Lower costs, implementation ease and digital connectivity democratisation are breaking barriers to digital transformation, explains Milesh Patel, Supplier Manager, Automation & Control/Electrification for RS UK & Ireland.

The perceived high cost and complexity, combined with a lack of true understanding of digital transformation, may once have presented a barrier to entry or adoption. But industrial organisations increasingly recognise the cost of not embracing digital transformation is far higher than standing still, and the impact prohibitive on growth and innovation.

The cost of entry for digital connected automation products is continually dropping. At the same time, implementation is getting simpler, and data sharing protocols are democratising data. Digital transformation is more accessible than ever for industrial players.

Falling cost of entry enhances accessibility

Digital connected technologies may once have been considered accessible only to large-scale manufacturers with significant budgets. Sensors, controllers, networking hardware and cloud-enabled monitoring platforms – once considered premium investments – are now available at lower price points. This makes them available to a much broader range of machine builders, system integrators and end users, enabling a shift in approach to productivity, maintenance and digital transformation.

This accessibility is no doubt being influenced by developments in the consumer Internet of Things (IoT) market. Industrial suppliers are recognising the value of adopting similar principles: easier setup, remote access and streamlined diagnostics in factory environments.

Meanwhile, the easier set-up is being driven by intuitive configuration tools, standardised installation processes and plug-and-play capabilities. The technical barriers that may have once slowed digital adoption are increasingly diminishing.

Data sharing protocols become a ‘must-have’

Data sharing protocols and architectures like IO-Link are fast moving from ‘new and different’ to ‘every day’ for designers and machine builders. Ethernet is now the accepted data connectivity backbone for all automation systems. Any legacy protocols, like Modbus and Profibus, have migrated to use Ethernet rather than legacy, proprietary cabling and connectivity. This further democratises digital connectivity, with the result being more efficient data movement from individual machine components to plant-wide systems, enterprise networks, and even cloud-based analytics platforms.

Some of the manufacturers leading the way on this digitisation journey include Sick, IFM and Omron. RS works with around 50 manufacturers in this area, and is also continually developing the RS PRO automation offer to include more digital connectivity products, which helps to lower the real-world cost of entry for machine and equipment makers.

Additionally, advances in open-source industrial edge computers, like those based on the Raspberry Pi single board computer, allow data within a machine or process to be easily conveyed to the cloud. Being open-source means they can run a variety of different programming codes, like Node-RED, while being protocol agnostic and linking legacy PLC systems and the wider network or cloud. Meanwhile, industrial Ethernet-connected thermal imagers allow thermal image data to be easily broadcast across the site and beyond.

For industrial organisations, this shift signals a major opportunity, making connected automation more attainable than ever. Democratisation improves operational efficiency and accelerates innovation, and embracing these technologies is key to maintaining competitive relevance in an increasingly connected industrial landscape.

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