Today, many industrial environments feature a smorgasbord of equipment, installed over several decades and often sourced from multiple vendors and built on different communication protocols. 

And whilst these assets continue to perform reliably and admirably, they often operate in isolation, creating data silos that lead to limited operational visibility and increased engineering complexity.

According to Kobus Vermeulen, Direct Sales Executive, Process Automation at Schneider Electric, interoperability is becoming a major differentiator in modern automation. “Industrial organisations are under under pressure to improve efficiency whilst also accelerating digital transformation without disrupting operations. 

“It’s a big ask and interoperability solutions provide a viable answer.”

The evolution of proprietary automation

Historically, many SCADA and process automation systems were designed as proprietary environments where equipment from a single supplier communicated seamlessly with one another.  But as time went by it has become clearer that integrating third-party technologies often requires custom engineering, protocol converters and specialist interfaces.

“The current operational landscape is changing at pace. Utilities, for example, are connecting renewable energy assets to existing grids. Water authorities are integrating remote pump stations with cloud-based monitoring platforms whereas mines are combining equipment from multiple automation vendors to gain enterprise-wide operational visibility,” notes Vermeulen.

“In each case, the objective remains the same, overcome interoperability issues with open standards rather than proprietary interfaces”.

Protocols such as Open Platform Communications Unified Architecture (OPC UA), MQTT (Message Queuing Telemetry Transport), DNP3 (Distributed Network Protocol Version 3) and Modbus are increasingly important in automation

Together, they enable organisations to integrate legacy infrastructure, modern control systems, and cloud applications by working in complementary layers of a hybrid, interoperable architecture (field, supervisory, enterprise and cloud).

“Ultimately, the real value comes from allowing information to flow securely between operational technology and enterprise systems, creating better visibility and enabling faster, data-driven decision making,” he explains.

Minimising disruption while improving operations

But for utilities and industrial operators managing critical infrastructure, replacing functioning control systems simply isn't practical, particularly if budgets are focused on expanding operations.

Here, interoperable SCADA architectures offer an alternative. “Rather than adopting a costly "rip-and-replace" strategy, organisations can modernise incrementally by integrating legacy equipment alongside new technologies within a single control environment,” adds Vermeulen.

Beyond integration, interoperability also provides improved visibility. Indeed, without a unified operational view, detecting faults, coordinating maintenance and optimising performance becomes increasingly difficult.

Again, open SCADA architectures offer a solution by consolidating operational data from multiple sites and technologies into a single environment.  This allows operators to monitor performance, identify anomalies earlier and respond more quickly to incidents.

Standardised data also creates the foundation for advanced analytics, predictive maintenance and AI applications.

Building software-defined automation

The industry's move towards interoperability is also closely aligned with the rise of software-defined automation, which separates control software from the underlying equipment, enabling greater flexibility, portability and scalability.

Schneider Electric's EcoStruxure Automation Expert, a universal automation system based on the IEC 61499 standard for distributed, event driven automation, is built around this principle.  It decouples application software from industrial hardware, enabling applications to be developed independently.

“EcoStruxure Automation Experts allows organisations to adapt, expand and modernise their control systems far more efficiently than traditional hardware-centric architectures,” explains Sydney Higgo, Industrial Automation Business Development at Schneider Electric.

Supporting this strategy are solutions such as Schneider Electric's SCADAPack 470 and SCADAPack 474d RTU), which are designed to bridge legacy operational technology with modern digital environments.

The RTUs support open communication standards including DNP3, Modbus, OPC UA and MQTT, which enable legacy field equipment, modern SCADA platforms and cloud-based analytics to coexist within a single architecture. 

“This combination of open software architecture and interoperable edge devices enables organisations to modernise infrastructure incrementally without compromising reliability or operational continuity,” says Higgo.

Open, software-defined automation architectures provide the flexibility to integrate existing assets, adopt emerging technologies and respond to changing operational requirements without repeatedly redesigning control systems.

"Organisations that embrace interoperable architectures today will be better positioned to improve operational resilience, accelerate digital transformation and adapt to whatever tomorrow's industrial landscape demands,” concludes Higgo.