively to the challenges of today’s process engineers with powerful, open innovations.”
OPAF is an international forum of end users, system integrators, suppliers, academia and standards organizations who are working together to develop the specifications for utilizing open process automation technology in next-generation process control systems.
As a longtime proponent of open automation technologies with a presence in oil and gas, petrochemicals, pharmaceuticals, wastewater and other process industry segments, Beckhoff is a natural fit for the organization, states Aneil Ali, The Open Group OPAF director.
“We at The Open Group are pleased and honoured to have Beckhoff Automation join OPAF. Their collaboration and input will help further develop an interoperable process control architecture that enables access to leading-edge capabilities and integration of best-in-class components,” said Ali.
The Open Group, with a diverse membership of more than 800 organizations, is a global consortium that enables the achievement of business objectives through technology standards. OPAF is dedicated to helping industrial manufacturers decrease process control system cost while increasing profitability.
The organization aims to simplify integration, upgrades, maintenance and cybersecurity by replacing current “black box” hardware and software with open solutions. This ensures that future automation systems meet standards of true heterogeneity and provide intrinsic security, multi-vendor interoperability and an easy pathway for systems migration.
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