Software Defined Automation and Virtual PLCs focus on a software-centric approach to industrial automation systems but there are some key differences:

• Virtual PLCs: Virtual implementations of standard PLCs, now run in a virtual environment instead of on a dedicated hardware platform. The automation logic is still tied to that specific virtual PLC.
• Software-Defined Automation: A broader concept that touches the whole automation ecosystem, including the management of various types of automation hardware and software. It leverages IT insights to offer IT/OT flexibility not available in traditional industrial software. Control is not tied to specific hardware and users have the flexibility to run control where needed depending on their growing automation needs.

Here are a few main examples of why it makes sense to migrate from a legacy control system to our plant automation software:

1. Hardware Supply Flexibility

• Dealing with a single automation system hardware provider is challenging for customers, especially at times of supply shortages like during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many customers faced delays in their projects due to limited hardware availability and a lack of flexibility in choosing the right hardware for their industrial automation systems.
• Our plant automation software provides a hardware-agnostic approach allowing you to choose the most suitable hardware to optimise delivery timelines. With Universal Automation, many hardware providers support the shared source IEC 61499 runtime giving customers the flexibility to pick the hardware that best meets the project requirements.

2. Control Flexibility

• Control should not be tied to a dedicated PLC that may or may not be available in case of maintenance issues. With the Soft dPAC from EcoStruxure Automation Expert, you get the same functionality and performance as a traditional PLC with the flexibility to run on the edge and utilise a containerized agnostic approach for hardware flexibility.
• EcoStruxure plant automation software offers complete flexibility to move control logic around between your devices. With an asset centric approach, a customer can move the control to another device or spare on the network during a maintenance issue or to raise plant capacity. It gives the flexibility to maintain the running process while modifying hardware configuration.
• Cabinet space is often a limitation when designing the hardware architecture for a plant. Use Soft dPAC-based Edge Controllers to reduce hardware footprint by leveraging devices that offer control, HMI, historical data management, and analytics in the same box.

3. Process Optimisation

• By leveraging event-based control and IT connectivity, customers have an opportunity to truly optimise the process with our plant automation software. Native APIs and IT protocol support give customers full access to their plant data with the ability to interface with Schneider Electric-provided or custom-generated AI algorithms.

4. Engineering Savings

• Reusability is a key component with EcoStruxture Automation Expert. Each customer has the ability to customise their plant assets in their own personal library. These assets are then available to be reused in future projects and provide a “low code/no code” engineering experience.
• Full integration with AVEVA offer provides significant engineering savings over traditional industrial control options in the market. The plant automation software includes pre-defined library elements housing control logic and AVEVA System Platform templates, facilitating the configuration of the HMI canvas. Bulk engineering and reverse engineering Automation Expert plug-ins let you go directly from a traditional P&ID drawing to instantiating your control logic and HMI screens with a significantly reduced engineering effort.

EcoStruxure Automation Expert supports and is tightly integrated with the full AVEVA portfolio, including AVEVA System Platform (ASP), AVEVA OMI, AVEVA Historian, AVEVA Batch Manager, AVEVA Engineering, AVEVA Connect, etc. This tight integration enables significant engineering savings compared to traditional automation offers.

Automation Expert features an asset-focused approach with pre-defined library elements containing control logic and AVEVA System Platform templates for automatic configuration of the HMI canvas, allowing for a streamlined engineering process.

Our plant automation software was built on OPC-UA as its communication foundation which is the preferred communication protocol used by AVEVA. This supports the native integration as Automation Expert library assets already have the OPC-UA communication configured with no additional engineering work.

The Soft dPAC by EcoStruxure Automation Expert is not just a virtual controller. It is a containerized, completely agnostic runtime that allows for not just virtualisation hardware abstraction but logical controller abstraction. This is accomplished by using the asset-based approach with EcoStruxure Automation Expert versus the standard controller-based approach available in standard automation offerings.

The following limitations are now a thing of the past when using the Soft dPAC by EcoStruxure Automation Expert:

• No more closed/propriety systems with high CapEx costs forcing long upgrade cycles.

• No more non-customisable black box systems with no IT integration support.

• No more high engineering costs if plant needs to change over time or an upgrade is needed.

• Greater hardware availability and performance customisation flexibility.

The Soft dPAC can run on any Linux device that meets various baseline performance requirements. This allows customers to either create custom configurations on their devices depending on their specific needs or use pre-installed Edge Controller offerings that require zero experience with Linux environments.

Industry 4.0 is all about smart manufacturing and digital transformation in the operational technology world. The goal is to leverage data to enhance productivity and create agility and flexibility in a very traditional manufacturing world. Our plant automation software perfectly aligns with Industry 4.0 as our goal is to create an open, agile, and flexible industrial automation offering.

• Open by supporting as many OT and IT protocols as possible to help the customers manage valuable data and integrate it with machine learning and AI tools for optimisation. This also allows for tight integration of IoT smart devices and the ability to manage data from those devices.
• Agile by providing an asset-based methodology where adding a new unit or pump is as easy as dragging and dropping. This provides a low code/no code engineering environment where plant resources can be successful without having traditional OT coding experience.
• Flexible by breaking the bond between industrial software and hardware and allowing customers to move control logic around as they see fit. This breaks the traditional OT model by allowing customers to upgrade their hardware whenever they want with little additional investment in the industrial automation system.

Our plant automation software leverages IEC 61499, a new event-based standard that optimises real-time control in the manufacturing industry. Event-based control offers quick data access, aligning with IT systems' need for swift data, and enabling easy interface with IT protocols like MQTT sparkplug and OPC-UA. This allows for efficient data management using machine learning and AI technologies.

EcoStruxure Automation Expert's Soft dPAC containerized runtime enables seamless integration with IT tools. Customers can use traditional IT management systems like Kubernetes, Docker, Portainer, Red Hat OpenShift, etc., to manage their containerized controllers.