business
‘‘
TALKING
////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
So this is mainly about addressing a
problem waiting to emerge?
That is part of it, yes, but if we take a more
systemic view it becomes clear that if a
manufacturer were to start with a greenfield
development, they would take a very different
approach. Fortunately, it is now possible for
those manufacturers to adopt a greenfield
approach while preserving their current
investment and without incurring huge risk.
So how can IT help?
The IT industry is much more progressive
than the OT industry, that isn’t a criticism,
but a consequence of its nature. As IT is
at the forefront of developments, it has
been the first to benefit from developments
such as cloud computing, high-availability
hardware platforms, open source software
and more recently, virtualisation. Of all these
trends, virtualisation has the potential to
transform Industrial Automation and the way
manufacturers use ICS functions and OT.
What exactly is virtualisation?
The term virtualisation really covers a
range of technologies used to abstract the
interface between hardware and software.
Under virtualisation, either or both the
hardware and software can be represented
by another technology. Often, virtualisation
will refer to running more than one operating
system on the same hardware platform,
perhaps even on the same processor, but
without any loss of performance or reliability.
Virtualisation allows software running on
a common hardware platform to replace
bespoke hardware that may be difficult to
maintain, for example. The virtualisation of
features in this way allows the functionality
to be maintained even if the underlying
hardware and software is changed.
Doesn’t the manufacturing industry
already use virtualisation?
To some extent, yes, some ICS
manufacturers use virtualisation to run
systems that might normally run on a PC,
such as a user interface. However, the needs
of industrial automation go much further
and often demand a real-time response
in size-optimised footprints. Until recently,
virtualisation technology was unable to
meet these needs, but that is changing.
44
INTELLIGENTCIO
Technologies are now available to ICS
suppliers that can scale down to the size of a
regular Distributed Control System (DCS) or
Programmable Logic Controller (PLC), this is
putting virtualisation at both the centre and
the edge of industrial automation.
How can virtualisation help
the adoption of new
technologies without disrupting
existing processes?
This really involves two things; the adoption
of new technologies for new systems and
the migration of existing systems to those
new technologies. Because legacy systems
are often proprietary containing large
amounts of intellectual property, it can be
difficult to migrate them to new platforms.
What is needed is a non-disruptive way
of updating systems and virtualisation
achieves this in two ways.
An increasing number of ICS suppliers
are joining the Open Process Automation
Forum, managed by The Open Group. This
consensus-based group includes end-users,
suppliers and standards organisations
and is committed to developing an open,
standards-based architecture for process
control. Virtualisation would allow existing
functions carried out by PLCs to be ported
to new platforms through a combination of
on-premise servers and edge devices running
‘software-defined’ functions.
“
THE REAL ISSUE
IS THE LOST
OPPORTUNITY
TO INCREASE
EFFICIENCY AND
PRODUCTIVITY
THROUGH THE
ADOPTION OF NEW
TECHNOLOGIES.
In addition, ICS suppliers are now
supported by a growing number of tools
for developing and testing systems in a
fully-virtualised environment. DCS and
PLC manufacturers are developing these
virtualised solutions to enable complete
systems to be created even without any
target system hardware. This means that
very soon it will be possible to virtualise
legacy proprietary functions. More suppliers
are anticipated to start offering this
following the introduction of lead examples,
such as the Industrial Internet Control
System (IICS) announced by GE in 2017,
which virtualises a number of industrial
automation functions that were previously
realised in proprietary hardware.
It seems like virtualisation has many
benefits from an engineering point
of view, but does it make sense from
a business perspective, too?
The business case for virtualisation is
perhaps even stronger than the engineering
advantage. The adoption of virtualisation
in industrial automation will lower the Total
Cost of Ownership, extend the lifetime
of an ICS and result in fewer disruptions,
while enabling easier integration of new
technologies; ultimately that all adds up to
improved operations.
Of course, these are all end-user benefits;
for suppliers it presents more of a business
challenge, as their installed customer
base will ultimately be less reliant on their
solutions. The opportunity for suppliers is
to deliver better support services at a lower
cost, as this is ultimately what will drive
customer loyalty. Support is something that
many end-users really want and need but
has, in the past, often been cost-prohibitive.
The adoption of virtualisation will enable
suppliers to develop and deliver high-value
services at a lower cost, which should
ultimately enable them to secure more
business rather than less.
Virtualisation is a technology area that has
the power to truly enable the Industrial IoT.
Manufacturers should now be talking to
their current and prospective ICS suppliers
to find out how they intend to employ
virtualisation in the future. In turn, those
suppliers should consider how virtualisation
will help them adapt and continue to grow
in the world of the Industrial IoT and
Industry 4.0. n
www.intelligentcio.com