Companies announce strategic partnership for the IoT

Opto 22 and IBM have agreed to a partnership to bridge the gap between existing industrial assets and infrastructure, and the digital world of mobile, cloud, and information technology.

By Opto 22 March 9, 2017

Opto 22 announced acceptance into the IBM Watson IoT Partner Ecosystem. This strategic partnership provides developers with a full stack toolset for building applications that connect real-world signals and data from industrial "things" to the digital world of information technology, mobile, and cloud computing.

The partnership between IBM and Opto 22 is intended to enable developers to design, prototype, and deploy applications to connect existing industrial assets to the IBM Watson IoT platform and share their data, capabilities, and resources with other connected systems and assets, to build the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). 

Building IIoT applications has historically been complex, requiring multiple layers of expensive middleware and significant developer manpower. IIoT applications built from the ground up can take months or even years, and require expertise in both the operations technology (OT) domain, where industrial assets live, and the information technology (IT) domain, where digital and cloud computing assets exist. These long development cycles increase cost, slow time to market, and increase risk of IIoT project failure for customers. Together these problems delay and reduce the return on investment for implementing IIoT applications.

Streamlining and simplifying IIoT application development

Through this new partnership between IBM and Opto 22, developers and systems integrators have a toolset for connecting the OT and IT domains. The partnership combines over 40 years of OT domain expertise and innovation from Opto 22 with over 100 years of IT domain expertise and innovation from IBM. Combining open technologies like RESTful APIs and Node-RED with computing platforms like the IBM Watson IoT platform decreases development time, eliminates the need for expensive middleware, reduces risk for customers, and gets solutions to market faster.

Developers can connect, set up, and manage edge processing devices like programmable automation controllers from Opto 22 and apply real-time analytics, cognitive services, and blockchain technology to the data generated by these devices. Cognitive APIs deliver natural-language processing, machine-learning capabilities, text analytics, and image analytics to help developers realize the potential of the cognitive era with the IBM Watson IoT Platform.

"The industrial automation and control industry is in transition right now," said Benson Hougland, vice president of marketing and product strategy, Opto 22. "A product development strategy based on proprietary and closed technologies is outdated. The future of industrial automation and process control lies in the rising API and data economies made possible through open standards-based technologies. Our objective in partnering with IBM is to enable IIoT developers to build their applications faster using well-known and proven Internet tools and technology like Node-RED, RESTful APIs, and the IBM Watson IoT Platform."

Opto 22

Opto22 – Opto 22 

IBM

IBM – United States 

– Edited from an Opto 22 press release by CFE Media. See more Control Engineering IIoT and Industrie 4.0 stories.


Author Bio: Opto 22 designs and manufactures industrial control products and Internet of Things platforms that bridge the gap between information technology (IT) and operations technology (OT). Based on a core design philosophy of leveraging open, standards-based technology, Opto 22 products are deployed worldwide in industrial automation, process control, building automation, industrial refrigeration, remote monitoring, and data acquisition applications. Designed and manufactured in the U.S.A., Opto 22 products have a worldwide reputation for ease-of-use, innovation, quality, and reliability. For over 40 years OEMs, machine builders, automation end-users, and information technology and operations personnel have and continue to trust Opto 22 to deliver high-quality products with superior reliability. The company was founded in 1974 and is privately held in Temecula, California, U.S.A. Opto 22 products are available through a global network of distributors and system integrators. For more information, contact Opto 22 headquarters at +1-951-695-3000 or visit www.opto22.com.