IoT Use Case

IT/OT Integration Software, Proven in Practice for Machines and Plants

Industrial connectivity software is middleware that connects machines, controllers and sensors to IT systems through ready-made connectors for OPC UA, Modbus, S7 or MQTT. It normalizes data, provides a central messaging bus and delivers to cloud services, databases, MES or ERP. In the IoT stack it forms the core of the integration layer.

  • Software Developer, KSG GmbH
  • Senior IT Systemingenieur, KSG GmbH
  • Co-Founder & CTO/CPO, Greenlyte Carbon Technologies
  • Automation Engineer, Casa Mendes Gonçalves
  • Automation Engineer, Casa Mendes Gonçalves
  • Magna Exteriors (Meerane) GmbH, Manager Automation, Magna

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Who offers it

IT/OT integration products in practice

6 manufacturers from our partner network with 50 solution examples. Those with the most documented use in this category come first.

What it is used for

What they are used for, and with what

Based on these manufacturers' solution examples: the most common use cases and the technologies their solutions speak.

Use cases

Technologies

What to look for

What industrial connectivity software does

IT/OT integration products bridge the gap between production (operational technology) and enterprise IT. On the OT side, they speak the languages of machines: OPC UA, Modbus, S7, CNC protocols or MQTT. On the IT side, they deliver to MQTT brokers, Kafka, REST APIs, SQL databases, cloud services or data lakes. In between, they normalize data formats, add context such as asset, unit and timestamp and provide a central messaging bus.

These products are pure software: they connect systems and makes heterogeneous machine fleets accessible in a standardized way. It often provides the technical foundation for a unified namespace. Once a machine is connected, its data is available to every authorized application, from shop floor dashboards to analytics in the cloud.

Industrial connectivity vs. edge device, data hub and IoT platform

An edge device is hardware on which such software can run. A data hub mainly connects business applications such as ERP, MES and PLM with each other, while IT/OT integration works one level lower, at the machine. IoT platforms store, visualize and analyze data; IT/OT integration products transport and translate it. The main reason to buy is vendor-independent, reusable connectivity for many machines instead of individual point-to-point interfaces.

What to look for when choosing one

Key criteria are the connectors available for your own machine fleet, the supported IT targets and whether the software runs at the edge, in your own data center or in the cloud, often as containers. Add data modeling, access control, encrypted connections with certificates, buffering during network outages and management of many sites. Choosing open standards such as OPC UA and MQTT early keeps later extensions flexible.

From the network, Cybus and Schaeffler Digital Solutions offer platforms for IT/OT integration. EMQ provides an MQTT broker that serves as a central messaging bus. In solution examples, these products create the data foundation for condition monitoring, OEE analysis and traceability.

Frequently asked questions about industrial connectivity software

What is IT/OT convergence?

IT/OT convergence describes the merging of enterprise IT and production technology. Data from machines and controllers flows into ERP, MES, cloud and analytics tools, while orders and parameters flow back to production. This requires shared standards, integration software and aligned security concepts, because IT and OT have different requirements for availability and updates.

What does industrial connectivity software do?

Industrial connectivity software reads data directly from controllers and machines through dedicated connectors such as OPC UA, Modbus or S7. It normalizes formats and units, adds context and publishes the data via MQTT, Kafka or REST. IT systems then subscribe to exactly the values they need. The PLC program usually does not need to be changed for this.

What is a unified namespace?

A unified namespace is a central, hierarchically structured data layer in which all production data is available under unique names, usually via MQTT and organized according to ISA-95. Instead of many point-to-point connections, each source publishes its data once and every application subscribes to what it needs. Industrial connectivity software fills and manages this structure.

How does IT/OT integration work in manufacturing?

IT/OT integration in manufacturing usually follows three steps: connect, normalize and distribute. Connectors read data from controllers and machines, the integration software converts it into a common format with context, and a messaging layer such as an MQTT broker or Kafka distributes it to MES, ERP, dashboards, data lakes and AI applications. Machines and IT systems remain decoupled.

How are MES and ERP integrated with the shop floor?

MES and ERP are usually connected to the shop floor through an integration layer rather than directly to each machine. Industrial connectivity software delivers machine states, part counts and quality data upward, while a data hub translates orders and master data between MES, ERP and other systems. Each interface is defined once and can be reused across plants.

On the podcast

Episodes with these manufacturers and their customers.

Related categories

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