Many industrial environments feature equipment installed over several decades, often sourced from multiple vendors and built on different communication protocols. While these assets continue to perform reliably, they frequently operate in isolation, creating data silos that limit operational visibility and increase engineering complexity.
According to Kobus Vermeulen, direct sales executive, process automation at Schneider Electric, interoperability is becoming a major differentiator in modern automation. “Industrial organisations are under pressure to improve efficiency while accelerating digital transformation without disrupting operations. Interoperability solutions provide a viable answer.”
The evolution of proprietary automation
Historically, many SCADA and process automation systems were designed as proprietary environments where equipment from a single supplier communicated seamlessly. Integrating third-party technologies often requires custom engineering, protocol converters and specialist interfaces.
“Utilities are connecting renewable energy assets to existing grids, water authorities are integrating remote pump stations with cloud-based monitoring platforms, and mines are combining equipment from multiple automation vendors to gain enterprise-wide operational visibility,” notes Vermeulen. “In each case the objective is the same: overcome interoperability challenges with open standards rather than proprietary interfaces.”
Protocols such as Open Platform Communications Unified Architecture (OPC UA), Message Queuing Telemetry Transport (MQTT), Distributed Network Protocol Version 3 (DNP3) and Modbus are increasingly important in automation. Together, they enable organisations to integrate legacy infrastructure, modern control systems and cloud applications by working in complementary layers of a hybrid, interoperable architecture spanning field, supervisory, enterprise and cloud.
“The real value comes from allowing information to flow securely between operational technology and enterprise systems, creating better visibility and enabling faster, data-driven decision making,” says Vermeulen.
Minimising disruption while improving operations
For utilities and industrial operators managing critical infrastructure, replacing functioning control systems is often not practical, particularly where budgets are focused on expanding operations. Interoperable SCADA architectures offer an alternative. “Rather than adopting a costly rip-and-replace strategy, organisations can modernise incrementally by integrating legacy equipment alongside new technologies within a single control environment,” says Vermeulen.
Interoperability also provides improved visibility. Without a unified operational view, detecting faults, coordinating maintenance and optimising performance becomes more difficult. Open SCADA architectures address this by consolidating operational data from multiple sites and technologies into a single environment, allowing operators to monitor performance, identify anomalies earlier and respond more quickly to incidents. Standardised data also creates the foundation for advanced analytics, predictive maintenance and AI applications.
Building software-defined automation
The industry’s move towards interoperability is closely aligned with the rise of software-defined automation which separates control software from the underlying equipment, enabling greater flexibility, portability and scalability. Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure Automation Expert, a universal automation system based on the IEC 61499 standard for distributed, event-driven automation, is built around this principle. It decouples application software from industrial hardware, enabling applications to be developed independently.
“EcoStruxure Automation Expert allows organisations to adapt, expand and modernise their control systems far more efficiently than traditional hardware-centric architectures,” explains Sydney Higgo, industrial automation business developer and engineer at Schneider Electric.
Supporting this strategy are solutions such as Schneider Electric’s SCADAPack 470 and SCADAPack 474d remote terminal units (RTUs), designed to bridge legacy operational technology with modern digital environments. The RTUs support open communication standards including DNP3, Modbus, OPC UA and MQTT, enabling legacy field equipment, modern SCADA platforms, and cloud-based analytics to coexist within a single architecture.
“This combination of open software architecture and interoperable edge devices enables organisations to modernise infrastructure incrementally without compromising reliability or operational continuity,” says Higgo. “Organisations that embrace interoperable architectures today will be better positioned to improve operational resilience, accelerate digital transformation, and adapt to whatever tomorrow’s industrial landscape demands.”
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