Modbus Organization, IDA Group merging

Staff -- Control Engineering, 11/1/2003

Houston, TX—Following a year of successful cooperation, the Modbus Organization (Hopkinton, MA) and IDA Group reported at ISA Expo 2003 that their members have agreed to merge. They say the new organization, Modbus-IDA, recognizes the alignment of their goals and their visions of the future of industrial communication and automation.

Modbus Organization's members include users and suppliers of Modbus-based devices, which the organization reports is the most common Ethernet protocol in automation. Modbus is used in field devices for a variety of control and automation applications. IDA Group, formed in Germany, has been developing a multi-vendor standard for distributed intelligence using Ethernet TCP/IP as its universal communications standard. As an element of the IDA standard, Modbus is fundamental to this vision for the future of distributed automation solutions.

Modbus-IDA will continue both organizations' work in the use of Internet technologies to integrate communications services, Web functions, interoperability and safety. Modbus-IDA will be headquartered in the U.S. Meanwhile, IDA's technical working groups will continue activities under Modbus-IDA's leadership, and the new entity will continue IDA's cooperative relationships with IAONA, ODVA and PNO.